Castleton to Mam Tor

This mornings walk has been one of my favourites so far.  Castleton is a place I have been to many, many times, mainly for the cafes and gift shops.  Today I learned so much more about the area.

We started our walk in Castleton car park, crossed the road and walked behind the town and up into Cavedale.  Cavedale boasts 4 caverns, all open to the public, with their stalagtites, stalagnites and dark dank pools.

The climb up through Cavedale. 

As we walked up the valley littered with limestone rocks and boulders, we turned back to catch a view of Peveril Castle which was built for William Peveril, illegitimate son of William the Conqueror. You can just see it there centre left in the photo above.

Our walk continued out over open farmland crossing the Limestone Way which runs from Castleton through into Staffordshire.  This was fairly easy walking although quite exposed and very windy.

Mam Tor

By now we could see Mam Tor in the distance.  We weren't going to climb it originally, but hey, the hill was there so it had to be done!  Mam Tor has a fascinating history. Once a bronze age hill fort, it's name means 'Mother Hill'.  You can still see the ridges in the hillside used to defend the fort. 

It's a wee bit of a climb up there but the views from the top are stunning and it's easy to imagine how the inhabitants must have felt on a bright summers morning, gazing over the countryside all around.  It was still blowing a bit of a gale so it was all too easy to imagine the harsh conditions they must have had to endure during the winter months.

Me at the trig point on top of Mam Tor

The above is one of my favourite views. Showing Lose Hill and beyond it Win Hill. The hills take their names from the Battle of Lose Hill and Win Hill which took place in 626. Legend has it that Prince Cwichelm and his father, King Cynegils of Wessex, possibly with the aid of King Penda of Mercia, gathered their forces on neighbouring Lose Hill and marched on the Northumbrians based on Win Hill. Despite their superior numbers, Wessex was defeated by the Northumbrians.  It's very unlikely that this actually happened but a good story nonetheless.

Looking from the back of Mam Tor is a fabulous view of Kinder Scout and Edale as shown above.  That's a much longer walk for another day though!

We came down the other side of Mam Tor past the Blue John Cavern and down towards Treak Cliff Cavern.  Treak Cliff is now a grass covered hillside but was once a limestone reef.  The nearby road would have once been a sea bed, and it's just mind blowing to think that the hillside is made up of the fossilised remains of millions of sea creatures.   

In later years lead and blue john was mined here. The miners worked long hours underground by candlelight.  They often had to supplement their living by farming.  The lead mined was used for church and castle roofs.  The blue john was used to decorate stately homes but is now mainly made into jewellery.

We continued our walk off over the fields imaging the creatures who had once lived beneath our feet, past Speedwell Cavern at the bottom of Winnits Pass and back into Castleton.

It was lovely to follow the river back down into the village and discover some more delights!

So what set out as an ordinary walk in the countryside turned into a fascinating and informative history lesson, by far my favourite and most memorable walk so far.