Mam Tor Circular Walk

Mam Tor is located on the southern edge of the Dark Peak above the village of Castleton in the Peak Districts Hope valley. This is one of the Peak Districts most popular locations, due to the easy access and the outstanding views from the summit of the hill.

There’s a car park located on the main road and parking is also available on the surrounding roads. At the top of the car park, climb the steps and follow the path up the hill to the summit. The climb is relatively easy and will take you around fifteen minutes.

The trig point marks the summit from where you can take in the views over the Edale valley to the North and the Hope valley to the South. From the summit, you can carry on down the paved pathway which follows the original track where you will come to some gates.

From here, you can either carry on in a North Westerly direction, or take a right hand turn where the path runs back down the hill. You will see the old road curving up the hill, back to where you started. This is the site of the famous Mam Tor landslip and after around twenty minutes walk, the path will meet up with the road. Landslips started here around four thousand years ago and the original road here was laid in the eighteen hundreds and repairs continued until the road was eventually abandoned in nineteen seventy nine.

On the road, you will be able to see some of the original road features and how attempts have been made over the years to repair the road, with some of the tarmac and gravel being up to two meters thick in places. The land slip area continues as you climb the hill. A set of gates brings you back onto the open part of the road. On the left here, you will see one of the Blue John caverns which are open to the public

By continuing up to hill a short way, you will come back to the car park where we originally started. The whole walk should take you no more than two hours and is around three miles in length