Mam Tor – Circular walk
During our 2017 visit to the Peak District, we decided to do a circular walk of Mam Tor. We printed off the walk recommended by the National Trust. At the end of this post, we’ve included their map and a link to their website so you can print it off too.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk, not very challenging and taking just over 2 hours. We didn’t rush, and took lots of photos – I’m sure it could be done quicker if you wanted to. Here’s our experience of Mam Tor;
We set off from the National Trust carpark, heading up the hill through the trees. Bare right along the road and you will very soon reach the steps that will take you up to the path that will take you to the Mam Tor trig point.
View from Mam Tor path.
When you reach the Tom Hyett Memorial, you have reached Hollins Cross. Now is the time to leave the Mam Tor path and go through the gate (in the photo) and bare right down the hill.
Because of the time of year, the decent down this path became very wet and boggy. It was a bit of a challenge to find a route that didn’t involve getting a boot full of mud. Another couple had similar issues, but we managed it and it was fun.
If you’ve used the correct path to descend down, then you should eventually come down to this point, with the National Trust Mam Farm sign behind you (see above).
Bare right and walk along the road, then the next thing you should come across is the Mam Tor landslide. You can’t miss it because the road has been torn to shreds.
It’s quite a sight, a total contrast to the beauty of the landscape up on Mam Tor path. This is referred to as an active landslide that began some 4000 years ago and is caused by “weak shales underlying sandstone” on the south east side of Mam Tor.
Next up on our circular walk was Blue John Cavern, Shop and Cafe. It was closed when we passed it.
We made our way up to the cafe and then across the field behind. Eventually, once you have passed through the the field of sheep you will reach an opening onto the road. Cross straight over and you should see the sign for WindyKnoll (see below).
You should then come to the Windy Knoll cave. When we visited, there was no signage and the fencing that was around was just laying on the floor. We didn’t venture too close, as we assumed that the fencing was there for a reason.
This is the last sight to see on our Mam Tor circular walk. All that is left to do is head off towards the road, and then back to the National Trust carpark where we started from.
If you’ve not yet joined the National Trust, then here’s some more info about the benefits.