Stanage Edge

Another lovely late October day so we decided to head down towards Hathersage close to where we were last week and walk Stanage Edge. So after another drive through Glossop and over the Sanke pass we arrived at Hatherseage itself. We had a walk starting for the villlage but as it was going to be going dark around 4.30 we decided to find a closer starting point to the Edge. A look at the OS map found a carparking area near to the southern End and we were lucky to get the last parking spot.

We start off following up a broad path the took us up through bracken almost to the top and just a little scramble and were were there.

Stanage is certainly the most dramatic Edge we have walked, it is on the edge of Hathersage Moor which stretchs East toward towards Sheffield, however the best views are to the west where we could look down across the Hope valley towards Castleton and clearly see Mam Tor and the great ridge stretching to Lose Hill, with its companion Win Hill also is sight.

Looking South West we could see down the Derwent valley overlooked by Froggat Edge.

Although the day was glorious, the wind on the top was very strong, but it wasnt a chilling wind fortunately. We set off along the edge, which is very popular with rock climbers, every buttress seemed to be alive with them. The cliffs of edge I assume are Millstone grit although there were certainly traces of sandstone on the cliff top. The way was for a large part over boulders as well as grass between them, also very fine sand which along with the pools of water reminded me of walking along a rocky seashore.

We continued to walk along. for the most part the scenery on the top was pretty similar, climbers, gaps between the rock, moorland to the east,, these are grouse moors and I did brief see one grouse in the distance. After a while more views opened up, KinderScout was unmistakable, also other hills to the north of it which i do not know.

We finally reached a trig point and dropping back from the edge found a sheltered spot to stop and eat our snack. 

After the break we then started to retrace our steps, part of the way along we stopped at a place called Robin Hood's cave, we had passed it on the way out but this time I decided to climb down and have a close look. It is a ledge with a number of  very rounded hemispheres in the rock, how these are formed I dont know, maybe it is the wind which blows the dust around and over many years shapes them, there is also a gap in the stone where after climbing down came to  the back of a small circular cave presumeably formed the same way. Going through this you come out onto a little balcony overlooking the rock face. Cave with a balcony? certainly sir.

Returning to the edge we arrived back at the point where we had climbed onto the edge and decided to continue up to Cowley rocks at the end of the edge. On reaching these rocks I was quite amused to find another trig point which had been afixed to a large rock.

From these rocks we could see over to Higger Tor which we did last week and it  was only a fairly short walk from where we were. We realised these were the rocks that we could see last week.

We now decided that instead of walking back along the edge we would descend here, which we did with a bit of scrambling and then followed a path through the bracken which lead to the main park from the carpark.

Oh and we actually some of the famed discarded millstones, they were so well grouped that if I were a cynic I would say that they had been deliberately placed there.

All told we walked between 5 and a half and six miles in the surprisingly fast, for us, 3 and a half hours.



Higger Tor

For one reason or another we havent walked for quite a while but we finally got out today and decided to do a walk described as medium, which was to walk around Burbage rocks and then back over Higger Tor.
We drove over Snake Pass after suffering driving through Glossop. The road is far too busy for its size ands so quite slow going.
W started the walk from the Longshaw Estate, a National Trust property so free car parking, always a plus. I didnt know it until we arrived but the meadows we walked through on the White Edge walk were part of this estate too.
We started of walking throiugh Woods on the estate and dont past little strams to the valley crossing a wooden bridge before ascending to cross a road. At this point we realised we had taken the wrong route through the woods so had to follow the road to get to the correct point. After scratcdhing our heads on which path to take, there were several, we started to climb along a rock strewn path up towards the top of Burbage Rocks. Burbage rocks is an edge which drops from Heather moorland to an oval valley. The path took us upwards and I am sure there would have been lovely views but it was quite hazy so most things were indistinct.
The rocks on the edge were broken wirh fissures between them and we were careful not to get to close, unlike lots of rock climbers who were all over them. All the time the path was strewm with rocks so the going wasnt exactly straight forward. The path took us past a disused quarry and there were supposed  to be millstones strewn around but we didnt see any. I guess back in the day,  the stones were cut at the quarry and then taken to where they were needed. The path curved around the valley until we reached the head. This was by the Fiddlers Elbow road and was a popular place with quite a number of cars parked and lots of people around. We soon crossed a couple of streams and the set of away from the crowds to return down the other side of the valley.
We probably misread the route at this point because we started to descend towards woods where the route clearly took us around them, so we had to work our way back up towards a path we could see and then after a short break for a snack continue upwards to the top of Higger Tor. I felt a little cheated whe nwe got there becuase the road runs just beloe the top and so people were parking up and strolling up a 100 yard long path to the top.
The top of the tor is covered with boulders which are are prominent around the eastern and southern sides of the hill, some precariously balanced. From the southern edge we could look down and see the smaller tor Carl Wark which we were heading for. We could not see a proper path down the southern side so we had to scramble carefully down the side picking out way carefully over the rocks. We then followed the path to Carl Wark.
Cark Wark is a Neolithic/Bronze age/iron age (take your pick) reinforced hill. We approached it up a path   to the top top which is guarded by a stone faced bank about 10 feet high. Like Higger Tor, the top is strewn with boulders and what this place was used for I dont know and googling it didnt help, it appears to be a bit of a mystery. After crossing the summit we again were faced with a scrambling descent. Once we reached a recognised path we followed it  towards a cark park crossing a stream on the way. Once at the carpark we crossed the road and again entered Longshaw Estate. A stroll through the woods and we were back at the car.
The walk was around 5 miles, but as the going was not  straightforward we were out for about 4 hours. The views were not as good as they could have been due to the hazy conditions and not much in the way of wildlife. That said it was an interesting walk and we had how first experience of having to do some scrambling, as I have been put off in the past where routes say scrambling involved, maybe we willget a bit more adventurous.