UKC

Polly Harmer shares the best crags that are easily accessed by public transport from Sheffield - and how to reach them.

So you want to go cragging, or bouldering, in the Peak District without a car? No problem. Maybe you don't own a car, or you prefer not to use it to burn less fossil fuel, or maybe you're too young to drive, or your car is broken. Perhaps you prefer to watch the world go by from the bus and avoid the parking problems that can occur in the UK's busiest national park.

Individual car usage leads to a significant carbon footprint. Perhaps, then, using buses and trains for local climbing trips and weekends away could be an important option for climbers to reduce their environmental impact. When I get the bus, I like that it's greener and cheaper. Whatever the motivation, there are lots of options for going car-free out to the grit. Here are some of the entry-level routes for budding bus-goers.

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Sound information, but really surprised that there is no mention of First bus policy's of the single journey ticket price of £2. Its a no brainer at the moment if heading out from Sheffield.

strongly recommend not getting the 218 bus, I've tried 3 times and it has never been less than an hour late. from my experience as a car-less student the 272 is the only bus I don't dread taking with every fibre of my being. On a side note, why is there no bus to Stanage even on a weekend? the parking's always awful and on a summer weekend Im sure a Stanage/Bamford bus service would be rammed

Have successfully bussed to Stanage north and burbage south multiple times. Burbage is especially nice as you can sit in foxhouse (with chips) while you wait for your return leg. Buses usually pretty pad friendly.

Another fairly reasonable option I’ve done is bus to close to or ideally cycle to Redmires reservoir from there is pretty quick jaunt up to stanage pole and then onto the whatever bit of edge you fancy. Probably only a tiny bit further  than walking from hathersage train station? And slightly less uphill.

I do not rate the public transport at all. Too many bad experiences. If conditions are anything other than perfect it isn't worth the 3-5 business days it takes to get there by bus to maybe not even be able to climb.

DESTINATION GUIDE: Climbing on the Eastern Edges by Public Transport from Sheffield

Love it.

It's sort of like a climbers' version of the ubiquitous "How to ski in the Alps by train" articles that assume you live in London. 

The sub-head say "Polly Harmer shares the best crags that are easily accessed by public transport from Sheffield - and how to reach them." So you don't really need to delve very far into the article to see if you're coming from Manchester or Derby, this article isn't going to be much use.

You could write one for folk coming from the west, UKC pays very fair rates for articles! 

Think bus to Redmires is covered under the Stanage section - AFAIK the nearest you get is the 51 to Lodge Moor as covered in the article. 

Fairly flat cycle once you get to Crosspool though, good point.

1. Get the train to Sheffield

2. See previous article

Where do I send the bill?

Getting the train to Hathersage/Hope/etc gives you tons of options, especially if you bring a bike on board (super easy on Northern trains - just get on and no booking required). The walk up to Stanage takes about an hour from Hathersage but on a bike it's less than half that and at the end of the day you get to blast down the hill! Lawrencefield, Millstone etc all totally doable too.

Good article, catching the bus from Hunter's Bar was very social in the late 1970's when car ownership amongst climbers was tiny, and Stoney was the centre of the universe.

I would add that Yarncliff was also accessible if you brought your skate board along. We used to blast straight down the road from Fox House with sack on back, climb the routes, then continue down to Grindleford cafe and the train to Sheffield. Happy days

That's interesting to hear - when I've tried once in recent years to book a bike onto a train, it wasn't possible, in that the spaces available were fully booked seemingly months in advance. Do you think the bike spaces ever fill up - at weekends etc.? It would be great for me to take the train to west side of Peak then ride home over Kinder and so on.

MCR to Sheff on the train is an hour and quite cheap. Unfortunately it runs only once an hour. 

E-cargo bikes, or E-bikes and a trailer may be the best option for people who live near the Peak District to access climbing in an environmentally friendly manner. I have visited a fair number of crags using public transport from Buxton but it does require a fair bit of effort and comes with many restrictions (time/choice of location etc). I have also cycled to crags with a full trad rack in a rucksack but I can see why most people won't want to do more than 10 miles or so like that each way. Sticking a bonus 250W between your legs though would bring most of the Peak District into a doable range from Sheffield

Plus connections at either end etc etc.. soon adds up to more than an hour each way and is half a day before you know it. But that wasn't really the point, was it?

Friendly reminder that there isn't any riding to be had 'over Kinder' other than the Jacob's Ladder bridleway route to Hayfield.

