The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

I was born in south-east
England but as a budding
outdoor writer I felt the need
to move to my place of work

• and that meant swapping
  London for the Peak District.
  I settled in Youlgrave, a large
  village near Bakewell, not just
  because of its ine scenery and
  footpath network but because
  it’s a real, living community –
  not a hollow shell of second
  homes and tourist shops.
  All that was 20 years
  ago, but the Peak District
  continues to inspire me. It’s
  a truly diverse place with
  walks for every season, mood
  or even weather, from the
  dazzling purple heather of
  Beeley Moor in August to
  the gnarled Tolkienesque
  oak and birch woodland of
  Padley Gorge in November.
  Youlgrave is surrounded by
  classic limestone dales like
  Monsal, Long, Deep and Dove,
  as well as famous gritstone

outcrops and escarpments

such as Stanage. And what it

lacks for in pointy mountains

then Bleaklow’s bare open

vastness makes up for in sheer

uncompromising ruggedness.

The Peak District is

sandwiched between large

urban centres and it’s this

accessibility that spurred on

the early campaigns for public

access and National Parks;

and it remains crucial today

in terms of connecting new

audiences with the outdoors.

Still, I don’t have to go

far to escape the crowds:

the woodlands of the Dane

valley near Danebridge and

Gradbach, the bare limestone

plateau above Winster and

Parwich, or Abney and Eyam

moors with their narrow

cloughs. For Dark Peak

adventures I never tire of

visiting the giant landslip

of Alport Castles, outlying

hilltops like Lantern Pike,

and the edge paths above the

upper Derwent valley. I’m also

fascinated by Black Hill and

how this hulking peaty waste

is turning green again thanks

to the Moors for the Future

programme.

I like to walk out of the

village and gaze across

the sweep of this precious

National Park. It’s a place

where competing interests

often collide, and yet it

continues to stir passions –

including mine. Which is why,

after moving to Youlgrave, I

became irst a parish councillor

and then was elected to the

Peak District National Park

Authority, which I now chair.

It can be a tricky business

balancing conservation and

recreation, but the Peak

District led the way as Britain’s

irst National Park and I’m

determined it will do so again if

national parks are to be it for

the future.

PEAK DISTRICT

Andrew McCloy lives in

Youlgreave, near Bakewell

LOCALS RECOMMEND

MY REGULAR WALK

Monyash and Lathkill Dale

MAP: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 119

For a three- to four-hour walk on a quiet weekday,

I’ll follow the Limestone Way from outside my house

and up across the panoramic White Peak pasture

towards the village of Monyash. Perhaps a quick

coffee in the Old Smithy cafe, then back via the

length of beautiful Lathkill Dale, which after rocky

scree becomes a bewitching riverside path through

woodland in the company of dippers and warblers.

Surprisingly secluded, stunning scenery; roughly 10

miles (16km) in total.

TOP RECOMMENDATION

Kinder Summit plateau circuit

MAP: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 110

I enjoy walking in both the White Peak limestone

and Dark Peak gritstone, but the 16-mile (25km)

circuit of Kinder Scout’s summit plateau still makes

my blood pump and emotions soar like nothing

else. It’s long and in places rough, especially on the

quieter northern side, but always exhilarating with

commanding views over the Peak District, plus the

option of a different start/inish point each time.

You get a sense of what motivated the early access

campaigners and why this land still matters so much.

Find out more about Andrew and his work at http://www.andrewmccloy.co.uk

Looking north from Kinder Scout

Photo: Richard Wheeler

36 The Great Outdoors36 The Great Outdoors Spring2019Spring 2019