Go through this, keeping right at the immediate fork. Pass over the top, then look for a gate on the right as you start to descend. Go right at the T-junction, then right again after the car park, on a road signposted to Barber Booth and Edale. Take care after passing through the gate because landslips mean the tarmac disappears at times and the drops are often hidden. Continue on the tarmac, climbing Mam Tor.

Turn right on the A6187 towards Mam Tor and keep right to follow the dead-end road up past the parking and Treak Cliff Cavern. For spares and repairs, 18 Bikes in Hope ( 01433 621111) is very good. There are no refreshments right on the route, but lots of choice in Castleton, and a pub in Peak Forest, just off the route. The Woodbine B&B in Hope is very good and bike friendly ( 07778 113882) or there’s the YHA hostel in Castleton for those on tighter budgets ( 01433 621767). Accommodation/facilities There are lots of places to stay, but it gets busy so book ahead. Peak District Mountain Biking: Dark Peak Trails by Jon Barton (Vertebrate Graphics). Maps and useful books Ordnance Survey Landranger 110: Sheffield & Huddersfield. There’s plenty of parking in the village and by Mam Tor, but the area does get busy. Go right, through Hope, and follow the A6187 to Castleton. Follow the A57, which runs between Manchester and Sheffield, to Ladybower Reservoir, then head south to Bamford on the A6013. Getting there Castleton village sits at the base of Mam Tor (hill), at the end of the A6187. Start/finish Castleton Visitor Centre car park, or P&D parking on the road to Mam Tor (grid ref SK 149/830, postcode S33 8WP).

The steep, rocky terrain provides lots of technical riding and amazing scenery, but is hard on the body and bike. Location details The Dark Peak, aka High Peak, has millstone grit covering the underlying limestone, which gets saturated in the wet.

Mam tor mountain bike route