Off Grid camping in fairy tale woodland | Peak District
Snake Woodland | Ladybower Reservoir
We’ve been to Peak District numerous times in the past as it’s only 2-3 h journey from where we live. It’s such a beautiful part of Great Britain. I love the fact that The ‘Kinder Mass Trespass’ took place within what is now the Peak District’s boundary, a group of working-class pioneers paving the way for the countryside access we all enjoy today.
What was the Kinder Mass Trespass?
On 24th April, 1932, hundreds of men and women defied the law to walk over hills and moorland to the plateau of Kinder Scout, Derbyshire, in what would become the Peak District National Park. The protest was led by 20-year-old Benny Rothman, Lancashire secretary of the British Workers’ Sports Federation (BWSF), which organised walks and cycling trips for young workers from Manchester and surrounding mill towns. It followed a confrontation with gamekeepers, three weeks earlier, during a BWSF Easter camp when ramblers attempting to reach another peak, Bleaklow, were turned back. The plan for the Mass Trespass was for ramblers from Manchester to meet up with groups from other places - including Sheffield - at the Kinder plateau. Estimates vary of the numbers taking part - at the time the Manchester Guardian estimated 400 people had been involved in the Mass Trespass. The BWSF had called for a rally in the village of Hayfield on 24th April - but this was a diversion, drawing in one third of the Derbyshire police force, which expected Communist unrest. Meanwhile, trespassers met at Bowden Bridge quarry, with Rothman addressing hundreds of ramblers before they set off. At William Clough, trespassers were confronted by gamekeepers and scuffles broke out. A gamekeeper was injured. The trespassers broke through, running through prohibited land to Kinder plateau and meeting up with ramblers from Sheffield from the 'other side'. Trespassers agreed to walk back to Hayfield ‘with heads held high’ – but police were still there, waiting to make arrests. The arrest of six young men – and subsequent imprisonment of five – unleashed a wave of sympathy for the ramblers and fuelled the ‘right to roam’-movement. (Source)
We’ve camped in Peak District in the past on few campsites near Castleton. This time we decided to go on a little off grid adventure. I found this place on YouTube, and I’ve been thinking about going there ever since. Snake Woodland and Snake Path is a 12.1 kilometer loop trail located near Hope. This beautiful woodland has a magical feel to it and it’s surrounded by rolling hills pine trees, heather and broken and bubbling streams. It’s is just off the snake pass Road (A57).This trail has a mix of everything from Woodlands and the streams to moorelands and hilltops. You won’t be disappointed with the variety on this route. I was mesmerized by misty trees, smell of fine woods and the sound of streams. I wasn’t impressed with the amount of rubbish that wild campers have left behind. I couldn’t believe that people can go to such a lovely place, camp and then leave all their shit behind , pardon the language but there isn’t any other way to describe it. In fact there was a lot of wild campers there which is great ,nice to know taht there are places in the UK that still allow wild camping to happen but God please make sure that you clean up after yourselves! I’m sure that not everybody is the same, but something needs to change! So this was the only bad experience for me, I still loved the place. We ended up parking our van accross the road at a little car park. It was free , no facilities on site. We only stayed there for one night. So after exploring this magnificent woodland the next day we tried to find the B-29 overexposed crash site. Just a few miles to the east of Glossop over the A57 seven snake pass. We were doing so well on our little hike up but unfortunately we had to turn around because our toddler was getting a little bit too tired, it started to rain and our backss were hurting us from the hike from the previous day so we decided to abort the mission. We still enjoyed the walk, we had a lot of fun on the way there, unfortunately we didn’t see the crash site but at least we have an excuse to go back when our son will be a little bit bigger and able to to walk on his own. On the way home we stopped at Ladybower reservoir so Buster could have his swim and later we stopped in Castleton to get some fish and chips and to see this beautiful town once again.
Locations:
Do not use post codes found online, they will take you to a wrong location. Simply type in Snake Woodland, Snake Rd, Hope Valley and it should take you to the right car park.
Ladybower Reservoir, Hope Valley, S33 0AX
Castleton, Hope Valley, S33 8WN
