Hathersage - ideas please

[Tim Hall]

This Easter I'm going, along with a huge gang of friends and families, to Hathersage. We'll be walking, climbing, eating and drinking.

I've half a mind to pack a bike or two. As the others going don't do that much cycling, has anyone any ideas for shortish (20-30 miles) rides?

I guess the default landscape is "Scenic".

[Wowbagger]

Ah yes! There are pubs - I've never been into the Yorkshire Bridge but I understand it is owned and run by the couple who used to run the Lantern Pike in Hayfield, and that was very good. There's a very decent lunch stop near the north end of Froggatt Edge, and in Curbar itself the Bridge Inn is good. The Curbar / Froggatt Edge walk is a good one.

I was about to say that I'd never cycled round there, but that woud have been a lie. The Hopey New Year ride starts in Hope and goes through Hathersage and Grindleford on its way to Ashbourne. There are good pubs in Castleton and Edale, but don't even think about taking smokers into the Cheshire Cheese. There was a very serious fire there a few years ago, caused by a guest smoking in bed, and many of the signs around the pub indicate the landlord's perfectly understandable strength of anti-smoker feeling.

If you want a walkers and cyclists café, the Woodbine does a mean beans on toast and tea in pint mugs.

[Tourist Tony]

Hollybush Crack at Stanage, and Heather Wall at Froggatt are both very enjoyable.

Oh. You meant with the bike......

[Wowbagger]

Oh, bike rides...

You could take the B road south to Hassop then head towards Tideswell through Great & Little Ringstone then north to Bradwell and back along the A road. It's not usually terribly busy as A roads go because it fell into the valley at Mam Tor about 40 years ago and no-one could be bothered to fix it.

If you want some really steep hills, head towards Sparrowpits and Wash, and finish off with a nice gentle bimble down Winnats.  Oh, and there's a good one in Great Hucklow as you climb to the plateau where the gliders take off.

[Chris S]

Like Wowbagger, the only riding I've done around there is the Hopey New Year audax. I particularly like the run down through Millers Dale.

[pdm]

Rides in the White Peak? Mmmmh very nice.

I quite like the following routes:

Hathersage - Hope Vallley and left to Bradwell. Then over to Tideswell, on to Millers Dale and up the hill to Taddington. Then over to Monyash (The Old Smithy there does very nice butties and milkshakes) on to Bakewell for a wander around and then back to Hathersage via Hassop and Grindleford. (~30 miles)

Shorter (about 16 miles): South from Hathesrage and turn right up to Abney. Past the gliding club to Foolow and then to Eyam and Grindleford. Then do the climb up Padley Groge to Fox House (used to have quite good food there - not been there recently, though) and over surprise view to Hathersage. (The cafe at Calver serves nice cakes if you detoir a little)

Longer and nice and very scenic: (50 miles) Same route to Tideswell via Bradwell as above. Bear left towards Litton and down Bottomhill to Cressbrook and Monsal Dale (very pretty). Up the local hill climb to Little Longsdale and pootle down to Ashford in the Water. Right and first left on the A6 up Sheldon Hill (nice and steep) and over to Monyash for refreshment. Then carry on south toward the A515. Left onto Long Rake at the top of the hill before the A515 and wend your way over to Middleton by Youlgreave. Through Elton and Winster and the over the bump (steep descent) to Darley Dale. Cross the A6 and up the hill (20%) on the other side onto Darley Moor left onto Screetham Lane. Across (leftish) at the 4way crossroad and then right to follow the ridge keeping the heather moor on your left. Then  left to keep following the ridge toward Eastmoor. Cross the A619 and then left. Bear right following the sign to Calver. Right onto the A621 to Owler Bar where left and folow the road back to Hathersage.

If you want to do Winnats, go up the valley to Castleton and up Winnats. Then bear left and follow the road to Sparrowpit and Chapel en le Frith. Then back via Rushup Edge. Left past Mam Tor and down into Edale to go back to Hathersage. (27 miles).

Going North, you can go to Bamford, past the Yorkshire Bridge pub (mentioned by Wow - good food last time were there!) and then do a loop of the Ladybower reservoir. (25 miles) (If you do a full loop of the reservoir, you need cross or hybrid bikes - the east side of the reservoir is dirt track. The west side is tarmac.)

Variations on the routes are numerous - most of the roads (except some of the A roads) are quiet and scenic.

Let me know if you need to know any more - I am just over the hill in West Sheffield....

[Tourist Tony]

Cafes? Grindleford Station, and Lover's Leap, Stony Stratford.

[bomber]

Hollybush Crack at Stanage, and Heather Wall at Froggatt are both very enjoyable.

