Deepcar to BamfordDeepcar to Bamford
The
First Ramble in Brief
The walk from Deepcar to Bamford,
taken loiteringly, with time allowed
for observation, requires from
five to
six hours.
The route along the edge of
the great open moorland that divides the upper course of the Don
and the Derwent,
and is perhape the most romantic
in
the whole Sheffield region,
if both natural beauty and historical suggestion are appreciated.
Omitting the rise at the beginning of the journey between Deepcar
and Bolsterstone,
and the descent at the end of
the journey between Lady Bower and Bamford, the general height
of the
route above sea level is a thousand
feet or more, with three dips
to about 750 feet where deep-cut streams are crossed. The up and
down character
of the walk is one of its charms,
for it brings invigorating upland airs from generous sweeps of
lofty moor, followed by the sylvan seclusion of rocky denes.
Back to top
. I
refer to the footpath along the top of Rivelin Rocks, till
the Dams are reached, followed
by the ascent of Wyming Brook, with a continuance along the Roman
causeway to Stanage Pole and Stanedge Edge, the descent to Stanage
cottage, and after that a tracing of upland lanes so as to pass
Moorseats, the scene of the latter part of Charlotte Bronte's
"Jane Eyre", with a drop to Hathersage past Camp Green
and the Church. Other ways are also traced to and from Stanage
Pole.
.........I dont think our ancient Sheffield worties
took their walks far from the town. Though they loved the scenery,
they chiefly
loved it near home............
......Just beyond the Inn at
Redmires you cross a cutting
which brings the water from
Oaking Clough to the reservoirs.
A footpath which enters our
road
on the right, a little further
on,
close to the house called Ocean
View, comes direct from Hollow meadows across the moors.........
......Decending from the end
of Hook's Car Sitch you come on the right to a gate barring a
little used lane. Going through it, and following the lane past
another
gate near a barn you come first
to Kimber Court, and then to Moorseats. This interesting house,
once one of the residences of the Eyres, the historical family
of Hathersage is the scene where
Jane Eyre, in the tale of that
name, fleeing across the moors,
falls fainting at the door of St.
John Rivers and his sisters,
who prove to be her cousins.........
Back to top
The
walk through the woodlands that climb the slopes of the valley
down which the Barlow Brook
flows is pleasing........
....the Barleys of Barley were
a notable family in olden times. Robert, of that name, was the
first husband of the famous Bess of Hardwick....
...........at the end of Lees
Lane, at
a height of about 550 feet above
sea level, we come out upon quite
a little surprise view, westward,
up the Caldwell, Coldwell, or
Cordwell valley. To the right the valley is bounded by the high
lands between the Peacock at
Owler Bae and Holmesfield.........
.............As we descend,
a hundred feet 
to the
corner of the Sheffield turnpike,
the view will open out in the
direction of Baslow, down the gorge between Bakestone Edge and
the rocky ridge which the Ordnance Map names as Gardrom's Edge,
but which Dr Wrench - a better authority - says should be Common
Edge.
But stay , and before you leave
this central height and joyously meet the sweet airs of the open
moor, turn back up Fox Lane, a hundred yards or so, between the
plantation through which you have come (now on your left) and
a dark little planting on your right. Where the earth over the
wall on your right begins to look trenched, and there is a gap
in the wall, cross the gap and go straight forward into the middle
of the squirrel-peopled copse and there, invisible from the road,
you will find an old, old stone cross, inviting you to sit on
its pedestal and think.......
This
walk is, in two respects, the best available near Sheffield.
First, it is the most easily
reached walk "along the tops". Second, it
can be cut short at four points
by those who do not wish to go the whole distance. Hence, anybody
can take it. By turning aside to Castleton it can be made a four
miles' walk. By going the whole round the distance is nine or
ten miles. The time needed for a
proper enjoyment of the walk
is
at least four hours, and five
hours would be better. Train to Edale station. It is fifty minutes'
railway run from Sheffield, the last twenty - five minutes being
one of the most attractive railway rides in England.
Cheese at Hope. It
has a clean parlour. Take sandwiches, for the route lies high,
and puts a keen edge on one's appetite.
The full round is from Edale to Mam Nick; thence to the top of Mam Tor; along the Mam Tor ridge to
Back Tor; by the back of Lose
Hill and down its lateral ridge to Townhead Bridge(Hope); past
the Cheshire Cheese, and then, without entering the main part
of Hope Village, go over Killhill Bridge and by Twitchell Farm
and the Ashopton footpath to the top of Win Hill. Circle half
round the plantation on Win Hill, keeping it to your right as
you descend, and so pass by the long buttressing slope of Win
Hill to Thornkill, and to Bamford station.
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