Castleton - Lose Hill

Castleton circular walk via Lose Hill and Mam Tor

Walk Details	Start Point
Distance: 11.58km	Paid Parking: Google Maps
Duration: 03.54	W3W: ///tragedy.direction.exile
OS Maps

After a wonderful drive through Winnats Pass, something I’d been really looking forward to, I arrived at the Mam Tor Hillfort car park, a National Trust car park and the starting point for today’s walk.

Winnats Pass certainly didn’t disappoint, the dramatic limestone scenery made for a spectacular start to the day.

From the car park I headed down towards Castleton, passing the area’s famous show caves along the way - Blue John Cavern, Treak Cliff Cavern, Speedwell Cavern and, finally, Peak Cavern, better known as the Devil’s Arse. While I was there I took a guided tour of the Devil’s Arse, Partly to set the scene for the Hugh Cornwell gig I would be attending that evening and also to learn a little about it's history. The tour was fascinating and added another dimension to what was already turning into a memorable day.

After the tour, I continued through the picturesque village of Castleton before beginning the climb towards Lose Hill. Initially, it was a fairly gradual climb, but the path soon became much steeper as I made the final ascent to the summit.

And boy did I feel it!
But once there, the views were absolutely fantastic, stretching across the surrounding Peak District landscape

From Lose Hill I followed the ridge towards Mam Tor. Even though by this point it had become extremely busy I was still able to enjoy the breathtaking views as I made my along the ridge.

Eventually I reached Mam Tor and my very first trig point, which for me was something of a triumph!

And then it was a nice easy descent back towards the car park.