Abandoned cars leave Peak District pass near Castleton blocked

Abandoned vehicles have forced the closure of a snowy stretch of road in the Peak District in Derbyshire.

A number of the county’s highest roads were closed to traffic on Thursday night ahead of Storm Goretti’s arrival, but Winnats Pass was not among them.

However, conditions in the gorge, near Castleton, proved too tricky for many motorists, who ditched their cars and were unable to continue.

Derbyshire County Council said while most of the roads that were closed had now reopened, Winnats Pass would remain shut into Friday afternoon.

Mark Cooper, owner of Waterside Farm caravan and camping site in Edale, had driven to the area on Friday morning to help clear the road with a tractor equipped with a plough and grit.

But even in his tractor he was blocked from continuing, he said, as was a county council gritting team that had to turn back.

He said: “The road was about clear but I couldn’t plough or grit the very top as the cars were blocking the road that were left last night when it had been much worse.”

Of the roads that were closed, the A6024 Holme Moss and A57 Snake Pass have now reopened.

The top of Snake Pass is passable with care, a spokesperson for the council said.

The spokesperson added: “Our gritting teams worked through the night keeping the main roads open, and this morning have been concentrating on the primary routes.

“With a lot of very wet roads, and freezing temperatures expected tonight, please take care out there later on.

“Our thanks to all our gritting teams and farmer contractors for everything they have done.”

Another major road in the county shut by Storm Goretti was the A5012 Via Gellia Road, where work is ongoing to remove unstable trees affected by ash dieback disease.

This remains shut until inspections and gritting can be carried out by the council.

As well as disruption on the roads, rail services have been affected, with branch lines closed overnight on Thursday by Network Rail and the Hope Valley Line still shut until at least 10:00 BST on Saturday.

Until then, there are no rail services between Manchester and Sheffield through the Peak District.

But Storm Goretti has not stopped everything across Derbyshire – an event dubbed “Britain’s most brutal endurance race” will go ahead this weekend despite the wintry weather.

However, a yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place across the East Midlands for Saturday, and covers north Derbyshire on Sunday.