The 61 or 62 bus from the Hillsborough interchange goes out to Bradfield, which is handy for Agden Rocher, and also goes past Stannington Ruffs!

why not HITCH HIKE !!

Stand at banner cross, hunters bar , just up from the round about, or some such.  Rope over your rucksack and stick your thumb out.  Bet you wont wait long and it'll be free. 

Similarly, when you're done, stand at burbage bridge, or hooks carr, or Fox House or by the Grouse above Froggatt, rope over your rucksack and stick your thumb out.  Dont forget to smile and look jolly.  Bet you wont wait long and it'll be free. 

Simples

I was about to post just this. I was doing it regularly in the '80s, with the venue being picked by where the driver was heading.

But is it?

It may surprise you, but I understand the law around rights of way, and I know the bridleways and restricted byways around Kinder cheers.

Mountain bike access is getting somewhat off the topic of this article though. 

I live in Sheffield and always stop to pick up hitchers

To be fair it wasn't for your benefit, more so anyone reading who might not be so clued up. Seeing 'over Kinder' might well inspire thoughts of bouncing along past the Downfall on their eMTB..

Agreed, let's leave it there

Bus Punters unite

It depends entirely on the train operator. But for Northern I have never booked a space and in over a hundred journeys with a bike have never been refused. Things can get busy but it’s never impossible. On, say, West Coast mainline you have no chance with a bike without a reservation.

If you are say a carless student living in central MCR it’s not a crazy idea to get the train to Hathersage or Grindleford and go from there. I agree going to Sheff and getting the bus back out would take a while.

Northern don't require you to book and will be pragmatic about getting the bike onboard, you will be fine in the vast majority of instances.

East Midlands Rail say that you should book, but I never had problems between Loughborough and London on the Meridians/ HSTs.

The new Hitachi trains on east and west coast mainlines have utterly inadequate bike spaces that are only designed to accommodate two bikes (you likely wouldn't fit a second one alongside a mountain bike. An excellent example of what happens when you specify that a feature is required in a product but don't bother defining it! Don't try and book onto Avanti using the web form as they take more than 4 weeks to respond.

A 'climber's bus' from / to Sheffield train station would make a lot of sense and ease the parking pressures, especially at Stanage.

I'm trying to understand why anyone would downvote this article.

I know it was said in jest, but its just the kind of tabloid attitude/ that has led to the demise of hitching.    Its just nonsense and un-helpful. 

As far as I can tell from a quick google, only ever 2 hitchhike murders in the UK, in the 1970's.  Arguably much saver now with a GPS mobile phone in your pocket.

65 - also does  Yarncliffe  Raven Tor (Miller's Dale) Chee Dale Upper  Blackwell Dale etc.

the easiest way to Stanage/Burbage N from sheff is to get on to ringinglow rd (via a variety of buses) and hitch.

? Not entirely sure what you mean dude. I genuinely always pick up hitchers, and I always offer lifts on UKC if I'm travelling for work with space in the van. The Fear & Loathing picture was just for fun, my apologies if you felt it was unhelpful.

If you see a slightly knackered red VW T5 heading up Eccy Road South, stick yer thumb out.

I wonder how easily a bus could get down that road though? Be a bit tight for passing in places.

There used to be a summer season bus that ran up Ringinglow road to Burbage bridge. No.208 I think. Seems to be discontinued though.

A few to get started with If you’re heading out from Manchester (some definitely more awkward than others!):

• New Mills - Train from Mcr Picc - New Mills Central (5 min walk to crag) 

• Lawrencefield/Millstone/Owler Tor/Secret Garden/Mother Pet - Train from Mcr Picc - Hathersage - 271/272 bus to Suprise View - 5/10min walk to most from there 

• Burbage South - same as above but get off the bus the stop after SV (Fox House) 

• Upper Tor - Train from Mcr Picc - Edale - 1hr walk in/up from there 

• Stony Middleton - Train from Mcr Picc - Hathersage - 257 bus to Stony - 5 min walk in

• Cows Mouth Quarry/Blackstone Edge - Train from Mcr Vic - Littleborough - 587 bus to Whitehouse Pub - 20/25 min walk to either from there (CM on the left, pub side - Blackstone the other) 

• Wimberry - Train from either Mcr Picc or Vic - Greenfield - 40 min walk down t’hill or much easier, £5 each way in a taxi!

• Ouzels nest - Train Mcr Pic - Bromley Cross - 20ish min walk from there 

535 will get you to Wilton from Bolton 

I always took the view that if somebody was kind enough to stop for you, it was awfully bad form to kill them.

