Win Hill

Distance 4.5km; Ascent 280m; with Isabel

See route in new window

As the weather was nice for a change, Lynsey had decided to go away backpacking for the weekend, leaving just Isabel & I to go out for a walk this morning.  It had been a while since I had last taken Isabel up to the top of a hill so I opted for shortish walk up Win Hill in the Peak District as I hadn't been there since 2009.

Morning mist below Ladybower Reservoir

We set off from the car near the Yorkshire Bridge Inn at around 10:30am and headed down the road to the River Derwent.  The morning mist had yet to fully clear from the valley and it was surprising cold!  I had opted for the path up Parkin Clough, which was signed by a new signpost from the Peak & Northern Footpaths Society, who seem to like to sign many of the footpaths hereabouts.

New footpath sign

By now the mist had fully cleared and it was becoming quite a warm day, which combined with the steepness and the fact I was carrying Isabel on my back made for tiring work as I ascended Parkin Clough.

Path up Parkin Clough

Eventually the angle of the ground eased and it was a pleasant walk up through less dense woodland to reach the moorland above.  We continued, with good views down to Ladybower, to the summit of of Win Hill (HuMP), which we reached at around 11:20am.

Win Hill trig point

View west from Win Hill

After a brief break for a bite to eat for the both of us and to admire the excellent views across the surrounding moorland of the Peak District, I decided that it was time to descend.  Initially I retraced our steps until we had entered the woods again and reached a signposted junction.  I didn't fancy going back down Parkin Clough as it would be slippy in descent and none of the other signposted routes went anywhere helpful so I opted for a pleasant looking unsigned forest path heading roughly towards Ladybower.

Woodland path back down to Ladybower

The path was generally good and apart from a brief encounter with a dog that tried to nip me on the ankle (but it was unsuccessful as I had boots on), the descent down to Ladybower was uneventful.  The reservoir seemed reasonably empty, but I suppose that is to be expected given the time of year, and there were good views over to one of the viaducts from the dam.  After crossing the dam, we turned right along the main road to reach the car soon after midday.

Ladybower Reservoir from dam