Win Hill dominates the central Hope Valley above Bamford. It is noticeable from Stanage Edge, from Kinder and from the Hope Valley itself. There is a short steep climb up to the summit from Yorkshire Bridge before a pleasant walk along the ridge, Hope Brink, before descending to Ladybower Reservoir. It is then a good walk along the track around the reservoir back to the starting point.

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North towards the Upper Derwent Valley

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Walk down the path leading out of the car park to meet the A6013 road at at the Ladybower Dam. Follow the public footpath across the dam and once at the other side turn left to reach the bottom of Parkin Clough. The route up Parkin Clough to Win Hill is steep. Follow the path alongside the stream, first through the woods where the path can be very muddy and slippery underfoot. A fence and gate is thankfully reached and once through this the path improves significantly. As an alternative, walk right from the dam and take the tracks that initially go towards The Springs then back to Parkin Clough meeting the route above at the end of the wood - a less steep route. Once out of the wood the view opens out and this same path is followed up to the trig point set on top of a rock formation. Here there is a fantastic view over the Hope Valley, over to Kinder, across to Stanage Edge, and most notably up the Derwent Reservoirs - arguably one of the best viewpoints in of the Peak District. (2.5kms. 290m. 1hrs. 20min.)

The route now follows the ridge along past Wooler Knoll to Hope Cross. From the summit descend through the rocks to reach the path below. Follow this gentle descent all the way to Wooler Knoll, along the grassy ridge of Hope Brink. It is possible to cut short this route short by descending to Ladybower Reservoir from this point, through the woods. However a longer route continues along the ridge, beside the forest edge to reach Hope Cross. Hope Cross points to Sheffield, Glossop, Edale and Hope itself. (4.0kms. 0m. 1hrs. 10min.)

From the gate, stile and wall complex at Hope Cross, use the stile to get into the forest and follow the obvious path that descends through the beautiful avenue of trees. Soon this path takes a sharp right and the path is followed all the way down to the reservoir. About half way down the wide path becomes thinner but due to some work by the MTB community this is an easier path to follow than before all the way to the track by the reservoir. At the bottom of the descent there is a good wide track around ladybower Reservoir which is followed east back to the dam. This is a nice walk around the reservoir, sometimes in the trees, sometime with views over to Crook Hill, or over to Stanage. But always a view of the busy A57 Snake Road. Towards the end, the track bends around south, to reach the Ladybower Dam. Cross the dam, across the road and then follow the path to return to the car park. (6.0kms. 20m. 1hrs. 50min.)

5th August 2024 A cloudy, windy and colder day to start with after a number of very hot summer days. Whilst spoiling the views, the walking was more pleasant. The views from Win Hill and the ridge never fail to impress; especially the view to Lose Hill, Mam Tor and the Edale Valley. Goo to sit with a coffee on the broken wall and see the trains rushing up and down the valley. Mid summer and not a busy day out on Win Hill.

6th December 2023 A lovely cold winters day with heavy frost replacing recent snow. Rather than Parkin Clough which would have been muddy walked along the alternative, that zigzaged up to the top of Parking Clough on a good track. Great views all around once out of the wood. Again took an alternative path down from Wooler Knoll to Ladybower. Followed the obvious tracks to the botton easily but these are not all marked on the map. A great day to be out and nobody about - the only time on Win Hill summit with nobody else - a record.

14th October 2021 It gets no easier to walk up Parking Clough. However once at the top most of the uphill is done for the day. There is a nice walk up to the summit of Win Hill and then down the path to Hope Cross. A very windy day but great views over the Hope Valley and down towards Edale. Once down through the forest it is along the reservoir. It was quiet today as the Snake Pass is being repaired and closed to traffic. Surprising how quiet the area becomes - or conversely how noisy the A57 is.

15th October 2020 A lovely autumn day with white clouds in the blue sky. Parkin Clough is always tough first out of the car but from then on the walk is great. I really like sitting on the broken wall on Wooler Knoll with the view down the Edale Valley. A peaceful place on a autumnal Thursday. The walk finished with a quiet wander along Ladybower reservoir; particularly quiet as the A57 is closed for road works.

30th December 2018 The dry summer has moved on and the route up Parking Clough is back to being quite muddy. Despite the rivers running full Ladybower Reservoir is still low, not as low as before but still low for the time of year.

19th June 2018 The day started out with clear blue skies. The views over the reservoir were fantastic. Later it clouded over. This walk was undertaken after a long dry spell and so the climb up Parkin Clough was drier than usual. Fantastic views over the Hope Valley when wandering along the ridge. A pleasant wander around the reservoir to finish off.