EAST CHESHIRE RAMBLERS
THE cliffs of Stanage Edge are not high, only 30m/100ft, but they sweep northwest in an exhilarating 5 km/3 mile arc with a view matched by few places in the country.
Stanage Edge was the target of a group of walkers from East Cheshire Ramblers as they set off from Grindleford station on a 12.5 mile walk.
Grindleford station sits next to Burbage Brook whose clear cheerful sounds were heard as the group climbed the track through the woods of Padley Gorge. Emerging through the woods, close to the Longshaw Estate, the walkers followed the course of the stream to its headwater on Burbage Moor, overshadowed by the bulk of Carl Wark, an Iron Age hill fort.
Next on the route was Higger Tor, an impressive boulder hill to the north. Resting here for a coffee, the group could look back down the valley and admire sumptuous violet heather in its flowering peak on the moors.
After a short distance across moorland the start along Stanage Edge began, where shortly after a trigpoint was reached that flagged the finest view of the walk – if not the entire Peak District.
From here, the Edge faces straight up the Hope Valley to Mam Tor and Great Ridge, with the escarpment itself tapering northwest in a grand arc.
High Neb at 458m/1,502ft is the highpoint on the edge and was once the site of a millstone quarry.
From Stanage the route then dropped downhill, passing North Lees Hall, inspiration for Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre.
Steady walking then brought the group to the village of Hathersage and under a yew tree in the cemetery of St Michael and All Saints Church (reputedly) the grave of Little John.
After one more steep climb to the top of moorland the group began their descent to the now defunct Bolehill Quarry, where gritstone was once extracted to build Derwent and Howden dams. Going steadily downhill through birch trees, Padley village was reached and a short distance further brought the group back to Grindleford Station.
For more details of East Cheshire Ramblers’ programme of weekend and midweek walks ranging from 4 to 15 miles in length, go to ramblerseastcheshire. org.uk.