Mam Tor Circular, Peak District
Location: Castleton, Peak District, England
Length: 7 miles
Time Taken: 4 Hours
Difficulty: Moderate - Easy
Elevation Gain: 614m
Find the map at the bottom of the page.
Rugged green hills and dry stone walls engulf this National Park, and this hike encompasses everything that I love about the Peak District.
We started the hike in Castleton, an idyllic town located in the heart of the Peak District. It’s worth having a stroll around Castleton before beginning this walk as it’s full of charm. Parking is plentiful, some costing more than others and public toilets are also not hard to find.
A very soggy Castleton.
Once we had a gander about town, we followed signs towards Peveril Castle, the crumbling castle seen watching over Castleton. The route took us passed Peveril Castle and up through the valley behind Winnats Pass.
IMPORTANT TIP ALERT!! Once the valley on your right begins to level with the path, we then ignored the map for a bit and headed up onto the right side of the valley. You will soon join another path which takes you right along the top of Winnats Pass. (Pictured below)
What a sight to behold… and no, I’m not talking about my orange shorts.
Once I’d taken about 1,000 photos of this one spot, we moved on and headed towards Mam Tor. Mam Tor is referred to by locals as the ‘Shivering Mountain’ and holds many myths and legends of the Celtic tribes who lived on the Tor 3,000 years ago.
There are several routes you can ascend, we (my boyfriend) chose the steepest route, much to his amusement. Luckily Mam Tor isn’t officially a mountain so it doesn’t take too long before you’re at the trig point, 517m above sea level.
The stone path follows the top of the ridge for as far as the eye can see. This was the path we followed all the way over Black Tor and finally to Lose Hill, standing at 481m above sea level.
We then began the descent down the tor, and followed the footpath that leads into the centre of Castleton.
TOP TIP! Don’t forget to drive through Winnats Pass if you didn’t already do so on the drive in. (I’ll leave you with some cool pictures below…)
@amys_littletrips x