Win Hill and the Great Ridge

The first section of this walk, as far as Kinder Scout, is identical to the Edale Skyline route from Yorkshire Bridge. After crossing the River Derwent, head steeply up the notorious Parkin Clough. Follow this all the to Win Hill’s summit when you can stop and admire the incredible views whilst also getting your breath back after the steep climb. Continue west off the rocky Win Hill summit (known as Win Hill Pike) and take the first Path that appears on the left. This heads downhill towards Twitchill Farm, gradual at first and then very steeply to finish. Walk through the farm and holiday cottages, and carry on down the farm road to the end. The road curves sharply to the right at the bottom where a turning off on the left takes you under the railway bridge. Once through the bridge, continue along the road, over the River Noe, and to Edale Road.

The path to Lose Hill begins directly on the opposite side of Edale Road. Follow this path for a short distance then take the first right turning. Continue following this track over a small railway bridge and then directly towards the summit of Lose Hill. The nearer to the summit you get, the steeper the path becomes. At this point, the two major ascents of the walk are already complete. On the summit of Lose Hill is a toposcope, and the views all around are quite fantastic. You may have noticed on an Ordnance Survey map that the hill is labelled ‘Lose Hill or Ward’s Piece’. This is due to the fact that local access activist G. H. B. Ward was given an area of Lose Hill by the Sheffield and District Federation of the Ramblers Association back in 1945. The area was named Ward’s Piece. Mr Ward subsequently presented this to the National Trust.

Lose Hill sits at the eastern end of ‘The Great Ridge’. The next objective of the walk is to follow the crest of the ridge westwards towards Mam Tor. This is relatively easy compared to hikes up Win Hill and Lose Hill. The ridge first takes you over the rocky Back Tor which happens to make an excellent viewpoint for looking into Edale valley. From there, a crumbly track leads steeply down before the ridge starts to slowly rise again at Barker Bank. Between here and the ascent of Mam Tor, you’ll find a junction of footpaths known as Hollins Cross. This is the lowest point of the ridge. The paths that cross north and south are known as the ‘coffin road’. It was an old traditional route from Castleton to Edale which was used to transport coffins from Edale, over Hollins Cross, and down to Hope church. This occurred until a church was built in Edale (a quick bit of research tells me that this happened in 1633).

A steep but relatively short ascent up the remaining hill takes you to the summit of Mam Tor. The name Mam Tor means ‘mother hill’, named that way due to the collection of mini-hills beneath its east face. These mini-hills are a result of landslips; a result of unstable lower layers of shale. The landslips also give the hill its alternative name of ‘the shivering mountain’. The A625 road used to traverse the crumbling eastern side but the section of road was eventually closed in 1979 after a losing battle to maintain and repair it over the years. The layers of tarmac and gravel are up to 2 metres thick in places, demonstrating the numerous efforts to keep the road open.

Rushup Edge and Brown Knoll

From the summit of Mam Tor, descend the main path down to the road in the nick between Mam Tor and Rushup Edge. There are a couple of ways up onto Rushup Edge now. Across the road and a few yards to the left, there’s a big easy path the gradually takes you up onto the ridge. I always prefer the other option though, which is the steeper path that starts a few yards down the road to the right. It gets you up on to the ridge quicker for a great viewpoint looking back at Mam Tor. The brief scramble up the loose path is worth it in my opinion. Continue along Rushup Edge, past its summit point – named Lord’s Seat – and take the first big turning on the right, which is the Chapel Gate track that leads back down towards Edale.

A short way down the Chapel Gate track, another path forks off to the left. Take this path and continue along it all the way to the Brown Knoll trig pillar. The path is now paved for most of the way, making the walk a lot quicker and easier than it used to be. Some would also say less fun. The paving slabs were a much needed addition though as there was a real problem with erosion across the moor. There’s been a lot of regrowth in recent years and things are looking much better – it’s just a shame that you end up with sore feet now as you stomp along the slabs.

Kinder Scout West

Continue on from the Brown Knoll trig pillar and turn right when you arrive at a footpath junction. This path takes you down to the shoulder between Brown Knoll and Kinder Scout, where it meets the top of the well-known Jacobs Ladder track. Keep walking straight ahead and make your way up the slope towards the Kinder Scout Plateau, heading for the large, impressive looking gritstone formations up on Kinder Scouts edge. These formations are named Edale Rocks and will be the first landmark you’ll see once you’re up on the plateau. It’s a popular place to take a break and fuel up – there’s still a long way to go after this!

From Edale Rocks, follow the well trodden path (which also makes up part of the Pennine Way) north past the Kinder Low trig pillar. Once you arrive at the edge proper, continue following it north. The path takes you over the head of Red Brook before eventually arriving at the popular Kinder Downfall. The waterfall – which is the tallest in the Peak District at 30 metres – was formerly known as Kinder Scut, and it’s from this that the Kinder Scout plateau derives its name. The river that flows over it is the River Kinder. The river is only 3 miles long and ends up flowing into the Kinder Reservoir which can be seen down below.

From Kinder Downfall, the edge continues in a more westerly direction, past the area known as Sandy Heys, until the north-west corner of Kinder Scout is reached. The Pennine Way continues down to the dip that sits between William Clough and the River Ashop Valley before rising again to the summit of Mill Hill opposite. We don’t take this path, instead taking a sharp right and continuing along the Kinder Scout north edge.

Kinder Scout North and Hope Cross

The north edge is less defined and rather more boggy than the stretch we’ve just walked on. It’s also a lot quieter and gives a feeling of remoteness that the south and west edges don’t offer. The initial section is simply labelled ‘The Edge’ on the Ordnance Survey map but is also known as ‘Black Ashop Edge’, and crosses Upper Red Brook and then Nether Red Brook before eventually arriving at the fantastic viewpoint of Fairbrook Naze. Down below is Fair Brook itself with it’s path running along to the left of it. From the corner of Fairbrook Naze, follow the edge south to the head of Fair Brook before continuing west again.

The route now continues along Seal Edge before arriving at Seal Stones. The brook below is Blackden Brook and this needs to be navigated similarly to Fair Brook by heading south and around the clough’s head. The last stretch of edge is known as Blackden Edge and is less dramatic than both Seal Edge and Black Ashop Edge. Continue along here and eventually follow the main path around until its heading south. When a junction of footpaths at a large lump of gritstone is reached then turn left until another junction of footpaths is reached. From here, take the obvious descent path heading east down Crookstone Hill.

This path will eventually take you the old Roman road which you’ll follow roughly south-east until you arrive at Hope Cross. Hope Cross is an ancient marker stone that marks the boundary of the villages of Hope and Peale. It’s topped with a capstone and thought to be around 270 years old. At Hope Cross, veer off to the left and follow the treeline for some distance, until directly north of Winhill Pike. At this point, a path heads north, descending through lush woodland, before eventually curving around to the east and emerging near Ladybower dam. Simply cross this and then turn right back to the car.