The A625 is a rural road which runs through north

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

Route

First named

Ecclesall Road Ecclesall Road is a road in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, that runs for about south-west from Sheffield's city centre under the number A625. At Banner Cross, where the house numbers reach 1001, the road name changes to Ecclesall Road ...

, it begins at the Moore Street roundabout in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and runs southwesterly towards

Hathersage Hathersage ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately south-west of Sheffield. Toponymy The origin of its name is disputed, although it is ...

after a change in name to Hathersage Road, crossing from

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

into Derbyshire. It separates from the A6187 road east of Hathersage and continues to

Calver Calver (Old English ''Calf Slope'') is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 710. Overview Calver is a small village situated in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. The village ...

where it finishes at a crossroads with the B6001 and

A623 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island an ...

History

Its course was, until a recent renumbering in 2000, westerly towards

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

and Castleton and

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...

where it joined the A6. The A625 previously ran, undiverted, between Castleton and Chapel-en-le-Frith, winding its way up the south face of

Mam Tor Mam Tor is a hill near Castleton in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. Its name means "mother hill", so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which ...

—replacing a much earlier route through the

Winnats Pass Winnats Pass (or Winnats, as shown on some Ordnance Survey maps) is a hill pass and limestone gorge in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. The name is a corruption of 'wind gates' due to the swirling winds through the pass. It lies west of t ...

. This section of the road proved highly prone to

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s, especially after periods of heavy rain, and was in constant need of repair. It was finally abandoned in 1979 and traffic was, once again, directed westwards through the Winnats Pass. Road 625

Mam Tor road

This section of the road was first constructed in 1819 by the Sheffield & Chapel-en-le-Frith Turnpike Company using spoil from the nearby

Odin Mine Odin Mine is a disused lead mine in the Peak District National Park, situated at grid reference . It lies on a site of 25 hectarespackhorse route, running through the

. Also known locally as "The New Road", the new section was set at an easier gradient than the earlier Winnats Pass route and crossed the Mam Tor landslide. As a result of further movement of the Mam Tor

, major road works were required in 1912, 1933, 1946, 1952 and 1966. On the last occasion, the road was closed for six weeks. In 1974 large parts of the Mam Tor section collapsed during a massive landslide. Additional road works were carried out regularly, when wet years led to further landslides. Finally, the Mam Tor section of the road was abandoned in 1979. Hereafter, traffic was routed through the Winnats Pass to rejoin the A625 at Windy Knoll. The road's course was altered in 2000 to meet the A623 further east, the old route becoming the A6187.

External links

Slipped part of A625 road at Mam Tor, showing many layers of gravel and tarmac added over years to try to offset subsidence

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0625 Roads in England Roads in Derbyshire Mountain passes of England Peak District