The Pennine Way (Part 1 – Edale to Black Hill)

This section takes place entirely within the Peak District National Park, and more precisely, the Dark Peak area. The Dark Peak is so called because of the gritstone predominant in the area, and you will see plenty of this as you cross the first three main hills of the PennineWay: Kinder Scout, Bleaklow and Black Hill.

Here is a list of walks in this section:-
1724 Edale Station - Hayfield - New Mills Station
1046 Jacob's Ladder - Edale Head -Grindslow Knoll
1495 Hayfield - William Clough - Kinder Scout - Hayfield
1423 Lady Clough - Doctor's Gate - Pennine Way - Snake Path
929 Old Glossop - Doctor's Gate - Bleaklow - Old Glossop
1178 Black Clough - Bleaklow - Crowden - Longdendale Trail
1691 Torside - Black Hill - Crowden – Torside


Walk 1724: Edale Station - Hayfield - New Mills Station

This is a linear walk taking advantage of the excellent Hope Valley rail service. From the start of the Pennine Way at Edale, Walk 1724 covers only the first 2 – 3 km of the Pennine Way, leaving it at Upper Booth before its ascent up Jacob’s Ladder onto Kinder Scout. But it would be a crime to leave this beautiful Peak District valley without further exploration, and so our route then ascends to one of the Peak District’s classic landscape features – The Great Ridge. The Great Ridge separates the Hope and Edale Valleys incorporating Lose Hill, Mam Tor and Brown Knoll, and offering unrivalled views. The route for Walk 1724 was chosen specifically to take in what must be the most scenic view in the Peak District – the view from the Great Ridge along Edale Valley. The price to be paid, however, is a grueling climb, but with regular rest stops to admire the view, any reasonably fit walker should have no problems.

Once on the Great Ridge, you can relax, and admire the view into Hope Valley. The walking from here on in is easy going (if a little muddy underfoot,) as it crosses Brown Knoll, and drops down into the pretty village of Hayfield – an ideal place for a pub lunch.

The last part of Walk 1724 uses the Sett Valley Trail – a disused railway track now converted for leisure use – to New Mills. The impressive engineering of the New Mills Millennium Walkway provides a memorable end to the walk, high above a narrow gorge where the raging Goyt River is suddenly forced into a much narrower channel. The end of the Millennium Walkway is only a hundred meters or so from the station, where one of the regular trains can be caught back to Edale.

Walk 1046: Jacob's Ladder - Edale Head -Grindslow Knoll

Kinder Scout enjoys the reputation of being the highest hill in both Derbyshire, and the Peak District. It is not a hill in the traditional sense, more a large plateau. Nominally, if not perhaps factually, the Kinder Low trig point, at 633m, is the highest point of the plateau. The actual highest point is an unmarked and unremarkable point a kilometer to the northeast, but most folk making a pilgrimage to ‘the top of Kinder Scout’ use the Kinder Low trig point as their destination. With a very slight detour, Walk 1046 is perhaps the best way to access Kinder Low.

Starting with what must be one of the steepest ascents on the Pennine Way, Jacob’s Ladder, the route takes in the impressive southern edge of the Kinder Plateau, with it’s many gravity-defying rock formations, like Noe Stool and the Wool Packs. The views into the Edale Valley from this edge are breathtaking. The descent via Grindslow Knoll and Broadlee Bank Tor is perhaps even steeper than Jacob’s Ladder, but very rewarding.

Walk 1495: Hayfield - William Clough - Kinder Scout – Hayfield

Walk 1495 starts and finishes just outside Hayfield, in the Bowden Bridge Car Park, famous in walking history as the starting point for the famous Mass Trespass in 1932. It follows the route of the Trespassers up William Clough, where white hares may be seen scampering on the steep hillsides in winter, to the Northwestern corner of the Kinder Plateau. Here it picks up the Pennine Way. The way is followed along the western edge of Kinder Scout, and past Kinder Downfall. Kinder Downfall can be either an impressive torrent or a disappointing trickle, depending on recent rainfall, but an interesting phenomenon can often be seen here even in seemingly calm days. As the wind funnels along the gully, it can become strong enough to blow the waterfall back uphill. Also, look out for the Mermaid’s Pool down in the valley. Local legend has it that, in its still and murky depths swims the water spirit from which it takes its name. The Mermaid appears every year, at Midnight on Easter Eve, and if you gaze deep into the water you may see her swimming there. Once you have glimpsed her, she will either bestow upon you eternal life or drag you beneath the surface to your death. It is also said that, if you stare into the pool for long enough, you will receive visions of your future. Why not try it and find out?

Walk 1495 leaves the Pennine Way at Edale Cross to drop back down through pretty pasture land, back to Bowden Bridge.

