Edale

EDALE

November 6, 2019

CAR PARK ON ROAD BETWEEN BARBER BOOTH AND UPPER BOOTH, CHAPEL GATE, RUSHUP EDGE, LORD'S SEAT, MAM TOR, HOLLINS CROSS, THE OLD NAGS HEAD AT GRINDSBROOK BOOTH, COOPER'S FARM, BARBER BOOTH

Distance: 7.5 miles​Ascent/descent: 1,440 ft

Difiiculty: Moderate

Weather: Dry and clear at first, some rain and mist later

Walkers: Peter Beal, Andy Blease, Tom Cunliffe, Hughie Hardiman, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney and Tip, Graham Stone, Dean Taylor 

Alternative walker: Laurie Fairman

Apologies: Alan Hart (car problems), Julian Ross (family visit to North East), Mark Gibby (family visit to Ripon), George Dearsley (Turkey), Alastair Cairns and Mickey Barrett (both walking in Lake District)

Leader: Beal​​Diarist: Beal

Starting point: National Park car park on minor road between Barber Booth and Upper Booth, Edale

Starting time: 9.50am ​Finishing time: 2.07pm

Plans for today's walk originally involved the ascent of Crowden Tower on the Kinder plateau by way of Crowden Brook. But reports of recent heavy rainfall making an already scrambly climb more difficult prompted caution and we opted instead for the more straightforward traverse of Rushup Edge.

Rain and mist arrived by the afternoon but not before we had enjoyed splendid panoramic views from the ridge, one of the finest vistas in the Peak District.

We left the free National Park car park on the lane that leads to Upper Booth and headed right towards Edale. We soon went under a viaduct carrying the Manchester to Sheffield railway line and shortly afterwards crossed a stile on the right in to fields.

We crossed a track leading to Manor House Farm just before the farm buildings and crossed a series of fields by way of gates and stiles, with the bulk of Rushup Edge looming in front of us. 

We climbed slightly and reached a gate at the junction with a major track known as Chapel Gate, originally the main route between the Edale Valley and Chapel-en-le-Frith. A complicated legal history surrounds this byway. It was once classed as a BOAT (Byway Open to All Traffic) and prized by those odd people, the four-wheeled drive enthusiasts who think it adventurous to churn up the countryside.

But pressure some years ago prompted Derbyshire County Council to ban vehicles from the route. After lengthy legal battles, including a High Court case, the ban was upheld and the council began work to repair the badly worn track.

This brought protests from mountain biking groups, claiming the work was removing the challenge of the route and proving that whatever you do you just can't please everybody.

We slanted right on a stiffish climb up the track that cuts across the flank of Rushup Edge. We reached and ignored a green footpath sign on our right, pointing to Dale Head, and after this the slope eased (38 minutes).

After this the track bore gradually round to the left until reaching a junction with another track, where we turned left (50 min). This was the start of the Great Ridge, two-miles long and linking the tops of Lord's Seat, Mam Tor, Back Tor and Lose Hill.

A gentle climb, with some stiles, brought us to the ridge's highest point of Lord's Seat (1,804 feet), where pie-time was declared (70 min). The summit is topped by a large Bronze Age burial mound or barrow, now fenced off to prevent interference.

We sought shelter in a hollow just below the summit and enjoyed the magificent views, stretching along the ridge and, across the valley, over the massive Kinder Scout plateau.

We started the gentle descent that led us to the road crossing at the pass known as Mam Nick and then up the steepish climb of the man-made rock staircase to the 1,695 ft summit of Mam Tor (115 min).

The naming of the hill might commemorate a pagan mother goddess. Its summit was also the site of an Iron Age hill fort, the largest in the Peak District, much of the evidence of which has been removed by successive landslips that have sculpted the almost sheer southern face of the hill.

We continued downhill to reach Hollins Cross, a stone column that was once surmounted by a topograph, but now only has a plaque dedicated to Tom Hyett of the Long Eaton branch of the Ramblers. This dip in the ridge was once on the coffin track over which the dead were carried from Edale to the churchyard in Castleton, before Edale got its own church in the 17th century.

From here we descended steeply on a rough track to Hollins Farm, then crossed a road in to fields. We went through a tunnel under the railway line and soon crossed a stream to reach the village of Edale. More properly the named is applied to the whole valley and the village is actually Grindsbrook Booth.

A booth was a farm building on land enclosed to keep livestock safe from wolves and the five in Edale - Upper, Barber, Grindsbrook, Ollerbrook and Nether Booths - would originally have been rented from the Crown by foresters or private landowners.

We turned right to reach The Old Nags Head (152 min), the pub that marks the start of the 270-mile long Pennine Way, and which can now be added to Alan's list of pubs commiting the cardinal sin of leaving out an apostrophe where one should be.

Here we found Laurie, who had completed a slightly shorter route to ours, climbing directly to Hollins Cross and descending via Nether Booth.

Your temporary diarist had the pleasure of supplying drinks to mark his birthday five days earlier - including pints of Bradfield Farmers Blonde at £3-90. At that price the least you would expect would be an apostrophe, but no.

From the pub we bore right through the entrance of the Cooper's camp site and along a track towards a farm, just before which we crossed a stile on our left and followed the path through fields and a succession of countless gates.

This brought us to the road at Barber Booth, where we turned right and immediately right again to retrace our steps to our cars (193 min).

Next week's walk will start from the car park in Brabyn's Park in Marple Bridge. Refreshments en route will be at the Devonshire Arms in Mellor around 12.15pm and afterwards at the Norfolk Arms in Marple Bridge.

Happy wandering!