OT - Peak District help

To all that replied to this post - thank you. Spent a couple of fantastic days in Hathersage. Stayed at the Scotsman's Pack and could not fault it. Staff were so friendly and the cost of the room with an excellent breakfast included was great value. Couple of lovely walks and spoiled for choice with good pubs (frequented The George, Bank, Little John as well as the Scotsman). Thanks to all again.

 

Once walked from Penistone Station over to Langsett, Cut Gate Path then the Derwent valley. For the last 8 miles or so I was really looking forward to a slap up meal in the Marquis of Granby at Bamford before catching the train home. Got there, and it was a pile of rubble . Had to make do with a curled up sarnie from the garage .

 

I used to get caught out on my walks. An inviting "PH" on the map often turned out to be a block of flats (very bad) or an Indian (very good). These days I don't trust the maps, I try and ring ahead to make sure they're open.

 

Me and the missus have tickets for Focus in Holmfirth on sunday night and are thinking of making a weekend of it. Bearing in mind its the bank holiday, will Holmfirth be rammed?

 

If its warm ye..bt plenty of pubs / restaurants to go at..we go to picturedome a fair bit and have family in holmfirth..G2 Genesis nxt gig for me..

 

Are the walks well sign posted or do you need to be adept at using a map?

 

To be honest I think it's mandatory to be able to use a map, and if you're going higher up also a compass. The weather can change rapidly, although today's forecasts are very reliable. Ordnance Survey do a great app, which I use, but it costs around £29 per year. This allows you to plot routes, showing distance and elevation profiles, then follow them, and it also shows nearby landmarks, hills, places of interest etc. You can also exchange routes with friends.

I have friends who work for the Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team and they will tell you that one of their tasks is to rescue walkers who are perfectly fit to walk, but have just got lost because they don't know how to use a map and/or don't have a map with them, and are running out of daylight. Don't be tempted to use Google maps or similar for hill walking, it is worse than useless, most remote areas just show as green blobs with no features, paths, contours etc. Other mapping apps are of course available.

This is the OS Maps app: OS Maps App | Get Unlimited UK mapping on mobile & online (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)

There's some helpful and free info on map reading here: Map reading skills - beginner's guides (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)

 

I'm not a walker so can't comment on that aspect but Hayfield is nice, overlooked by Kinder Scout.
https://letsgopeakdistrict.co.uk/listing/hayfield/

 

Thank you.
Always fancied doing something like this but suspected not as easy as just turning up.
I’ve got a mate who does a lot of work up that way with guided tours etc and see his posts of people lost etc.
Think my best bet would be to arrange to go with him.

 

One idea is to go on a short walk where it's almost impossible to get lost, but then imagine you don't know where you are and try to follow it on the map. Watch out for rivers, woods, walls, fences, hills, valleys and of course paths, they're all marked on the OS map. Look at the route on a map at home before you set off and try to remember it, and print it out if you can.

I've taught a few people to read maps and I find the best way is to let them do it, wait until they go wrong, then try to explain why they've gone wrong and have another go. One of the most difficult skills is understanding contours, but you'll get the hang of it.

I would recommend a walk around Langsett Reservoir, starting at Langsett Barn car park, follow the reservoir, cross the Little Don river, up onto the moors, turn left towards the ruined farm called North America, down the hill and on through the woods, past the hamlet of Upper Midhope, across the top of the reservoir dam on the road and back through the woods to the car park. It will be heaving at weekends, so there's no chance of you getting lost as there'll be loads of other walkers there. Just make sure the people you ask are not as hopelessly lost as you are. On the way try to follow it on the map. It's about 4 miles in total.

You'll need to know the symbols used on OS maps, more info here Guide to OS Maps symbols | OS GetOutside (ordnancesurvey.co.uk)

 

I've found if you go to Langsett around 6pm its a lot quieter but still enough people around if you get lost. Usually take the top path out (its further ) which joins onto the path from the second car park near the Flouch roundabout and come back on the bottom path but you can cross the river onto the other side up to North America farm.

 

For an app, I also like OsmAnd+ which is free and uses open map data. As long as you have a fairly modern phone, you'd be able to store maps for the UK offline.
OS maps are the gold standard but country walking often means leaving phone reception zones so never rely on online maps. Be mindful of phone battery death as a hazard too, so I tended to carry a paper map in my backpack as backup.

Until confident to navigate on your own, walking groups (Ramblers Association or independent) are a good way to get out with like-minded people and a walk leader with the requisite skills. I used to help run Dearne Valley Walking Group until my back went but can no longer participate.

Finally, Northern College (among others) run map reading and navigation courses and whether you do it via a course or via less formal instruction from friends, it's a great skill to have.

 

Sheffield to Chatsworth House and on to Matlock/Wirksworth is really nice (or the other way), or from Burton to Matlock (though not strictly Peak District). You can really get off the beaten track, blissful isolation in the country.

 

Totally agree about relying on online maps. Just for clarification, the OS maps app also allows download of offline maps and works perfectly with no phone signal.

 

Yeah I phrased that badly. I meant OS maps are best, open maps with OsmAnd+ or similar are ok but any streaming map service reliant on an internet connection is a no-no.

 

Gi Royston Vasey a go, good pubs, good live music.