We welcomed Pat Mason to our team and drove to Hope, enjoying wonderful views along the way.
We parked outside St. Peter’s Church on a cloudy day and walked past Cafe Adventure which seemed to be a meeting place for a group of men sitting outside with their muddy mountain bikes arranged around them. A couple of Jackdaws, pecking in a lawn, were pointed out by Bob as we turned onto a footpath, through a squeezer stile over a stone stile and onto a very muddy path. In a nearby field we spotted a tiny Shetland pony which lay itself down to sleep as we watched.
As we walked towards the railway line, a blue train engine went by heading to the Cement works and as we approached the foot bridge, a notice stated that only 20 people were allowed on the bridge at any one time; it dipped down quite noticeably in the middle. The route continued across small fields and numerous wooden gates with sweeping views of Hope Valley, Winnats Pass and Treak Cliff Cavern. We turned left at a sign for Castleton, travelling over three wooden, man-made footbridges and through three fields. We inspected a glamping site from afar then turned onto a tarmacked road and into the town.
In Castleton there was a gathering of motorbike riders with their machines, but otherwise hardly any footfall. We walked along the A6187 for a short time and turned right at a green metal sign for Hope and onto a stony path and ventured into more fields and plenty of extremely muddy areas, with the Hope Cement Works nearby. We crossed the railway line once again, this time on the actual tracks, onto a path with a fastflowing river on our left, soon arriving back at the car.
Pat enjoyed the walk and in fact, she and Bob asked Steve, the leader, for a copy of the walk for future use.
Our next walk on Easter Sunday, 5th April will begin at the later time of 1.30pm, meeting at the church gates. New members are welcome to join us, just bring a packed lunch.
Evelyn Lowe