Stanage Edge Walk

Stanage Edge…….nearly at the top!

A beautiful October Sunday tempted us out to Stanage Edge in the Peak District. We knew it probably would be busy but I was desperate to walk up a big hill and get some fresh air. I’ve been working from home for 7 months now and whilst I love it in our converted barn home I just needed to see get away.

We followed an almost circular route found on the visitpeakdistrict website which started in Hathersage. We got there quite early and it wasn’t too busy……..then! The approach to Stanage was lovely. Initially it wasn’t too steep but with a gradual climb until the last bit up the gritstone escarpment, which was a bit of a huff and a puff. I thought I was doing quite well for fitness until a bunch of mountain bikers powered up the stepped pathway. I’m not that keen on bikers on a walking path, but hat’s off to them, they have some muscles!

The views from the top are stupendous. On a clear day you can see Mam Tor and Kinder Scout. The route takes you one way along the edge, and they you turn around and come back. We missed the route a bit so ended up retracing our steps a bit, but since the view was just as good in both directions it was all a bit of a bonus.

We ate our lunch and then turned around to walk in the opposite direction along the edge. My goodness, then we hit the crowds. It was as if a few coach tours had arrived. It was so busy in one patch we though we should have face masks on. We practically ran the busiest stretch, jumping up and around the rocks trying to get away from the multitude. It was such a relief to start descending. We then saw why it was so busy as we approached the road as there was a really big car park and lots of cars all parked (illegally) on the roadside. I think half of Sheffield had turned up for a bit of fresh air. It was just before Sheffield was moving into the next coronavirus lockdown tier and I think they all wanted a last blast on the hills with their families. As we moved away from the road, the crowds disappeared and once again we had the walk almost to ourselves. The descent down to Hathersage was just as lovely as the way up.

We took a minor detour in Hathersage to visit the church and see Little John’s grave (as in Robin Hood and his merry men). It was a lovely walk. We actually managed to do 10 miles instead of the stated 9, but that was because we went a bit wrong! I’d love to do it on a week day and have it all to myself.