Oh. You meant with the bike......

I particularly enjoyed three pebble slab at froggatt last weekend, first E1 lead!  (or HVS depending on your guidebook)

[Keeff]

The swimming pool cafe in Hathersage is very cyclist friendly.

Good food at very reasonable prices.  We often eat there when we're in the area.

Keith

[Tourist Tony]

Hollybush Crack at Stanage, and Heather Wall at Froggatt are both very enjoyable.

Oh. You meant with the bike......

I particularly enjoyed three pebble slab at froggatt last weekend, first E1 lead!  (or HVS depending on your guidebook)

My first E2 lead was at Froggatt, Sundowner.....

[teethgrinder]

Cafes? Grindleford Station, and Lover's Leap, Stony Stratford.

Is Grindleford Station cafe still open?
I remember that cafe from 1996. I had a huge chip butty for about £1.30 and a proper pint mug of tea.
Really good cafe that.

[clarion]

Grindleford Station is indeed still open.  We stopped off there last summer in a sile of rain.  Food great; service normal

Other good cafes in the area:

Three Roofs in Castleton
The one above the outdoor shop whose name I can't remember in Hathersage.

Pubs include the Scotsmans Pack at Hathersage, which used to do great food (can't comment now) and the Chequers Inn at Froggatt.

For riding, Hathersage is really the place to be.  It was pretty much the first stopping point after the drag up out of Sheffield.

Which reminds me: Fox House Inn is a good pub, though the service last time I went was crap.  I may have been unlucky.  It's handy for the Edges, though.  The roughstuff ride to Moscar Top is a good one (though I am not sure if it's a bridleway ).  It's a great walk anyway (and used to link the extreme edge of two Sheffield bus routes for a cheap day out, and always teeming with climbers. )

You can ride all the way round the three reservoirs, too, though it can get challenging in places.  Again, much good walking round there.

I used to like riding up the valley then up either Winnats Pass or Mam Tor (if its still passable by bike ) to Rushup Edge and over to Chapel en le Frith.

As someone said, taking the road up through Bradwell is a good choice, and opens up a whole load more lovely roads.

Hope you have a lovely time whatever.  I am dead jealous.

[Tim Hall]

Right then. Reporting back.

We stayed at St Michaels Enviromental Education Centre, opposite the George Hotel.  I got in touch with Peak Ales and bought a firkin of Swift Nick.

All told there were 32 of us. Youngest was 4, oldest was 61.  I'm some where in between. Some walked, some cycled, some climbed, some horsed.

Cyclingwise on Good Friday afternoon, I and two others went up towards Abney, then right up a narrow lane which petered out on the moor and a byway. They were on MTBs, whilst I was on the Mighty Mercian Audax with 28m tyres. It wasn't too bad, although I walked one bit as we descended to Brough. It was a bit rainy, so shelted and sustenance were sought. The first pub looked a bit posh, and we were muddy, so we decided to try the next towards Hathersage, which was even posher and holding a wedding reception.  So a couple more miles saw us in The Anglers' Rest in Bamford.  Not a long ride, but enjoyable.

Saturday morning, I, Mrs. Hall and The Boy drove to Bakewell and then accompanied two more occassional cyclists from the party along the Monsal Trail to the Monsal Viaduct and back.

Saturday afternoon I went with the eldest member of the team round the reservoir. I suggested going up Winnats instead, but he wasn't up for that. We went along the main road then right towards Bamford, then onto the disused railway that runs up to the Ladybower Dam. There's a variable surface track round the west side of Ladybower which finally comes out on the A57.  Hang a left up the west side of the other bit of Ladybower reservoir to the Upper Derwent dam, then road and track down the east side to the A57 again. Skipped the Yorkshire Bridge and back to the Anglers' Rest, then home for curry, cooked by the younger people of the group. 

Sunday saw a foot powered expedition to Stanage Edge, going past North Lees Hall, where Charlotte Bronte envisaged Mr. Rochester jumping off the burning roof of Thornfield Hall.  Lunch was taken at the foot of the rocks, then some walked on, whilst a few of us, young and not so young did a spot of climbing. After I struggled up a not-very-hard-at-all climb, I was accused by one of the Young Ladies of making "Old Man Noises", which raised a smile. Then back to Hathersage for roast beef and birthday cake. 

[clarion]

Sounds like a grand weekend

[Tourist Tony]

28m tyres? Low pressure, were they?
 

[Tim Hall]

Low pressure, but they wear really well. Which is handy,as changing a tyre takes about 3 hours...

(poxy keyboar, droppng lettrs like that.)