Anyone familiar with the Peak District will know what a great place it is to go walking, but three particular treks have been highlighted in a national survey of the UK’s favourites, one of them very close to Castleton.
Consumer group Which? carried out its poll to find the top 50 walks, actually producing a list of 51 as two came in level at the bottom. Of these, three were located in the Peak District: Stanage Edge, Mam Tor and the Dovedale to Milldale route.
Only the Lake District (six) had more of the most popular routes, although Cornwall and Northumberland also contributed three to the list.
Visitors booking in for bed and breakfast in Castleton will have very easy access to one of them, as Mam Tor looms over the village, making it the perfect base for the walk.
The peak is over 1,500 ft high and features an Iron Age hill fort, as well as panoramic views over the Vale of Edale, the Kinder Plateau and other peaks such as Win Hill, not to mention back down into Castleton.
One way to enjoy the hill is to take in a two hour circular walk from the National Trust car park at Mam Nick, from where it is a very short walk to the top before the walk continues down the ridge to Hollins Cross and then follows the old road that closed in 1978 due to subsidence from this ever-shifting hillside, as well as passing (or visiting) the Blue John Mine.
However, undertaking that route does require getting to the small car park early before it is full and a great benefit of staying in Castleton is you can enjoy Mam Tor as part of a longer circular walk, taking on the full length of the ridge as far as Lose Hill.
While Mam Tor may have made a national list of favourite walks, anyone coming to Castleton with their hiking boots can discover the many other great routes around this beautiful part of the world.
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