Their story, in their words…
On the 3rd of August to 7th we had began our hike journey to the Peak District where we stayed near Castleton at a campsite known as Rowter farm campsite which was quite isolated with no shops or much people around.
We stayed for four nights at Rowter Farm Campsite and spent each day exploring different parts of the area. Although we started the trip with plenty of food and resources, by the end of the five days we had very little left, which made the final part of the journey much more challenging.
On the first day, we hiked from Rowter Farm Campsite to Mam Tor and then back to our campsite. This was one of the easiest hikes of the trip because we were well-rested, had enough food, and were excited to begin our adventure. The weather was good, and the route was enjoyable, which helped us settle into the experience.
The following day was much more demanding. We first climbed Lord’s Seat, which is close to Mam Tor, straight after we had done a 1 hour walk towards the main town Castleton to go restock on some supplies however there wasn’t many shops or convenience stores so we was only able to grab water for all of us. We had then hiked all the way back from Castleton to our campsite which had us all exhausted from carrying water our bags and some hiking equipment. We had cooked all ourselves a hot nice meal and enjoyed the night, but soon or later during the night at around 3am rain had unexpectedly started pouring down causing a lot of our food, clothes and even our 4 man tent to be drenched and ruined.
As the day passed, our food supplies began to run low. We had underestimated how much energy we would use while hiking long distances every day. Carrying camping equipment and walking across steep and uneven terrain made us feel more tired than we expected. Day 3 was really bad for us as we thought that we may be unable to complete this experience and the morning was really bad due to the rainy and windy weather. However all of us decided to stay resilient and we hiked and walked towards Eldon hill. Along the way, we visited an open-pit quarry, which was one of the most interesting parts of the hike. Seeing the large quarry surrounded by the natural landscape made the walk even more memorable and also visited a mini lake where we had come across some cows and ducks.
The most difficult hike took place on the fourth day when we walked from our campsite to Ladybower Reservoir. Even though we had limited food left, we were determined to complete the hike. The journey was physically exhausting, but it was also the most rewarding. The scenery along the route was beautiful, and when we finally reached the reservoir, the stunning views made all of our hard work worthwhile.
As we saved and starved during the 4th day. On the last day we was all able to eat a warm nice breakfast which had re energised all of us and the last day was beautiful as the weather had gotten much better as it was around 27degrees and the sun was glaring down at us allowing us to end this experience off beautifully. We had all packed up and said goodbye to the campsite we had stayed at and hiked to Castleton and made our journey back to Sheffield to head home.
Overall, this five-day hiking trip taught us the importance of preparation, teamwork, balance and perseverance. Even though the lack of food made the final days more difficult, the experience brought my friends and me closer together and created memories that we will never forget.
