Gentian Day Trip: Alport Castles (18th December 2022)

I haven’t got out walking at all in December, my weekends mainly being busy with brass band carolling and concerts, so I was looking forward to today’s Gentian meet in the Peak District. There have been lots of crisp, cold, sunny days recently, but sadly today was not such a day, with gloomy grey skies.

I set off from home around 7:45am, enjoying the drive up the Derwent Valley in my new car on its first major outing, and met the others at 9:15 at Fairholmes. Petra and Jane were new acquaintances for me, the others familiar from previous trips. The roads and paths around the visitor centre were pretty icy after the extended cold spell, so we hoped that it would be less compacted on the hill paths.

Soon we were under way, the seven of us heading up beside Locker Brook to the eponymous outdoor centre on the ridge above. The path through the woods wasn’t too bad, but the track along the ridge was mostly very icy. However, it was generally possible to get by on the softer snow on the verges, so I got away without putting my crampons on. At this point, Steve and Martin decided to head back down while the rest of us continued on the planned route.

The open moorland of Rowlee Pasture made for easier walking, the icy slabs of the path easily avoided on the snowy grass beside, and the bogs well frozen. Although the light and visibility were not good, we enjoyed views over the Woodlands Valley and Alport Dale. Before long we were looking over the landslip, cliffs and boulders of Alport Castles, looking impressive with a dusting of snow.

From there, we dropped down into Alport Dale, where we paused for an early lunch as it was a lot less windy than on the ridge. Then we continued down the track – icy again – to Alport Bridge and took a short loop of bridleway the other side of the River Ashop before ascending back up to Lockerbrook via Rowlee Farm, a path I don’t think I had used before. As the afternoon was getting increasingly drizzly, we opted to descend directly to Fairholmes rather than take the planned detour to Crook Hill, which was just about in the mist by that point anyway.

The road and car parks had thawed out quite a bit over the day, so the drive back to the gritted roads was less slippery than the approach had been in the morning. We paused for a drink in the Yorkshire Bridge Inn before heading to our respective homes.

Despite the murky weather, an enjoyable day out in good company, and I was happy to have got some snow under the boots before the big thaw comes tomorrow. Hopefully there will be more to enjoy in the Highlands in 10 days’ time! A map of our route can be seen here, and more of my photos here.