This page give further event details of the Hiking weekend away - Ravenstor, Derbyshire Peak District with fireworks, to help you to prepare for the weekend. This is to be read in addition to the event details on Meetup

The starting and ending date and time are shown in the event details on Meetup.

What we’ll do

Affordable 2 day hiking weekend at YHA Ravenstor in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire with 2 overnight stays, Friday and Saturday nights and optional visit to a local firework display.

Leave South Herts Area Friday evening around 17:00 if travelling by car or Friday afternoon if travelling by public transport.

Hike Saturday and Sunday, return Sunday evening. Stay Friday and Saturday nights at YHA Ravenstor. Optional visit to local bonfire and firework display Saturday evening (extra cost).

COST AND PAYMENT

Cost £49.05 includes:

  • 2 nights bed only budget accommodation in single-gender shared room (typically 4 - 6 beds) @ £24.52 per night. A 10% members’ discount has already been applied to this price but you do not need individual membership of YHA (England and Wales). Anyone under the age of 26 would get a further 5% discount.

The actual cost is a few pounds less and the surplus will be refunded in cash on the weekend. In addition, we also invite you to donate £2 per day (total £4) towards the running costs of this Meetup Group.

Not included:

  • Breakfast, other meals, transport and optional admission to firework display.

TRANSPORT TO RAVENSTOR

  • Train or coach to Buxton then bus 65 to Millers Dale then walk. There is a limited service going back on Sunday.

  • Own car or car sharing, 154 mls each way plus 2 mls each way to Tideswell for the firework display. For car sharing, the suggested contribution to the driver at our standard Group rate of 7.5p per passenger per mile is 312 mls @ 7.5p = £23.40 return for each passenger plus a share of any parking cost. For car sharing, meet at Barnet or Hatfield by prior arrangement.

CAR PARKING

There is free car parking at YHA Ravenstor.

ACCOMMODATION

We stay at YHA Ravenstor, which is in 60 acres of beautiful grounds high above the River Wye between Bakewell and Buxton. There is free Wi-Fi.

MEALS

The price for this weekend includes two nights accommodation bed only. You can either have breakfast for an extra charge or you can prepare your own breakfast in the self-catering, communal kitchen.

You can prepare your own packed lunch in the self-catering, communal kitchen or you can order a YHA packed lunch.

We plan to go out to a firework display then eat out somewhere in Tideswell such as a pub meal. Although you could prepare your own evening meal Saturday evening in the self-catering, communal kitchen after we get back from the firework display, we may not be back until 21:30 - 22:00. Although evening meals are available at YHA Ravenstor, this is not a feasible option for Saturday evening as we shall be out when evening meal is served.

There are no shops nearby to buy food for Saturday or Sunday breakfast, packed lunches or Saturday evening meal, so if you prepare your own food, you will need to take all food with you.

ARRIVAL TIME FRIDAY

Reception at YHA Ravenstor opens 17:00, closes 22:00. The latest time to leave South Herts would be 18:00 and then it will only be possible to get to Ravenstor by 22:00 with no holdups and minimum stops, with no time for coffee or food. We suggest that you either eat before leaving or bring something to eat on the journey.

If you are likely to arrive before the organiser who made the booking then you will only be able to check in if the organiser notifies YHA that you are authorised to check in on his behalf. Everyone will need to give their full name and address when they book in and will need to take some form of ID, (see below).

If you check in before 18:00 then you will probably be in time to order an evening meal if you like. This is a YHA “Supper Club” menu

Alternatively, if you arrive early Friday evening, the nearest pub to YHA Ravenstor is The Anglers’ Rest, Millersdale. This is less than 1 mile from YHA Ravenstor but walking to/from the pub along the B6049 road in the dark is not recommended as there is no pavement. There is an alternative walking route on a footpath through woodland in the hostel grounds then along a minor no-through road by the river with little or no traffic. This requires a map or GPS and a good torch. You can download the route of the Sunday hike from Wikiloc (see below) and follow the first mile as this goes from Ravenstor to Miller’s Dale.

HIKING PLANS

These are the hikes that are planned but the plans may be changed if necessary, e.g. due to adverse weather conditions.

Saturday

On Saturday, we start and finish the hike at YHA Ravenstor. Meet outside YHA Ravenstor ready to leave at 09:30 a.m.

Saturday’s hike goes down to the River Wye then to Litton Mill and Water-cum-Jolly before turning North along Cressbrookdale. It the goes up to Wardlow then Great Longstone where is a pub, the White Lion, 9.8 km from the start.

