A walk in the Peak District along the breezy Losehill with a view over Castleton and the Hope Valley

• Distance - 14.1 kilometres
• Terrain - open country or good paths, all uphill fro the first mile or two
• Map - Outdoor Leisure 1, The Dark Peak
• Refreshments - in Edale there are 2 pubs, the Nags Head and the 'Jolly Rambler' both serving food. There is also a small cafe by the railway station. I didn't see if it is still there or not but there also used to be a little cafe in the village made of a couple of old railway trucks knocked together - its probably been closed by bureaucrats on health grounds

Click on this image to order the map for this walk direct from the Ordnance Survey

Getting there - Edale is served by trains to Manchester and Sheffield
by road, you must come via the A625. From the west, take the unclassified road signposted Edale just before Mam Tor. From the East, take the right hand turn opposite the church in Hope Village. In winter, if it is icy and you don't like steep roads, take the approach from Hope village anyway
The walk starts and ends at the car park in Edale, which are provided with toilets

1. from the car park entrance, turn left and walk along the road for a few hundred yards or so until coming to a track on the right just before some houses. Take this track up hill, past Peter Barn where it becomes just a path until you come to the top of the ridge at Hollins Cross
2. From here, you continue along the ridge with sweeping views , past the rocky scar of Back Tor, until you come to Lose Hill at the end. You will have sweeping views of the Hope Valley on one side, and Castleton with Peveril Castle on the other
3. From Losehill the path drops down towards Hope - where the path forks, take the left fork. The path eventually becomes enclosed and drops you down on the Hope Valley road. turn left along the road, cross the river at Townend Bridge
4. Take the track on the far side of the bridge. this track continues some way up the hill, which eventually flattens out with woodland on your right. After passing a number of walls and the guide post shown on the OS map, take the path to the left, which takes you to the top of Jaggers Clough
5. from here the path is easy to follow, skirting above the fields in the valley to your left
6. At the Youth Hostel, the path goes through the grounds of the hostel itself, then carries on above Woodhouse farm, through Nether Ollerbrook and Ollerbrook Booth until it drops into Edale village and you walk back to the car park