Car-free travel in the Hope Valley
The Hope Valley is one of the most popular Peak District destinations, and it’s easier than you might think to explore it without a car. With a scenic railway line, well-connected bus routes, and a growing network of signed walking trails, you can enjoy villages, valleys, and viewpoints at your own pace while travelling more sustainably. This guide brings together everything you need to know about getting around the Hope Valley by train, bus, and on foot – helping you plan flexible, low-carbon days out that are good for both people and place.
Train
The scenic Hope Valley railway line runs from Sheffield to Manchester with an hourly service during the week. The map above highlights the stations within Hope Valley and their connections to local bus services. Note this image doesn’t contain all of the bus routes – it just gives you an overview
‘Hop on and hop off’
Passengers are able to break their journey as many times as they want on walk-up tickets, but not on an advance purchase.
This means that if you purchase a return then you will be able to break the journey on the outward portion of the journey as long as you continue to head towards your final destination. And then the same for your return portion, as long as you are heading towards your starting point when continuing your journey.
This means you can explore the Hope Valley at your own leisure and hop on and hope off at individual destinations along the way. Why don’t you tie it in with walking a section or two between stations using the signed Steel Cotton Rail Trail? (also mentioned below)
Railcards
There are several railcards you can buy to receive ⅓ off ticket prices. Below are a few popular ones:
16-17 Saver – For everyone aged 16 or 17. Receive 50% off most train fares.
16-25 Railcard – For everyone aged 16-25, and mature students. Receive ⅓ off rail travel.
26 – 30 Railcard – For everyone aged 26-30 and receive ⅓ off rail travel.
Disabled Persons Railcard – Receive ⅓ off rail travel for you and an adult companion
Family & Friends Railcard – For up to 4 adults travelling together with up to 4 kids. ⅓ off rail travel and 60% off for kids.
Senior Railcard – For everyone aged 60 and over. Receive ⅓ off rail travel.
Two Together Railcard – For you and the person you travel with most (you can have more than one two together railcard). Receive ⅓ off rail fares when you travel together.
Find out more here.
Bus
There are several buses that connect Hope Valley. These are the following:
- Service 272/271 – connecting Sheffield to Castleton and the Hope Valley in between. Roughly hourly service
- Service 272 –
- Service 65 travels daily between Sheffield and Buxton, stopping off at Longshaw County Park (National Trust), Eyam (historic plague village), Foolow, Tideswell, and the Millers Dale visitor centre for access to the Monsal Trail.
- Service 62 – connecting Buxton-Dove Holes-Chapel-Mam Tor-Edale-Hope-Castleton. The 62 connects at Edale with trains to/from Manchester and Sheffield.
- The Peak Sightseer is an open-top bus service running during the Summer months and stopping at some of the Peak District’s most popular destinations. There are two different routes…
- The Red Route – includes Chatsworth, Bakewell and Hassop Station for the Monsal Trail.
- The Blue Route – includes Chatsworth, Castleton, and Winnats Pass for Mam Tor.
Find out more about routes here
Types of Tickets
All services except the Peak Sightseer offer the following price fares. You can pay by card or cash on the bus. (prices last checked Dec 2025):
1 Day unlimited Travel
Adult £6
Child £5
Single Journey
Adult £3
Child £2
Unlimited travel on trains and buses
For unlimited travel on trains and buses you can buy a Derbyshire Wayfarer Bus and Train Day Rover Ticket. You can also use the Wayfarer ticket to travel between Derbyshire and Sheffield city centre, Burton-on-Trent town centre, Macclesfield town centre, Leek town centre and Uttoxeter town centre on direct journeys to and from Derbyshire.
You can find out more about the Wayfarer: Derbyshire Wayfarer.
Walking
You can now tie in the train network through the newly signed Steel Cotton Trail, which is a series of signed paths between the train stations from Manchester to Sheffield.
Led by the Community Rail Partnership ,this trail was launched in 2025 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.
All the routes are clearly signed on the ground and come with handy maps which you can download or pick up from various venues in the Hope Valley.
Find out more about the Steel Cotton Trail by Rail here.
Useful Apps for planning journeys:
UK Bus Checker: You can check when your bus is arriving and from where in any UK location using the Bus Checker
City Mapper: Don’t let the name fool you, it works in rural ares too! An easy app to use (which doesn’t have adverts) and helps bring together live and accurate information on buses, trains as well as cycling and walking routes too.
