The Alport Castles are a landslip feature in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. At over half a mile long, it is thought to be the largest landslide in the United Kingdom. The name “castles” comes from the debris from the landslide, which has produced several gritstone mounds that tower over the valley and appear from the distance to look like castles. Viewed from a distance the largest of these, the “Tower”, resembles a full-scale motte and bailey castle.
Starting from Fairholmes visitor centre this will be a circular walk led by Ian Holden. Initially we will ascend through a pine forest where we get to see the route of the abandoned railway that served the construction of the reservoir and its dams. Our trail will then descend into the valley where we will follow River Ashop upstream until it meets the River Alport. From here we will start to ascend, initially this is fairly gentle but our final ascent out of the valley and up to the geological feature of Alport Castles will get our post-Christmas lungs blowing. Hopefully we will be rewarded with some of the Peak Districts finest views. Our return will see us follow the edge before we finally descend back through the pine forest to our cars.
Expect a mix of paved and unpaved paths. The final descent can be a little slippery when wet.
Event Distance – 12.km with 500m of ascent
Approx Activity Duration – 5 .5 hours
Dogs – Friendly dogs on leads are allowed on this event
You can register onto this event by heading over to our JustGo page.