The route is all on footpaths, bridleways and several miles on the wide Monsal Trail cycle path (watch out for cyclists!). This is a former railway track so it is quite wide. We go through three tunnels, all well lit and over the Monsal Head Viaduct. The distance is 10.5 mls (16.9 km) with some significant hills, 362 m (1187 ft) of ascent and descent. This is a route that I have previously walked and I have posted the route on Wikiloc

The routes on Wikiloc are interactive. You can select satellite view or map view (Openstreetmap recommended). You can zoom in for a more detailed view of the route. You can also download a GPS file of the route to use with another GPS app such as Viewranger.

Sunday

On Sunday, we start and finish the hike at YHA Ravenstor.

Meet outside YHA Ravenstor ready to leave at 09:30. This hike includes some lesser-known and less visited dales such as Monk’s Dale National Nature Reserve and Peter Dale. The distance is 8.5 mls (13.6 km) with some hills, 266 m (872 ft) of ascent and descent. This is a route that I have previously walked and I have posted the route on Wikiloc

Near the end of the hike on Sunday, we may have time for afternoon tea at the tea shop at Miller’s Dale.

Maps

If you would like to bring Ordnance Survey maps to follow the routes they are all on O.S. Explorer OL24 The Peak Distirct, White Peak Area. These are available from some public libraries and the Event Organiser will have a spare map.

PLACES OF INTEREST

YHA web page for Ravenstor
Derbyshire UK, Miller’s Dale

Firework Display

On Saturday evening, 2nd November, there is a firework display in Tideswell Village about 2 miles from Ravenstor. It is organised by Tideswell & District Community Association and it takes place at Bishop Pursglove School.

Tickets are available in advance at £4.50 for adults from Tindalls, Peak Dairy Café and The Cherry Tree in Tideswell but we probably won’t be able to get these in advance, so we plan to buy them on the gate but this will cost more.

  • Band at 18:15
  • Bonfire lit and fireworks at 18:30
  • Refreshments such as soup and hot dogs are available

We plan to leave YHA Ravenstor at 17:30 to allow time to find somewhere to park in Tideswell and queue for tickets.

We have reserved a table for 10 for 19:45 at the Horse & Jockey pub, Queen Street, Tideswell, BUXTON SK17 8JZ for a pub meal after the firework display.

See Tideswell & District Community Association Facebook page

What to bring

For the weekend

Overnight bag or rucksack with wash kit, night clothes, change of clothes. Towels are not provided at YHA accommodation. For further details, please see South Herts Hikers Info Page ‘C’ Staying in YHA Accommodation.

For the hikes

Hiking boots with good grip (footpaths may be steep, slippery or muddy in places), suitable outdoor clothing for weather conditions including an extra layer to put on for outdoor stops and a waterproof jacket in case it rains. Drink and packed lunch essential. Further details on South Herts Hikers Info Page ‘A’ Lowland Hikes

Most of the hikes are in valleys where it is fairly sheltered but part of Sunday’s hike goes up a hill. Although it is not very high at 350 m it could be a bit exposed if the weather is wet and/or windy. Please see also Info Page ‘D’ - Hill and Mountain Hikes. You only need to look at sections 1.1 and 1.2 as this is Southern Peak District rather than the more rugged Northern Peak District and we shouldn’t have winter conditions at the beginning of November.

Important to know

Mobile phone coverage

Mobile network operators quote figures for network coverage such as 98% but this is a percentage of the population, not a percentage of the land area, which is much less. In rural areas where we like to go hiking, mobile phone network coverage can be patchy and in some places non-existent. This is caused by hilly terrain, deep valleys and few mobile phone masts on the tops of the hills in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty!

Even where there is mobile coverage, it may only be outdoors, not inside a building with thick stone walls and it may only be GSM (2G) not 3G or 4G. This means that the Meetup app or anything else that requires fairly fast Internet access may not be usable if it only has a GSM data service available.

The Meetup mobile app only works when it has an Internet connection and messages are not always instant, there could be some delay. Messages that you have received previously via Meetup messaging are not stored locally on your phone, so you can’t read previously received messages without an Internet connection. Some members have set up a WhatsApp Group for the weekend but not everyone uses WhatsApp so we recommend that the most reliable form of mobile phone communication on a weekend away is SMS text message. The event organiser will give a mobile phone number to everyone before the weekend.

ID Required

You need to bring a suitable form of ID, see Section 3 of YHA Booking terms and conditions section 3.

Details last updated Mon, 20 Jan 2020, 12:23 PM