The Outside Hope Valley Round

The OHVR is a 20 mile route in the rugged dark peak area of the Peak District National Park. Starting in Hathersage, the route circumnavigates the Hope Valley, taking in the peaks of Shatton Edge (370), Bradwell Edge (370), Mam Tor (517), Hollins Cross (426), Back Tor (417), Lose Hill (476), and Win Hill (463). 

The stats

Distance: approximately 20 miles / 32 km. (Depending on pitstops and navigational choices)

Terrain: a mix of paths, tracks, and roads.

Altitude: over 1000ft / 305 m. 

Ascent: 4490 ft / 1360 m.

Skills: basic navigational (weather dependent)

Kit: OS map OL1, OMM Halo waterproofs, La Sportiva mutant trail shoes.

The route

The OHVR is a self-navigated route starting and finishing from Outside shop and Cafe. The route can be undertaken either clockwise or anticlockwise. Along the route there are seven checkpoints to be captured by photograph and a midway checkpoint to record the time. On completion you can check into Outside Cafe and join their role on honor. The checkpoint coordinates and suggested route (GPX file) can be found on the Outside webiste at: Outside Hope Valley Round

The adventure

On 6th of October, Myles and I were in the Peak to take on the Dovedale Dash (6 miler), but due to a full River Dove making the crossing too feisty and saturated parking fields the event was unfortunately cancelled. The OHVR had been sat on the wish list for some time, and with a perfect forecast of bright skies and a gentle breeze, it was a seize the day moment. 

We checked the campervan into a site in Bradwell, conveniently centered right in the middle of the Hope Valley. Aware our preparation wasn't to run a 20 mile route this weekend, we thought a planned escape was probably wise. The Hope Valley has a great bus service, so we were able to leave the camper in Bradwell and bus to Hathersage for a 9:30am start. 

We chose to go clockwise and headed down to the first check point at Leadmill Bridge. Heading off road the route takes the less obvious trail away from the river up towards Callow Wood. The initial elevation is gentle enough and gradually picks a route through woods and moorland to the radio mast on Shatton Edge, check point two. The route turns into track and arches around to Bradwell Edge. Looking across the valley at this point to Win Hill you can see the whole route become apparent. The route dips steeply into Bradwell, here we found it muddy and torn up so care was needed to stay upright. Whilst in Bradwell we couldn't resist the temptation to pop to Brook Cafe for a homemade flapjack and to rehydrate. (Afterall today we weren't racing!) The roads up and out of Bradwell are too steep to run, so I used the opportunity to refuel on the move. Passed Bradwell the route travels back off road through moorland and cattle fields. After Bagshawe Cavern it took some careful examination of the os map to make sure we picked the trails up on the correct side of the stone walls, we did venture down an animal track at one point and needed to double back. Check point three is at Old Moor Track where the Limestone Way crosses the route and we were back on farm tracks passed Rowter Farm towards Mam Tor. This is where the route gets busy, on a bright day we knew Mam Tor would be a popular destination and the paths were pretty populated. The trig point on Mam Tor is pretty much the halfway point and the fourth check point. Now up on the ridge we traversed across the skyline, taking in Hollins Cross, Back Tor and check point five at Lose Hill. The ridge is prominently flag stones, so made for easier running, and a decent desent, but this was simmered by meandering groups of walkers. Now about 13 miles in were reaching the limit on what we could consistently run that day. From Lose Hill at 476m the route takes you all the way back down into Hope Village at 150m before going straight back up to Win summit at 463m. Before the final push we took the opportunity walk into Hope and find more refreshments before taking on Win Hill. We decided to compromise a desired time with finishing the route and knowing our limits for that day and agreed to walk the final 5miles. Win Hill although not the highest peak in the Hope Valley is in my opinion the most epic, with its roman roads, craggy top, native woods and views of the not only the Hope Valley, but also Kinder, Edale, Lady Bower Reservoir and dark peak great edges of Bamford and Stanage. From here I must admit I thought I was nearly back, but there was still a fair stretch and at least 100m elevation to do. We came off Win Hill to Bamford village up through the lanes and around the golf course. We were not back off road and crossing some very muddy fields finding our way to Nether Hurst farm and back into Hathersage. Checking back into the shop we have now joined the role of honor in Outside Cafe and pinned our photo to the board.

Jubilant with our adventure we rewarded ourselves with a visit to the Intrepid Brewery who were very conveniently having an open day and located right by the bus stop before our campsite. 

This is a challenging route, but it is magnificent. It would go well anytime of the year, although areas around Nether Hurst and Leadmill Bridge would likely become very muddy in wetter seasons. I look forward to taking it on anticlockwise soon with a few more miles in my legs.