Got a couple of days in the area before Xmas, won’t have bikes but will have walking shoes.
Any good walks we need to know about?
Or good pubs?
Or anything else that we should do or see?

Swim at the open air pool in Hathersage is a laugh. There are a few caves you can go down in Castleton – kind of fun. Watch the cave scenes from league of Gentleman first and try not to laugh through the tour for added excitement.

I’m not sure what sort of walk you’re after – if it’s a pleasant low level ramble with some pub stops you’ll be spoilled for choice starting from any of Edale, Hope or Hathersage. The OL maps is your friend, there are paths everywhere. The George in Hope is the one pub we seem to go into most.

If you want a more strenuous walk there are plenty of choices. Mam Tor circular walk being the obvious one. Stanage Edge is definitely worth a walk if you haven’t been.

There’s a few caves there open to the public – worth a gander (Castleton side). The Speedwell cavern is a flooded adit that you go on in a boat which is pretty cool. BUT the boat limits the number of visitors and it’s not worth a long queue IMO.
One of the dams up from Ladybower on the Derwent or Howeden reservoir has a small museum on the dambusters, think it’s on the west end of the dam (which you would need to get right as you can’t walk across the top of the dam).

Have you ever ridden the broken road? That’s an interesting feature to work into a hike, old A-road that’s land-slipped off the face of Mam Tor. Weird to think that it used to be the road to London back in the day.

Rent a bike and ride it until the Peaks grit grinds it and your nuts into a fine paste.

A walk up kinder scout (and to kinder downfall) from edale is always fun..

Other than that, endless biking..

Hathersage pool is normally a great shout but it’s closed for refurbishment at the moment and not due to open until the new year.

A trip to Downfall is a good shout. A bit further afield and there’s Bakewell and Chatsworth. Barrel Inn is in a nice spot, depends what kind of pub you like though. Bank House in Hathersage is relatively new and up market gin bar kind of place. And if it’s your kind of thing a coffee at David Mellors is nice too.

If I didn’t have a bike I’d definitely be going for a walk, there’s some lovely walking up there – mam tor, win hill, bleaklow, kinder etc

If you’re in Edale, head-up onto Kinder via Ringing Roger then cross the plateau where it’s narrow and onto the northern edge – which is much less popular than the route that goes round on the Downfall Edge – which is quite cool. Lots of rock formations and views down onto the Snake Pass. Turn left, carry on all the way along the edge then round, past Kinder Corner above Mill Hill and back along the popular side via the Downfall etc. On the northern edge you’ll likely see about three people all day.

Or you can do an Edale Skyline loop around Kinder then across to Mam Tor etc, which is good. Or you can do a complete circuit of the Kinder plateau by the edges – basically as above but slightly extended. There’s scrambling in the area too: Cicerone publishes a guidebook, Scrambles in the Dark Peak, quite a few on Kinder. If you’re feeling bold, you can climb the Downfall, which is a moderate in rock climbing terms and grade 2/3 in winter, but you’d best know what you’re doing on that front. Something like Grindsbrook Clough is more amenable.