We are taking the to bus to either Castleton or Bakewell and would like a walk of 4 or 5 miles to see some of thePeak District.
We would like to walk on footpaths and not on roads and to have some great views, and of course it has to be near where the bus will take us.
Would Bakewell or Castleton be the more interesting place to see?
Any recommendations for which walk to take?
Posted by
Lake District, England
8127 posts
One I would suggest is on the Monsal trail from Miller's Dale into Bakewell (that direction due to bus frequency and ending in a bit bigger town)-
Bus #65 at 0910, 1110 or 1316 (bound for Sheffield and Meadowhall shopping centre) for the 20 minute ride, then about a 6 mile walk to Bakewell. The trail is a converted old railway line, so easy walking.
https://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/places-to-visit/trails/monsaltrail
Afterwards you could take the Open Top Bus from Bakewell to Chatsworth (number Red Sightseer) every 30 minutes, changing to the Blue Sightseer Open Top Bus for the 1 hour ride to Castleton, leaving on the hour every hour, then the normal bus #62 back to Buxton at 1805, arrive 1901, via Edale.
If the weather is as good tomorrow as forecast (I hope so, as I am in a different corner of Derbyshire which the tourists don't get to) that would make a great and scenic day out.
Posted by
OP
518 posts
Thank you! Yes that does sound like a lovely day out! And so far it looks like the weather will be good. Hope you have a nice time in the area you are in.
Today we did a nice walk through Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens, the Serpentine, and Corbar Woods up to a nice look out at Corbar Cross.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2320 posts
There are three suggestions for walks from Castleton here. They are all great walks. You could combine the Cave dale and Wynatt's Pass walks to make a longr walk.
If the Mam Tor route is a bit too long, you could cut it short after Mam Tor by dropping back down to Castleton from Hollins Cross.
Also if time allows, add a visit to one of the caves too....
Posted by
OP
518 posts
I didn't see the red and blue sightseer buses on google maps. Do you know what website I can find their schedule and pick up locations?
Posted by
Lake District, England
8127 posts
Peak Sightseer Blue- https://www.derbysbus.info/times/timetables/SYC%20BLUE%20Low%20Edges-Chesterfield-ChatsworthHouse-Bakewell-Castleton%20Grindleford%20Diversion%20ver2.pdf
Peak Sightseer Red- https://www.derbysbus.info/times/timetables/SYC%20RED%20Chesterfield-Bakewell-ChatsworthHouse%2011%2005%202024%20until%2026%2010%202024%20Fares%20Added.pdf
All services in Derbyshire are here- https://www.derbysbus.info/places_index/places_a_d.html
This is the Stagecoach detailed web page about the sightseer buses- https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/yorkshire/peak-sightseer
Posted by
OP
518 posts
Thank you again for the info! We did end up using the sightseer bus.
What we did, because we were not sure about walking 6 miles on the Monsal Trail, is take the Transpeak bus from Buxton to Bakewell, walk around Bakewell, walk from Bakewell to Chatsworth and walk around the grounds of Chatsworth but not go in ( another time) and then take the Sightseer back to Bakewell (the 218 would have been cheaper but the driver only charged us 4 pounds each because we were just going to Bakewell), walk around Bakewell some more, then take the Transpeak back to Buxton. It was a fun and beautiful day. Bakewell has a great church by the way.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8127 posts
Glad it all worked out well. Hope you haven't got too drowned today.
I was thinking yesterday when I was in Tintwistle/Hadfield that if you want to go down a limestone cave (as opposed to Blue John at Castleton) and see the stalactites and stalagmites you could visit Poole's Cavern in Buxton. It has been a Visitor attraction since Victorian Times, and the Cave is believed to have been used by the Romans.
Take a walk in the adjacent Country Park to the folly called Solomon's Temple (a viewpoint)- which is on the site of a bronze age barrow. In the Country Park you will also see the remains of lime burners from the 18th century.
There is also a Go Ape course in the Country Park to go walking high in the trees on zip wires.
Posted by
OP
518 posts
We did hike up to Solomon’s Temple folly today, going through Buxton County Park on our way. It was very beautiful, especially the area up near the folly, that has great views and grassy bumps from a former farm or other site. It was very windy. We didn’t go in the caverns but bought some nice polished rocks at the gift shop. Maybe we will go in tomorrow, though I think we are headed for Ashford in the Water, maybe Haddon Hall and again Bakewell.