Another scenic bus route to savour

Thursday 8th May 2025

Here’s another fabulous bus route that needs adding to the list of Britain’s Most Scenic Bus Routes. Introduced in June 2024, thanks to Bus Service Improvement Plan funding from Derbyshire County Council, it’s another star performer in the Derbyshire Peak District.

Branded as PeakPathfinder, High Peak operated route 62 comprises three return journeys a day between Buxton and Castleton alternating with three ‘short’ return journeys between Edale and Castleton. It utilises one bus from the Company’s depot at Dove Holes and, as you can see, has an 08:20 to 19:01 operating day with I’m guessing time for a school journey at the beginning as well as between 15:02 and 16:05, when there’s an hour’s gap in the timetable, and another between 11:02 and 12:05 for a late morning break for the driver.

So, a very efficient schedule but still offering opportunities for passengers to enjoy time to explore Buxton or Castleton or visit Chapel-en-le-Frith, Edale or Hope along the route.

I travelled on the 12:05 departure from Buxton over to Castleton followed by the 13:05 short working back to Edale last week and what a delight it was. Everything I’d hoped for.

We even called into the depot at Dove Holes as there was an annoying buzzing sound from the driver’s cab, but a high-viz wearing engineer soon cured that by showing the driver a switch had been inadvertently set to the wrong setting.

We’d left Buxton with nine on board, one travelling locally to Dove Holes, picked up two more in Chapel-en-le-Frith and after the long climb up Rushup Edge, two alighted at the top for Mam Tor where the views across the landscape are truly spectacular as we’re now high above Blue John Cavern (accessed by Stagecoach’s Peak Sightseer route from Castleton).

Smartphone cameras pointing through bus windows while the vehicle is on the move, don’t do justice to the spectacular scenery at this point, but here are a few images to try and capture some of the delights on offer.

The bus then descends down a narrow and winding road before reaching the Vale of Edale where we stopped by the station to drop one passenger off and pick another up.

The wonderful scenery continues as the road follows alongside the Hope Valley railway line…

… and of our eight on board, three alighted in Edale and five continued to the terminus in Castleton where there’s a short five minute break before the bus returned as far as Edale with just one passenger along with myself.

The driver helpfully had supplies of High Peak’s timetable booklet which has details of all the fabulous routes the company operates in this part of the Peak District including the TransPeak branded route between Buxton and Derby…

… and skyline branded route 199 between Buxton and Manchester AIrport which was proving popular in the former’s Market Square as it headed off.

Another great scenic route operated by High Peak is the 61 from Buxton up to Glossop…

… and another High Peak gem is route 442 between Buxton and Ashbourne and not forgetting the Stagecoach operated 65 between Buxton and Sheffield. You really are spoilt for scenic bus choice when in Buxton and this part of the fabulous Peak District National Park.

The County Council even produces an up to date bus map to help visitors and tourists.

Always well worth a visit and I’ll be back again soon.

My thanks to blog reader Andrew for his recommendation to ride the 62.

Roger French

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