Castleton seen from the Lose Hill, on the Mam Tor ridge, at the head of the Hope Valley. Peveril Castle was built in 1086 and can be seen, through the haze, between the gash in the hillside to its right and the zig-zag path, the only access, to its left. More easily seen in the larger view.

Under the castle, and accessed via the obvious gash in the hillside mentioned above, is Peak Cavern, one of the show caves open to the public in Castleton.

This view of Lose Hill is from the route up from Castleton. Lose Hill is at one end of the ridge which separates the Hope Valley from Edale.

Given good weather the route up Lose Hill, along the ridge to Mam Tor, across to the Winnats Pass and back to Castleton makes an excellent circular walk of around 7 miles with some splendid views both over the Hope Valley and Edale.

The ridge to Mam Tor from Lose Hill.

Mam Tor is just under 1700 feet high and is also known as the Shivering Mountain because, being made of banded shales, it is prone to movement in the form of landslips large and small.

The path from Lose Hill, as you can see here, is easy and straightforward.

Lose Hill, in the distance, and the ridge from Mam Tor.

This ridge is the dividing line between the White Peak (Limestone) on the Castleton side to the south and the Dark Peak (Millstone Grit) on the Edale side to the north. The ridge itself is Millstone Grit and Shale.

The dip in the ridge where a number of paths are seen to converge is called Hollins Cross and the high point in the ridge, where it touches the horizon, is Lose Hill.

Winnats Pass is now the only way out of Castleton to the West. The main route used to be the A6187 which runs close to Mam Tor but that is now permanently closed because of landslips.

This spectacular little gorge is cut through Carboniferous limestone in which the local caves are also formed whereas the Mam Tor ridge on the other side of the valley is the start of the Millstone Grits and Shales.