Words & Photos Ian Battersby

December 03 2009

I could see that the sun had broken the horizon even from within the shadowy depths of the Derwent Valley. It painted nearby hilltops with its warming glow. Luckily Crook Hill is not so large, and I’d soon be enjoying the display. The valley was echoing with the honk of geese, when I came face to face with one of the highlights of the trip.

There on a fencepost, right by the road, sat a tawny owl, only yards from me, almost dozing, yet holding a half interested gaze. I walked on by, leaving it in peace.

No path makes it to the crown of Crook Hill, which is a pity, because it’s fashioned from wonderfully craggy twin outcrops of rock, and the hillside plunges away from each, tracing sensuous curves into the valleys. I’d spied this hill before from afar, attracted by its curious shape set among the flat-topped hills that dominate the Dark Peak. Finally I’d managed to satisfy the nagging mental note to come for a visit. Luckily it lies in Open Access land, with no walls barring the way. Make sure you don’t use the nearby path as an excuse to pass it by. It makes a superb viewpoint for the Peak District edges and reservoirs, and throws in its own rocky spirit. While I’d been exploring, something had been watching my movements with nerves of steel. Finally my foot fell too close, and a pipit flew out of the grass inches from my freshly planted boot. I looked down to see a coil of grass, and inside the eggs of the incubating parent. I moved on quickly to leave her alone again, admiring the towering Wheel Stones on Derwent Edge instead.

The access area ends prematurely, but a bridleway came to the rescue, leading me further along the ridge, through lush pastures that border the conifers of Hagg Side, which soothed me in cooling shade, before chucking me out onto open moorland, baking in the climbing sun. A track saw me over this rougher terrain, and I refuelled with stream water before meeting with the next dramatic site.

Alport Castles is simply staggering. Its cliffs seem so out of place you might think them to be the remnants of an abandoned quarry, but this area is famed for landslides. You’re allegedly looking at the UK’s greatest natural landslip, which is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Part of the original moor survived the rupture. Known as Little Moor it remains intact across the chasm, while further on a lone tower of rock, isolated, but not yet beaten, stands in lonely defiance over the dark waters of a tiny tarn. Don’t linger too long – it’s still a fair way back along the valley – and there’s plenty of evidence that the land remains on the move, all be it at a gentler pace.

Distance: 11 miles/18km Ascent: 2300ft/700m Time: 6-7 hours Start/finish: First parking area on Derwent valley road (GR: SK 187875) Map: Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 110 (Sheffield & Huddersfield, Glossop & Holmfirth) Information: Glossop TIC, 01457 855920 Travel: Trains to Bamford Station; buses from Bamford, Sheffield and Manchester; information: Traveline, 0871 200 22 33, www.traveline.org

Technical Spec
Walk back along road to Crookhill Farm. Climb SW up through farm and onto Open Access land. Continue the climb to Crook Hill. Follow ridge NW, over second summit, to corner of field. Follow bridleway NW, passing the Hagg Side plantation. Continue NW on track following ridge to Alport Castles. After most of the crags take path NE, and drop into Derwent Valley. Follow road E then S to Fairholmes. Take path that shadows the W bank of Ladybower Reservoir for 2km to an open field below the car park.