I'm hoping to finish on the plantation descent but can't seem to string something together that doesn't involve lots of road miles. Any suggestions?
By plantation decent, do you mean from the top of long causeway down through the car park?
Yes he does, Stannage is good but it's an island in a road sea
Everything - legal - I've done round there has involved extended tarmac bashing. I'd maybe think about something linear using train stations as an alternative; start from Hope maybe then wend your way over?
Plantation I assume you mean the flagstoned narrow trail that switchbacks near the top before going into trees and then out into the open over grass before the road
Apart from variations on the Stanage/Jumble Rd/Blackamoor/Houndkirk/Redmires/Stanage loop the only other time I've done stanage was to include some road:
Up from Ladybower? (the grass) dam on the backroad, down bamford clough (the badly concreted rough one) into the back of bamford
Up Hurst Clough, up roads to and up Long Causeway (a bit techy up .. ), down Stanage plantation, then down on road to the valley bottom past brookfield manor into the back of hathersage
Up through leadmill and up/skirt the hill to Shatton Moor, down bradwell edge (guessing very cow trodden atm
then add in what you like. Cavedale, Greenlands, Beast made it a big ride for me
Not legally, and even so you still need to use some road to access Stanage from either end, and to leave it again from the carpark.
I found the footpaths littered with styles & gates which made progress infuriating & slow