New Year Walk Mam Tor in the Peak District
On a wet and dull winters day, we headed up to the Peak District for our first walk of the new year…but it didn’t exactly go to plan!
Near Peak Cavern, Castleton
There are loads of show caves in the area we were in, including Blue John Cavern and Peak Cavern, also known as the Devil’s Arse (how charming). This proved handy as the weather today was not on our side! We had hoped to do the circular Mam Tor walk; finishing our day off with a visit to Peak Cavern and then finally, a good pub meal. Nothing really went as planned today though, illustrating a need to remain flexible and to be prepared for the unpredictability of nature.
We left the DSLR at home and opted for the compact, but still managed to get some beautifully atmospheric shots
We’d checked the weather forecast for the Castleton area that morning, and were prepared for patchy rain. What we didn’t consider though was visibility, and as we neared our destination and were on our final leg of the drive through Winnats Pass, it became clear that the drizzle had turned into heavy rain and that the fog was so thick, visibility was down to around 20 metres or so.
It’s true! With the right gear you can get out whatever the weather.
The start of the steps leading up to Mam Tor from the National Trust car park
Despite the rain and fog we decided to head up to Mam Tor anyway; though once at the top we decided that completing the circular walk we’d intended to do, was a pointless endeavour, given most of the pleasure for us comes from the views, but as you can see, there wasn’t one!
At the top of Mam Tor, taking in the erm ‘view’ that was a very short 0.6km walk from the car park
One word of advice, if you are heading up to Mam Tor and want to park in the National Trust car park (£3 or free to National Trust members), don’t follow SatNav and instead use the directions on the National Trust Mam Tor Circular Walk website.
On the way back down
Castleton is a gem of a town, steeped as it is in history, and overlooked by the Norman ruins of Peveril Castle.
Peveril Castle
Despite being so small, on our meander around town, we counted 5 pubs and 3 cafes, all within a few hundred metres. We chose to warm up and grab a bite to eat at the Bulls Head in Castleton, and were greeted with a roaring fire, great service and big, hearty meals. The pub also has hotel rooms, and we think it makes the ideal base for exploring the area.
Castleton, next to the main pay and display car park
This part of the Peak District is very pretty, and a great area to walk in, so we’ll definitely be heading back up there on a clearer day some time soon!
See more pictures from our walk on Flickr, or you can read about our walk last year at nearby Grinlow Hill and Poole’s Cavern.
Useful links
- National Trust Mam Tor Circular Walk
- Peak Cavern
- Blue John Cavern
- Pooles Cavern
- Bulls Head Castleton
- Visit Castleton
- The Castle Inkeeper’s Lodge
From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.
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