Bradwell Moor walking with my brother

 Bradwell Moor walking with my brother

26/07/24



This route is an off the beaten track walk for the Peak District. Our day started at Castleton car park where so many walks begin. We both arrived around 7.45 and set off about 8.



The main street through Castleton was empty as we made our way beyond the green towards the unassuming entrance to Cave Dale.



Through the mysterious passage between the limestone cliffs into the dale.


Pretty soon the path ascends up the very steep vale with a sheer green slope on our right up towards Peverill Castle. At the base of the slope in the photo on the left can be seen a rabbit. We disturbed many as we climbed up the hill.



Looking up the hills above the trees we could see 2 eagles soaring.



From further up the slope we looked back to see Peverill Castle from a level height. We pondered if the attackers in medieval days could have used the heights to attack the castle. Perhaps using trebuchets or crossbows. 

Further up the hill the longer views dominated and we could make out Lose Hill and the edges in the distance.



Bradwell Moor on our left had a number of big black beef cows and many sheep. One of the cows was full on the path but as we passed him he was more interested in cropping the lovely green grass on the path than our presence. This path is called the Limestone Way and is very quiet.


Looking to the right we could see the bulk of Mam Tor looming in the distance. Looking back down the path the unmistakable peak of Win Hill was easy to make out.




We took a slight detour to the trig point on Bradwell Moor. The views from this hill were epic. The extra height made all the difference. In all directions there was interest. We had a cup of coffee on the bench around the trig point and dawdled for a time as it was hard to leave. The locals were keeping an eye on us but seemed friendly enough.

So far we had encountered no one.






Returning to the Limestone Way we set off towards the Cop.


We passed through a field full of very chilled calves and cows 


At this point our route deviated from the Limestone Way and headed over some very lush grassy fields back towards Bradwell Moor. This is part of Peak Forest but there weren't many trees. I think forest must have a different meaning.


 
As we crossed the large field towards the moor a group of cattle and sheep got excited, running towards us, as they thought we were going to let them through the gate onto the lush pasture but they were disappointed as our route did not go through their field.







A skylark watched us from a fence post but flew on when we came near.















This section of the moor was fenced off and looked well grazed but did include a lot of old mine workings culminating in a large quite deep hole with some large industrial piles of debris close by. 













We left the moor and onto a stretch of lane that is a roman road. It always makes me tingle to believe that this structure in the landscape in essence has been there since roman legionary sandals pounded the road, they saw essentially the same views as we were seeing.... awsome.
Our discussion came back to the fact that in all this walk and we were well over half way we had seen nobody. Its so close to the Castleton hotspot but totally quiet.








We passed through Bradwell stopping for a coffee at a convenient bench on a green. We both agreed the town had the air of a cornish holiday village as we dropped down the hill into the valley. We almost expected to see a harbour and the sea at the bottom. We thought it looks like a place with potential, a little cleaning up, a few cafes etc and it could be an attraction.

We did pass a few locals here and everyone said hello or chatted. This is a lovely friendly village. Leaving the village the road narrows to a small well maintained path. 






The path took us past the giant cement works which perhaps explains why Bradwell is not as well visited as Castleton.




A short walk up a steep hill and then along a very narrow road gave us some great view over towards the hills above Castleton from Lose Hill to Mam Tor. Some of the little copses were full of old trees, really good to see. We were passed by a few bikes on this route but only a couple of cars. 



In what seemed no time at all we were back to the start at Castleton.

The total climb on this walk is a respectable 1589 feet but it felt much less.







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