Peak and Fell Walking - 22nd November 2008 Edale Moor

EDALE MOOR

A PHOTOGRAPHIC WALKING WEBSITE by NEIL HASLEWOOD

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Edale Moor - 22nd November 2008

WALK STATISTICS

Date	22nd November 2008	Description	Edale Moor
Start Point	Edale Car Park	Peaks Climbed	Ringing Roger 550m
Total Time	5hrs 15min		Edale Moor 590m
Walking Time	3hrs 50min		Madwoman's Stones 565m
Stopped Time	1hrs 25min		Nether Tor 570m
Distance	8.80 miles		Upper Tor 604m
Moving Average	2.3 mph	Start Grid Ref	SK 12412 85332
Elevation at Start	238 metres	Temperature	+1°C to -2°C
Total Ascent	540 metres	Weather	Sunny start with Cloud later
Max Elevation	600 metres	Walking With	On Own

WALK NOTES

Edale Car Park - Grindsbrook Booth - The Nab - Ringing Roger - Edale Moor Trig Point - Madwoman's Stones - Druid's Stone - Kinder Edge - Ringing Roger - Nether Tor - Upper Tor - Grindsbrook Clough - Grindsbrook Booth - Edale Car Park

The weather forecast was for a bright and sunny day so I decided to set off early for Edale. There were only a handful of cars in the car park when I arrived. Although it was sunny it was very cold so it was a matter of putting on plenty of layers and hat and gloves.

I walked from the car park and headed off towards Grindsbrook Booth passing the new visitor centre – The Moorland Centre - on the way. In the hamlet of Grindsbrook Booth is the famous pub the Old Nags Head which is the official start of the Pennine Way. I walked by the pub and took the path towards Grindsbrook which descends down through a wooded area to cross the brook. Once I had climbed back up onto open moorland I headed away from the main path to start the climb up to The Nab and Ringing Roger. The weather was lovely at this point – blue skies but very cold. Ascending to The Nab is quite easy as the path zigzags its way up the hillside. From The Nab my path took me over an unnamed top before the final ascent to Ringing Roger.

The views towards the Kinder Edge at Nether Tor from Ringing Roger are lovely. The top of Ringing Roger is quite a rocky outcrop and provides excellent photographic opportunities. Here I sat and viewed the wonderful scenery as well as find time to have a drink and a quick snack. I could not stay to long though as I was feeling the cold in the light breeze. I eventually left Ringing Roger behind (for the first time on the walk) and followed the path to the Kinder Edge near Nether Tor. It was nice today as there were not many walkers around. I felt the peace and solitude of wild and remoteness of the Kinder Mountain. In the distance a white hare dashed across the rocky terrain and two Grouse took to the air in alarm as I slowly approached.

I carried onwards to the Kinder Scout plateau. The visibility was good and I could see across the plateau in all directions. Eventually I saw the Edale Moor triangulation pillar in the distance. As there had been a frost overnight the ground was icy. Walking across the groughs and hags was still a big risk though as the frozen water and peat was quite thin in places. I found it impossible to walk directly to the pillar and ended up going around in circles for a while until I found a good enough route to the boggy area around the summit. There were great views from the summit. The pillar was surrounded by a peaty bog and so I could not reach out to touch it. In fact I had in zoom in with my camera to take a photograph of the flush bracket. The Edale Moor pillar (S4231) at 590m is still in good condition. While at the pillar I met some walkers who had travelled from Cranfield University at Milton Keynes.

After a short break my next target would be the Madwoman’s Stones which could be seen in the distance from the Edale Moor pillar. At this point the sun started to be hidden by the clouds and in fact I would not see much more sun for the rest of the day. I did not head directly for Madwoman’s Stones as I visited another small outcrop first. After reaching the stones I then headed in a south easterly direction back to the Kinder Edge. I followed the edge around to the Druid’s Stone and then on to Ringing Roger. It seemed like déjà vu as I was at this point earlier in the day. I ascended back up to Nether Tor and followed the path along the edge visiting Upper Tor along the way. Eventually I arrived at the head of Grindsbrook Clough at which point it was time for another bite to eat. My return back to Edale was via Grindsbrook Clough descending steeply at first down the rocky stream bed. There were many nice waterfalls during the walk down the clough. Before arriving back at the car I called in at the Moorland Centre for a quick browse. This was a great day’s walk with another fantastic experience across the Kinder plateau.

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