The Hope Valley is a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

area centred on the village of

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 own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

in the northern Midlands of England. The name also applies to the

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

that includes the surrounding villages.

Valley

Although the Hope Valley appears to be a single valley, the name of the river changes several times. The head of the valley lies below Mam Tor at Castleton, widely regarded as the capital of the valley. From here, the Peakshole Water flows to Hope, where it enters the lower reaches of the

River Noe The River Noe is a tributary of the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. It flows approximately 12 miles (19 km) from its source, the confluence of two streams running off Kinder Scout in the Peak District, east through Edale and then so ...

, which has flowed from Edale. The Noe then flows to Shatton near Bamford, before entering the River Derwent, which has travelled about ten miles from Bleaklow. The valley is now technically the Derwent Valley, but the term "Hope Valley" is still used as the Derwent flows through

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 ...

and Grindleford. Other streams in the area include the Burbage Brook, which runs down from Burbage Valley through Padley Gorge and into the River Derwent near Grindleford station. The area is a popular tourist destination, particularly as the

Hope Valley Line The Hope Valley line is a trans-Pennine railway line in Northern England, linking Manchester with Sheffield. It was completed in 1894. Passenger services on the line are operated by Northern Trains, East Midlands Railway and TransPennine ...

railway from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

runs through it, from the western end of the

Totley Tunnel Totley Tunnel is a tunnel under Totley Moor, on the Hope Valley line between Totley on the outskirts of Sheffield and Grindleford in Derbyshire, England. Construction Totley Tunnel was constructed by the Midland Railway on its line between ...

near Grindleford to the eastern end of the Cowburn Tunnel near Edale. In the centre of the valley is a long-established cement factory, the UK's biggest, run by Hope Construction Materials. It is somewhat infamous locally because it is a prominent industrial operation in the middle of a National Park and is very visible from many locations. However, the factory provides valuable local employment outside the tourism sector. The Hope Valley College is the only secondary school in the Hope Valley. Castleton Church of England Primary School (one of several primary schools in the valley) and the surrounding area was featured in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's new (in October 2017) ident which shows images of the valley from Mam Tor.

History

There is evidence that Hope has been extremely significant in the region throughout its long history. The village is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as having both a priest and a church, the only place in north Derbyshire to have such status at the time. St. Peter's Church, opposite the Old Hall public house, dates from around the 13th century. The parish of Hope covered two thirds of the Royal Hunting Forest of north Derbyshire and was one of the largest parishes in the country. From earlier times there are traces of a Roman fort at Brough, just to the east of the village. Its Roman name Navio was later replaced with the Old English word for fort, Brough. Many ancient relics from the site can be seen in Buxton Museum. It is thought that the fort was probably built to protect Roman lead-mining interests in the Peak District. The village is built on the A6187 Sheffield to Castleton road, near the junction of the B6049 that runs northward from

Tideswell Tideswell is a village, civil parishes in England, civil parish, and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, ward in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. It lies east of Buxton on the B6049, in a wide valley on a limestone p ...

to Edale. This minor road closely follows the route of the old Portway, which was an ancient trading route used by Jaggers, a local term for men driving

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

s carrying salt and other goods from

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. Names such as Saltergate Lane and Jaggers Lane probably originate from this period.

Post town

The Hope Valley post town lies in the postal area of

. It encompasses the S32 and S33 postal districts, and includes the following villages: * Bamford * Bradwell * Brough * Calver * Castleton * Edale *

Eyam Eyam () is an English village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales that lies within the Peak District National Park. There is evidence of early occupation by Ancient Britons on the surrounding moors and lead was mined in the area by the Ro ...

* Grindleford *

Stoney Middleton Stoney Middleton is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. It is in the White Peak area of the Peak District southeast of Eyam and northwest of Calver, on the A623 road at the foot of the limesto ...

References

{{Coord, 53.34727, -1.74550, display=title, format=dms Valleys of Derbyshire Valleys of the Peak District