Walk 1423: Lady Clough - Doctor's Gate - Pennine Way - Snake Path

The route followed by Walk 1423 is a rough triangle formed by three classic Peak District paths: namely Doctor’s Gate, The Pennine Way, and The Snake Path. The walk begins in the beautiful wooded valley of Lady Clough, which, with its coniferous woodland and steep sides has a distinctly Alpine feel. Here, it follows the path of an old Roman road that ran from the Roman fort at Brough (‘Navio’ to the Romans) in the Hope Valley, to Glossop (‘Melandra’). The Roman road climbs steadily up to higher moorland where it becomes known as Doctor’s Gate. According to local legend, Doctor’s Gate is named for a Longdendale Doctor who challenged the Devil to a horse race and, much to the irritation of the Devil, won.

Doctor’s Gate meets with the Pennine Way at the unusually named crossing of paths, ‘Old Woman’, and Walk 1423 follows the Way southwards, over Black Moor, where Common Lizards can often be seen basking on the stone slabs of the path, up to the head of the Ashop Valley. From here, the Snake Path is followed down the Ashop Valley back to the start of the walk.

Walk 929: Old Glossop - Doctor's Gate - Bleaklow - Old Glossop

Walk 929 starts in the picturesque little village of Old Glossop, from where it follows the Western part of Doctor’s Gate (the Roman road mentioned in the previous walk). A steady climb up a dramatic valley brings us once again to Old Woman, and the Pennine Way, which can be followed up to the Bleaklow Head (633m). An interesting detour from here is to the crash site of the USAF Superfortress RB-29A known as "Overexposed" (she dropped the test bombs at Bikini Atoll) that crashed during a photo reconnaissance mission in 1948. The grid reference of the site, for those interested, is (SK 090 950).

The Pennine Way continues over Bleaklow and downwards towards Longdendale, but we leave the Way to drop over the shoulder of Bleaklow into Blackshaw Clough, and back down into Old Glossop.

Walk 1178: Black Clough - Bleaklow - Crowden - Longdendale Trail

Walk 1178 can be an exercise in navigation (albeit a very simple one), as a short stretch covers trackless moorland atop Bleaklow. The walker following these Pennine Way walks in strict order will, by now, be well used to peat moorland, but as yet has not ventured from reasonably well defined paths to become so. Here however, is their chance to do this, but with a fair safety net.

The walk begins in the quiet and very beautiful valley of Near Black Clough, the edge of which it follows up onto Bleaklow. Like its bigger brother, Kinder Scout, Bleaklow is more of a plateau than a hill, and soon you will find that the path disappears altogether. Now is the chance to get out the map and compass, and navigate your way the half kilometer to Bleaklow Head. The instructions on Walkingworld are good, and you may not actually need to navigate. Also, by heading due west, you will cross the Pennine Way not far from the large post marking the summit. But practice your navigation now – it may prove useful in later Pennine Way walks.

From Bleaklow Head, the Pennine Way drops down into Longdendale, where Walk 1178 picks up the Longdendale Trail. This trail provides a gentle ‘warm down’, as it follows the trackbed of a disused railway, making for an easy end to the walk.

Walk 1691: Torside - Black Hill - Crowden – Torside

Along with the next walk, this walk allows us to compare the old route of the Pennine Way with the new one. No one would deny that the current Pennine Way is challenging, but these two stretches offer an ideal opportunity to experience what the going was like for those early Pennine Way pioneers. An eye opener to many, I’m sure.

After an easy warm up along the Longdendale Trail, the walker is dropped in at the deep end with a steep climb followed by a tiring crossing of trackless, boggy scrub. The walk meets the old Pennine Way at the base of another steep climb up onto peat moor. For the next part of the ascent to the top of Black Hill, the way is fairly easy to follow, if quite muddy. During the latter part, however, the track disappears altogether, leaving the walker to rely on navigation and the odd cairn or post.

The walk back from the trig point uses the new Pennine Way. The terrain is just as tricky, but the going is helped by obvious paths, and the use of stone flags over the boggy stretches. These flags were recovered from disused cotton mill floors in Lancashire and helicoptered up, to be laid by National Trust volunteers. It would be wrong of me not to pause here and thank them for the excellent work they do. Not all appreciate the visual impact of these paths, but the control of erosion on this very sensitive and fragile landscape is essential, and much appreciated.

Once in the valley of Longdendale, the Pennine Way crosses the dam of Torside Reservoir, where we leave it at the foot of Bleaklow, for an easy finish along the Longdendale Trail.

Edale Station - Hayfield - New Mills Station
Jacob's Ladder - Edale Head -Grindslow Knoll
Hayfield - William Clough - Kinder Scout - Hayfield
Lady Clough - Doctor's Gate - Pennine Way - Snake Path
Old Glossop - Doctor's Gate - Bleaklow - Old Glossop
Black Clough - Bleaklow - Crowden - Longdendale Trail
Torside - Black Hill - Crowden – Torside