After seeing that the weather forecast was looking extremely good for the weekend, I decided to get my son, Harry, out for his first walk of the year. He’d been up Higger Tor in the Dark Peak a couple of times before, but both walks involved heading around to Burbage Rocks for the return leg back to Longshaw. This time I thought I’d vary it by coming back via Over Owler Tor instead.

We parked in the Suprise View car park above Hathersage and crossed the busy road to Owler Tor opposite. I’ve driven past Owler Tor so many times, but never actually stopped to examine them. It was a great bit of early motivation for Harry as he enjoyed clambering over the gritstone. I informed him that there were plenty more climbing opportunities along the route, which had him excited. From Owler Tor, we walked down to Burbage Brook and then followed it north-east. A short while after crossing the wooden bridge, we took a sharp right into the woodland and followed the path for a hundred yards or so before crossing the A6187.

A short way along the main path, where it takes the first bend to the right, we took a footpath on the left that heads towards Carl Wark. On the way, Burbage Brook required crossing again and this time there was no handy wooden bridge in sight. It’s actually quite easy to do in the summer months when the water isn’t so high, but on this occasion, the usual crossing spot was a little too tricky for a 5-year-old with short legs and limited jumping ability. We followed the brook a little while on the very boggy ground until we found an easier place to cross. Once we’d crossed, we made our way back towards the track, crossing more saturated terrain on the way. Luckily, Harry was finding it an adventure rather than a chore.

Once back on the well-used track, it was easy walking up to Cark wark where Harry enjoyed a brief scramble up the gritstone blocks to the top. Carl wark is thought to be the site of an ancient hill fort, although nobody really knows the exact purpose. There’s a lack of any evidence of a settlement within so the site could have been used for other purposes such as a temporary refuge or a ceremonial ground. The fort, along with its rampart on the western side, is thought to date back to the Late Bronze Age, although there’s been much debate about this in the past.

From Carl Wark, we headed north to Higger Tor – an easy stretch of walking with more scrambling opportunities for Harry on the way up. We found a nice flat piece of gritstone on the top to sit down on and eat lunch. Or at least Harry did… I foolishly forgot to bring anything for myself; I was too busy rushing about preparing his in the morning. It was very busy up on the plateau of Higger Tor – something I wasn’t really used to as I normally walk midweek. Being a beautiful sunny day though, I couldn’t grumble.

Rather than use the main track, we decided to come down on the south side near its western corner. It made for a slightly more adventurous descent for him and kept it interesting. Once down, we rejoined the path and followed it south, around the large sheepfold, and over Winyards Nick. I presume that the name Winyards Nick relates to the notch between two gritstone outcrops rather than the outcrops themselves?

Finally, we arrived at an extremely crowded Over Owler Tor – but that didn’t do anything to dampen Harry’s spirits as he doesn’t have the same aversion to crowds as I do! He had a great time climbing the various gritstone formations and wanted to do more but I had to be the spoilsport and say no – he’s not quite as good at climbing as he thinks he is and his balance isn’t great so I can’t let him onto the higher stuff just yet unless I’m satisfied I can sufficiently protect him.

Finally, as we made our way back to the car, we passed the distinctive formation of Mother Cap. Again, this was a little too tricky for him to get to the top of, but he had no difficulties getting to the halfway point. After one final play, we headed down the slope back to the Suprise View car park, passing a few old abandoned millstones on the way.