M is for Mam Tor
We were up and out early this morning to re-walk a favourite icon, Mam Tor and The Great Ridge. It was also the perfect excuse to bag a trig (again) and an couple of Ethels! It was fun but rather spooky at times as we've walked in all weathers but never completed a full ridge walk in total cloud.
Our route took us from Hope (we plotted it from Castleton but a last minute change saw as snag some parking and go for it) up the southern slopes of Lose Hill and onto The Great Ridge.
Sitting some 40m below the height of Mam Tor we were convinced we'd break through the clouds and be treated to a stunning inversion but it wasn't to be. With visibility down to just a few metres in places the ridge had a surreal feel with no references for height/drop.
On our approach to the summit of Mam Tor the clouds almost parted before looming once again to give us a view of the summit and trig we've never had before.
We descended via the land slip, now thought to have happened almost 3000 years ago, and down onto the abandoned road. Some sections have slipped such that the road surface is out of kilter by several metres and makes for an eery sight, even without heavy cloud.
We followed Odin Stitch into Castleton to arrive just as the sun made an appearance before looping back to Hope via the fields around Peakshole Water, passing near to Hope Cement Works and its iconic chimney stack.
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