As an ex-Sheffielder (I've been away going on 15 years and don't get back nearly as often as I should), I'm not as familiar as I'd like to be with the lovely countryside surrounding Sheffield. I don't live too far away, so starting to become reacquainted should be fairly easy.

I've bought a couple of guides to the Peak District, plus the two new Landranger maps. However, I'm still a bit unsure about where to go first.

If you could recommend just one walk in the local-ish area (it doesn't necessarily have to be in the Peaks), what would it be and why?

If you could recommend just one walk in the local-ish area (it doesn't necessarily have to be in the Peaks), what would it be and why?

Well this walk is my standard one, not very adventurous but interesting and varied with some great views and the prospect of some good birds and plants in the Summer.

From my flat I head directly up and over Crookes and down into Rivelin Valley. The Rivellin Valley Conservation Group has done some good work in recent years restoring ponds and putting in benches so I usually stop every now and again, read a chapter of my book and look out for Kingfishers, Dippers and Herons.

I complete the Rivelin Valley Trail and head up Manchester Rd. Depending on the conditions I would either walk to Rivelin Dams along the road or cut across country. From there to the bottom of Wyming Brook. Here there used to a stone house but Yorkshire Water knocked it down and now there is some sort of apparatus there. There are also hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids. Which is nice!

Up Wyming Brook, keeping an eye out for Spotted Flycatchers and Pied Flycatchers, to the car park at the top then double back down Wyming Brook Drive. Keep on until Head Stone Bank then set off across the moors to the Head Stone itself. From there across the moor until I reach Redmires.

Round Redmires using the new path provided, on the look out for Ring Ouzels, and back to the top of Wyming Brook. Through Fox Holes plantation to Lodge Moor. If knackered, get bus home, if not carry on through Fox Hagg, back down to Rivelin then through Bole Hills Park, looking back at the great views then back down through Crookesmoor and home.

Cup of tea, choccy cake, then bath :thumbsup:

I probably recommend the so called "Great Ridge".
This is the ridge between Kinder Scout and Castleton and there is plenty of scope for varying it depending on how far you want to go.
eg.
Start at Hope. (Easy to get to by train if you do not have a car).
Follow the river to Castleton.
From Castleton you can either ascend Mam Tor or go up one of the other paths which meet the summit of the Ridge.
Walk along the top of the Ridge to Lose Hill. From the ridge you get great views of both the hope valley on one side and the Edale valley on the other.
At Lose Hill descend from the ridge and return to Hope.
It is a bit of classic walk and the ridge is very popular at weekends. Go in the week if you can.

Thank you for the recommendations :) .

I used to spend a lot of time at Rivelin as a child, so it would be lovely to see how it's changed. Actually, I suspect that it's been so long since my last visit that much of it will come as a complete surprise.

Mam Tor was one of the places I remember visiting while at school. Is it the 'Shivering Mountain', or am I thinking of somewhere else? I distinctly remember a road which ends suddenly in a mass of cracked and broken tarmac. I was about 14 the last time I was there, so my mind could be playing tricks on me.

We did the school trip to "Shivering Mountain" as well, we came over from Salford for the day.

Thank you for the recommendations :) .

I used to spend a lot of time at Rivelin as a child, so it would be lovely to see how it's changed. Actually, I suspect that it's been so long since my last visit that much of it will come as a complete surprise.

Mam Tor was one of the places I remember visiting while at school. Is it the 'Shivering Mountain', or am I thinking of somewhere else? I distinctly remember a road which ends suddenly in a mass of cracked and broken tarmac. I was about 14 the last time I was there, so my mind could be playing tricks on me.

Thank you for the recommendations :) .
Mam Tor was one of the places I remember visiting while at school. Is it the 'Shivering Mountain', or am I thinking of somewhere else? I distinctly remember a road which ends suddenly in a mass of cracked and broken tarmac. I was about 14 the last time I was there, so my mind could be playing tricks on me.

Yup it's the 'Shivering Mountain'.

Nomme

I distinctly remember a road which ends suddenly in a mass of cracked and broken tarmac. I was about 14 the last time I was there, so my mind could be playing tricks on me.Yup, that's still there. It's on all the maps too. There was a nasty storm and a landslip, and you can see just by looking at it that it would be nigh on impossible to repair, and it's still sliding by the looks of things
http://www.art.man.ac.uk/Geog/fieldwork/images/a625.jpg

Don't know whether it's essential but just got back from a great little hike up Snake Path and onto Black Ashop Moor. A lovely route up onto Kinder and far less busy than the Edale routes. We started at the car park just past Snake Inn on the Snake Pass. There's a managed woodland area opposite. The woodland walk leads you out onto open countryside and onto Snake Path which follows the River Ashop (I think) up to the top of the moor. If you plod on a bit further than we did today you get to the Pennine Way and can take that across to Kinder Gates and down into the Hope Valley.