UK Mountains

UK Mountains Expedition Report

Castleton Winter Report
UK Mountains
Itinerary
MapDistanceRouteAltitude
OL 115 milesCave Dale400m
Eldon Hill470m
Winnats Head400m
Hollins Cross425m
Castleton Winter

During March 2013 there were some impressive dumps of snow particularly in the Peak District and the opportunity of a weekend walking around Castleton was too much to resist and so it was that I headed North on a cold Friday morning for some fun in the snow.

Getting to Castleton was not without its problems as there were several roads blocked by snow and I found myself retracing my route several times before I finally drove into Castleton. Looking around Mam Tor was white, in fact, the entire ridge was white - fantastic! The plan was to Mountain Bike on the Friday, then walk on the Saturday and Sunday - a good plan but one that changed dramatically.

When thinking about the weekend I had intended to bring my new road bike to ride Winnats Pass - renowned as one of the major climbs in the Peak District, but seeing the weather forecast, quickly realised that the Mountain Bike would be a better choice - and so it proved to be. Once parked and changed into my gear I set off in the general direction of Winnats Pass, spinning the pedals trying to warm the legs for the climb ahead. On arrival at the foot of the climb I looked up to see nothing but white - the road was covered in snow! Not to be put off I headed up, the tyres spinning on the snow failing to grip - it would be a long climb but I persevered and slowly made my way up. Now the pass road gets steeper and of course, eventually the snow got too thick to get any sort of grip and I found myself at a standstill. Oh well, off we get and push. Finally I came to the top of the main climb and jumped back on the bike to finish it off but soon stopped again to help some stranded motorists who, amazingly, thought they could drive down to Castleton! With a combination of digging, pushing and spinning of tyres, we managed to get the cars back. Satisfied with my work, I set off onward and upward to the pass over Mam Tor and down into the Edale valley. There was plenty of snow on the road so I took it fairly easy on the worst sections, then letting go on the easier parts until I finally came down into Barber Booth and the pleasant ride along the valley to Edale and beyond.

After about eight or nine miles the road emerges at Hope and turning right bought me back into Castleton. Stowing the bike I went in search of accommodation and soon found it in the form of a small self-contained cottage which the owners said I could have at a very reasonable rate as it had been booked for the weekend, but cancelled at the last minute as the intended occupants could not get to Castleton.

Saturday morning saw me heading out for a walk in the snow. In conditions like this it is vital to take emergency kit just in case so in my rucsac was spare warm clothes, a bothy bag - useful for stops when you want to get out of the wind, hot drink, food, walking poles in addition to the map, compass and GPS (just in case).

Heading up Cave Dale gave me a good introduction to the day ahead. At times it was fairly easy going, at times up to my knees in snow and at one point I actually disappeared up to my waist in snow. Staying relaxed and working yourself free slowly is important to avoid making the situation worse. Eventually I found myself at the top of the dale where the weather took a distinct change for the worse with the wind blowing hard, making progress difficult and visibility limited with the wind whipping up the snow.

It seemed that the official paths had filled with snow, so I decided to climb the walls and move out into the adjacent fields to stand any chance of making progress. My route took me in a Westerly direction towards the Eldon Hills quarry. It was a tough couple of miles requiring crossing and recrossing of walls to make progress but eventually I arrived at the road and a well earned break. Out with the sit-mats and the bothy bag I pulled out some drink and a Mars Bar and watched yet more motorists trying to drive down the road and failing - why do they bother?

Deciding to press on, I followed the road for a couple of miles to the top of Winnats Pass. Now, normally I would avoid roads at all costs, but with the difficulty of walking on the footpaths, coupled with the fact that there was so much snow on the road, it was barely registering as a road it seemed like the best choice and I was soon walking down the pass. Still amazingly I saw drivers trying and failing to get up the pass - surely they would have realised? As I walked down I decided to visit a small cave I had explored many years ago and used as a bivvy site a few years ago (see the Castleton Bivvy report). Once in the cave, I took off my rucsac to take a well-earned break and whilst it was cold, the shelter that the cave provided was a welcome relief from the biting wind.

Time to get out there again and I walked the short distance down into Castleton but as it was still quite early I elected to make an ascent of Mam Tor ridge to Hollins Cross and back. It was a good pull up, made more difficult by the lack of obvious path and deep snow drifts but eventually I crested the ridge and had a wonderful view over to the Edale valley and Kinder Scout beyond - well, I could see the valley, but Kinder itself was lost in the mist - not a place to be on a day like this for sure.

The descent back to Castleton was fairly easy, although there were a couple of difficult sections with snow drifts obliterating the footpath but I was soon back in the town and the warmth of my accommodation.

During the evening I checked out the weather forecast and asked the owners about travelling back. The consensus was that it would not be an easy drive South and so on the Sunday morning I decided to drive straight home, rather than having a day out first and it proved to be a good decision. The drive normally takes about 2 1/2 hours - it took me 5 1/2 hours to get home! Buxton was the worst place, it seemed that every road was blocked with snow and I found myself heading almost into Manchester to turn South.

It was a great weekend, slightly spoilt by the lack of a walk on the Sunday but better to drive home in daylight and get back safely than to leave late and risk getting stranded - the mountains will be there for next time.

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