But presumably that lorry driver who didn't stop really regretted it when you caught him up at the next services!

Just a minibus would do the job I think, won't be hordes of people using it but very useful for climbers if regular

Still missing IIRC

There is lots of talk on here about a climbers bus. The reality is that rural bus services are subsidised from public money. Council budgets are tight and so subsidies are limited to supporting travel to and from work and education.

Those wishing for someone else to provide the service, will be the same people complaining at the exhorbitent price of the bus journey without subsidy.

If you strongly believe a bus service will work then do some modelling, see what fares would need to be to make a profit then do it if you think.it will work. There is good reason a climbers bus does not exist.

When fares approach the fuel and parking cost then convenience takes over and all the eco warriors flock to their warm transporters rather than shiver at the bus stop.

A bus would be a great thing but it isn't commercially viable, if it was, it would already exist.

I remember being told this when I thought a bus going around the hostels and tourist attractions of the Highlands from Edinburgh was a good idea.   Cannot move now for Rabie's, Hairy Coos and Haggises of a cheerful disposition.

Yeah but that's tourism not just climbing and walking, much less weather dependent. Anyway, do the sums and good luck with your venture if it looks viable.

If its regular then it's emissions per person will likely be little better, or likely worse, than driving.

Most sources give co2/passenger/km as around 100g. A full bus will be better than that and an empty one obviously worse. My 1.6l diesel claims 99 gram/km. Put 2 or 3 people in it will easily beat most buses on a co2/passenger km comparison. A full minibus should beat it comfortably but that means pre-booking times so that exactly 1 minibus worth of passengers turn up at the correct time and then climb for the same length of time. 

This isn't to say that you should drive to crags, more that travelling long distances for leisure isn't really sustainable 

Climbing and walking is tourism.

Of course, I think you.miss my point. The buses you mention serve more than just that and are so more resilient to the weather. They also serve tourist towns. Sheffield is hardly Ambleside.

‘I’m going to add ‘Sheffield is Hardly Ambleside’ to my stockpile of useful epithets.😍😁

Some on here might remember Sheff’s days as part of the ‘glorious people’s republic of South Yorkshire’. When I started climbing in 1980/81, we would use the ‘10p to anywhere’ bus fares, and prior to deregulation in the ‘80s there were more routes and more frequent buses. We’re heading to Chamonix in June, and the free valley buses paid out of the tourist tax work really well. Maybe that’s a model to apply?

Ps….’Ambleside is hardly Sheffield’….😂😂

Mind you, you can get fairly close to Sheffield Pike by bus from Ambleside.

The extent to which bus options - and public transport options generally - are very localised and biased towards the big cities is something that annoys me. I'm in Stirling, hardly a small place, and would happily catch a bus to Lochearnhead to climb Ben Vorlich or Stuc a' Chroin or other hills thereabouts on a fairly regular basis. Except there's not a sensible way to do this by bus, even though it's along an A-road all the way and I can drive there in about 50 minutes no rush. Similarly I'd also like to go from Stirling to Crianlarich by bus. Again no sensible option (and barely any option at all). By contrast, a whole string of buses comes out of Glasgow every day heading for Crianlarich and beyond, but Glasgow gets massively more infrastructure investment than most of the rest of Scotland. It's not unknown to hear Glasgow folk (and I used to live there) blithely assuming that because they've got loads of public transport options the rest of the country has the same provision.

I’m trying to understand why anyone would downvote this comment about downvoting an article!

I just downvoted you as a centennial tribute to George Mallory 'Because it is there'.

I am pleased that raised a smile. What the quip meant was that the Edinburgh buses mentioned above serve a variety of purposes from a popular tourist town. Sheffield, as lovely as it is is not one. Ambleside is another popular tourist town with its own independent venture tourist buses. 

As above, do the sums. Someone may have missed a trick and a super yacht named Stanage Bus awaits 😅

i think that used to be the 284 which ran between Hathersage station and Stanage, Sundays and Bank holidays…

Worth remembering that the idea was not just a service from Edinburgh - but a circuit of popular destinations and overnight lodgings (connected to the bus service in some cases), that could be left or joined anywhere on the route.   Slightly different model to the very numerous small buses seen on the M9/M90 in the morning.  

Was this tried in the Lakes?

I once walked from Sheffield to Stanage Plantation (and back) to do some soloing. It would definitely make for good training with a rucksack full of rack and ropes but maybe not much fun with a pad!