Walk Completed on 17th April, 2016. Total Distance: 13.4 miles.

This arduous but rewarding walk takes in some of the finest hills and views in the Peak District. Starting in Edale valley itself, the walk proceeds to cover Mam Tor, Lose Hill, Win Hill, and the south-east edge of the Kinder Plateau before returning back down to Edale.

The walk started at the main Edale car park, near the train station, in glorious weather. Already I was starting to feel a little over-dressed in my thick hooded sweatshirt, but I figured it would be chilly once on the hills and so didn’t worry about it too much.  I crossed the main Edale through-road and started up the track to Hardenclough Farm, heading towards Mam Tor via Greenlands and Cold Side. It was a tough start to the walk and it wasn’t long before I was huffing and puffing, but eventually the bottom of the main path of Mam Tor was reached. This point is already around 450 (ish) metres above sea level and so the climb to the summit of Mam Tor is only about an extra 70 metres, meaning that you’re there  in no time at all.

The weather was still glorious on top, the sky blue, the sun hot, and a cool breeze disappointingly absent. At this point, I was starting to regret wearing the hoody – however I didn’t really want to take it off due to the fact I was wearing a skin-tight base layer underneath which was too short due to it being shrunk in the wash, and showed off the shape of my body in a most unflattering way. It was much better to keep my dignity and put up with the stuffy heat. I followed the ridge from Mam Tor to Back Tor via Hollins Cross, and then continued to Lose Hill, admiring the great views towards Kinder on the way. The views south are also quite impressive although spoilt slightly by the eyesore that is the Hope Cement Works. Of course, it could be that you’re a huge fan of cement and have come here specially to see the UK’s largest cement plant. If so, then you’ll be even more impressed than I was.

I was really starting to feel the effects of the sun by the time I arrived at the summit of Lose Hill, and wished I’d brought an extra bottle of fluid with me. I was also wishing that the fluid I had brought was something different as I quenched my thirst with a bottle of sickly sweet peach flavoured Lipton ice tea. I’m not sure what compelled me buy it as I don’t like iced tea and I don’t like peaches.

The descent from Lose Hill down its south-east ridge was pleasant enough with gentle grassy slopes that are not too hard on the knees. Once at the bottom and at Edale Road , the route led across River Noe, and along the track towards Fullwood Stile Farm, going under the railway bridge in the process. At the point that this track veered off to the left, I exited and headed south along a footpath that almost ran parallel to the railway line.  The footpath passed The Homestead before taking a sharp left uphill towards Twitchill Farm, and eventually to a row of rather nice looking holiday cottages.

From here, there was an extremely steep hill to ascend to get to the summit of Win Hill, and it was at this point where I started to feel the stabs of pain in my left knee. I decided to ignore it and power on up the hill, after all, I’m not even 40 years old yet which means I’m still young and invincible – or so I like to convince myself. Once at the top, there’s a jumble of rocks to scramble up to reach the summit proper, where it’s advisable to get the camera out as the views are fantastic. Ladybower reservoir, Crook Hill, and Derwent Edge lie to the north, Bamford Edge out to the east, Hope and Castleton to the south-west, Lose Hill back out to the west, and Kinder to north-west.

From the summit of Win Hill, I headed to the forested area to the north called Wooler Knoll. It was then a case of following the line of the forest in a roughly north-westerly direction before veering off slightly to the left to join the (former) Roman Road. A short distance along this track, I arrived at the landmark of Hope Cross, which is a seven foot high stone pillar with a square capstone on top, bearing the place names of Glossop, Hope, Sheffield, and Edale on its faces. The landmark lies at the crossroads of important ancient packhorse routes through the Peak District.

Eventually I left the Roman Road and headed out towards Kinder across Crookstone Out Moor. The footpath for this starts at the National Trust Sign, seen in one of the photos below. The route continued across heather moorland and began to ascend Kinder at an easy-going angle, eventually following the south-east edge of the plateau as far as the distinctive landmark of Ringing Rodger. It’s normally fun to scramble about on the rocks here, however it was getting late and my legs were very tired and so I descended the zig-zagging path back to Edale whilst cursing my sore knees.

Further Reading and Useful Links
Mam Tor – Wikipedia Page
Lose Hill – Wikipedia Page
Win Hill – Wikipedia Page
Kinder Scout – Wikipedia Page
Edale – Wikipedia Page
Kinder Scout Live Webcam
My Google photo album for the walk
Download the GPX file