Why this ride
curated scenic road. Peak District, moorland, reservoirs. From Glossop it runs 22 km to Hope Valley; allow about 22 min of riding. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Snake Pass
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 22 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 22 min
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Snake Pass
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 5 km this is Snake Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 5 km
- Named road
- Snake Pass
- Pass
- Snake Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Glossop
Planning note
Snake Pass point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Snake Pass point 2.
2. Near Glossop
The summit of the Snake Pass, at a little over 500 metres, is a bleak and beautiful place: a broad saddle of peat moorland between the high plateaus of Kinder Scout to the south and Bleaklow to the north, with heather, cotton grass and dark, eroded peat hags stretching away on both sides. The A57 crosses here on its way between Glossop and Sheffield, and the Pennine Way, Britain's oldest long-distance footpath, crosses the road at the top. On a clear day the view east down the valley of the Snake is wide and wild; on a bad day you can barely see the road.
Read the complete Near Glossop write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Snake Pass point 2 comes up 9 km in. Next is Snake Pass point 3.
3. Near Hope Valley
Below the Snake Pass, on the eastern side, the A57 crosses the Ladybower Reservoir on a long viaduct, and in a few seconds you go from bare moorland to a scene that looks almost Alpine: dark water fingering into wooded valleys, steep slopes of conifers, and the stone walls of the dams further up the valley. Ladybower and its neighbours, Derwent and Howden, form a chain of reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley that supply water to the cities of the East Midlands, and on a calm morning their surfaces reflect the hills perfectly.
Read the complete Near Hope Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
22 km in you reach Snake Pass point 3.