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.