Alport Castles 21st June 2025

• 10.8 km route
• Rucking with 20kg's
• Difficulty level: Intermediate. This route is suitable for if you have been Rucking for a few months and have gotten used to the weight, and now you're wanting to challenge yourself a little. The majority of the path is level and flat, but there are some area's where it is a bit m more technical under foot. The real challenge on  this route comes from the elevation gain in the early part of it. The climb gets quite steep at times so will give your lower body a real test, and the views from the plateau at the top reward you even more.

We started from the Ladybower visitor centre so there are plenty of facilities to get yourself set, the path tales you through the forest to the west of the reservoir where the climb can be a little challenging.

We started our day early as the weather forecast was to be pretty hot, and we could really feel the warmth building as we made our way through the forest, but once we got out of the forest onto the open farmland the sun really got toasty. But it was lovely to be out in the bright sunshine enjoying the view across the rolling hills of the Peak District.

After about 1/2 way into the climb, the path started to level out and the skies opened up giving us stunning views to the horizon. The route took us along the top of the ridgeline towards Alport Castles following a stone paved path for most of the route making the walking relatively easy, but as we got higher, the temperature started to drop which was a nice bit of a respite from our sweaty climb earlier.

When we got to Alport Castles we found a lovely spot overlooking the valley below to enjoy our breakfast and a well earned cup of coffee. The route back took us back along the path we walked out on, and it is really interesting to see the different perspective on the ay back, seeing things you didn't see on the way up.