i’ve been once before a few years ago but made a crap route choice and it pissed down.

So i’ve got a chance to go again next week and wanna get it right this. I wanna do something around hope/ladybower/cut gate but not sure what exactly.

I’ve got the vertebrae book with a few routes. Appreciate advice on what’s best right now when it’s a bit wet. Or just what’s best year round.

I don’t mind a technical challenge but nothing too mental for me and my soul.

Cheers

Pick up this months mbuk magazine – there is a route in there which describes exactly where you want to go. Ive done the route a few times too and its great.

I’d avoid Cut gate in the wet

From Hope, head up the Roman Road to Hope cross, then down either straight across and down potato alley or turn right when you reach the crossroads at the top and down The Beast. Potato Alley is less steep but has loads of potato sized rocks, the beast is larger boulders, but more sheltered if the weather’s bad. If you go down the beast, turn right once you reach the road and ride about a mile until you get to Rowlee farm and ride up the track and then down to Ladybower using Lockerbrook descent, which is a really fast descent through the woods. Once you get to the bottom, turn right and ride past Fairholmes cafe until you reach the car park on your right. Just after the car park, turn right up the steep fireroad. follow it to the right and you’ll come out at the top of the track above Rowlee farm. Ride down the switchbacks and cross the road, which will bring you out back at the bottom of the Beast. Push back up the Beast, and depending on how you’re feeling, either go back down the Roman Road or descend down the Jaggers Clough descent into Edale, ride up the valley until you reach the big car park, turn left and climb up to Hollins Cross, and choose your way back down into the Hope Valley from there.

sambob a lovely route mate 🙂

only change – at hollins cross go across to cave dale to finish

My fav route is, start a fairhomes up hagg side right then left at where the trails cross to cross th a57 follow the path to the left keeping the water to your left, up a bridleway to your right, cheeky footpath crossing to roman road/ hope brink. Hope cross, jagger clough, chapplegate, down rushup, road ride roud the valley to, path to dirtlow rake(?) Pindale, round to roman road climb back to hope cross down potato alley, cross the A57 past rowtree farm and drop down lockerbrook track (which is great).

About 25is miles all in and a good days riding

when you come down the beast, to get to rowlee/lockerbrook, don’t take that right, unless I’m going mad, he means left. bottom of the beast comes out at the bottom of hagg farm, it’s left up the a57 to rowlee/bottom of potato alley.

Onzadog is correct, left on the road at the bottom of the Beast to get to Rowlee Farm.

All good advice, and yes it is left at the road after the Beast! Other option is half ride/half push (it is all ridable for “hero” types) straight up Hagg Farm hairpins. All holds up pretty well round there even when piss wet.

Chapel Gate, Roych Clough (via Pennine Bridleway)and Jacob’s Ladder, all hold up well in the wet, a good loop from the end of Edale, worth doing both ways but I prefer clockwise and finishing with Jacob’s Ladder.

The top of Rushup Edge and descents of Hollins Cross are better left for drier conditions.

As for the suggestion of Cave Dale at this time of year, you’re a braver (or dafter) man than I!

I’ve got the vertebrae book with a few routes. Appreciate advice on what’s best right now when it’s a bit wet. Or just what’s best year round.

No-one’s mentioned it, I think, but the classic Jacob’s Ladder/Roych loop linking Edale and Hayfield holds up pretty well all year round – the Jacob’s bit is mostly rock, the Roych section is more earthy, but gets sludgy rather than muddy.

There are all sorts of options for extending it at either the Edale or Hayfield end of things (Coldwell Clough/Middle Moor/Hollins Cross etc), but you can also choose to do climbing on a good surface either way round (Highgate Lane/Chapel Gate… the latter is now eminently doable on a cross bike, which I never thought I’d write…)