Centre (open daily from April to September, free entry, tel 01433 670207), a Peak District National Park visitor centre, is worth exploring. The unusual building has a waterfall at its entrance and a lush sedum roof. There are a couple of pubs and cafés, as well as a post office and general store. If planning to stay overnight, there are campsites, bunkhouses, B&Bs and a nearby youth hostel.
The Pennine Way starts, whatever the weather, at the Old Nags Head in Edale
The Pennine Way starts in the centre of Edale at the Old Nags Head, around 250m (820ft). The first signpost is across the road from the pub, pointing towards a commemorative gate that was erected in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of the route. An obvious path climbs gently beside a little streambed flanked by trees. Emerge from the trees and turn left to follow a flagstone path up through a few fields, passing through gates; there are fine views across the dale to Mam Tor and Lose Hill. Continue gently up an earth path through a couple more fields, then head down through more fields to pick up an enclosed path and track past Upper Booth Farm, which has a campsite and a group bunkhouse.
Turn right along a narrow road, crossing a bridge over a stream and passing fields to reach Lee Farm. The Lee Barn Information Shelter is here, containing interesting notices and offering shelter from inclement weather. Follow a track onwards, passing through gates from field to field to reach a narrow, stone packhorse bridge at the foot of Jacob’s Ladder.
Turn left or right – left being a long and stony loop once used by packhorses, right being a shorter, steeper, stone-pitched path. Both routes meet at a cairn and a stony path climbs onwards. Towards the top, turn right along a flagstone path. Climb a short, steep slope of grass, with tufts of bilberry. When a sprawling cairn is reached in a slight dip, keep left to follow a clear path, passing big boulders and gritstone outcrops. Take care in mist while crossing broad, bare peat. Pass a trig point on top of a gritstone outcrop on Kinder Low, at 633m (2077ft).
Trig point on a gritstone outcrop at Kinder Low
Walk across an area denuded of vegetation and peat, where the gritstone bedrock is often seen. Keep right to follow a path round the edge of the broad moorland plateau, heading roughly north above Cluther Rocks. The path is sometimes narrow and occasionally involves hopping from boulder to boulder and slab to slab. Follow the path to reach the waterfall, Kinder Downfall. Cross a stream above the waterfall, taking care on blustery days, as the wind can flip all the water back up into the streambed, soaking the unwary! This is a very popular lunch spot, but don’t linger too long as the day has barely started.
Keep following the gritstone edge, where a path gradually rises, crossing a fence and reaching rock outcrops on Sandy Heys. This point was gained during the famous 1932 mass trespass, when it was all private property. What a contrast today, when walkers have every right to be here – a right they exercise in great numbers! In mist, don’t be tempted to follow a path downhill, but stay on the broadest, clearest path, which turns right and climbs a little to reach a sprawling cairn. Keep left of the cairn to pick up a steep, stone-pitched path leading down to the grassy gap of Ashop Head, around 510m (1675ft).
A flagstone path heads left, but the Pennine Way keeps right along a broad and stony path. Pass a prominent marker post where another path crosses, and climb straight over a grassy hump to reach another gap. A flagstone path climbs straight uphill, giving way to a broad, stony path leading to a cairn at 544m (1785ft) on top of Mill Hill. Paths cross on the summit, so turn right to follow another flagstone path onwards. Note that the flagstone path is often a considerable distance from the course of the Pennine Way shown on OS maps.
This used to be one of the worst areas of bog on the Pennine Way, but the path now offers a firm, dry footing. The old path can often be seen on the left as a black, boggy line, although it is slowly re-vegetating. The moorland is predominantly grassy, with areas of bog cotton, sphagnum moss, rushes, bilberry and heather. Look out for cloudberries, a distinctive, broad-leafed arctic remnant plant, that positively thrive on the highest and bleakest boggy moorlands.
The path undulates very gently and writhes to avoid awkward boggy areas on Moss Castle and Featherbed Moss. There is a strange sight ahead, where vehicles apparently speed straight across the moor, since the surface of the A57 road on the Snake Pass isn’t seen until it is reached at a gate. Cross the road with care, as the traffic is sometimes very fast.
There are no snakes on Snake Pass, nor have there ever been. Originally, there was a Snake Inn, whose sign bore a snake emblem that was part of the Cavendish crest, the family being related to the Duke of Devonshire, a major landowner in Derbyshire. Snake Pass took its name from the inn. However, the inn recently changed its name to the Snake Pass Inn, curiously taking its name from the road originally named after itself! The road runs at an altitude of 512m (1680ft) and is one of the first to be blocked by snow each winter. It’s a sobering thought, but every so often a walker will abandon their Pennine Way attempt at this point, having seriously under-estimated the nature of the route.
A track leaves the road and runs to a gate, where a broad and firm path crosses what was once desperately over-trodden moorland. There is a slight dip where the Pennine Way crosses Doctor’s Gate. Here, a stone-paved path crosses at right angles, clearly cut across the moorland.
This is thought to be an old Roman road linking Glossop with the Hope Valley. Its name comes from an association with the 15th-century Vicar of Glossop, Doctor John Talbot, who had the old road improved.
Keep straight ahead and follow the path as it rises gently over largely grassy moorland, with heather and bilberry becoming more noticeable after the path changes to flagstones. A few steps lead down into Devil’s Dike, a deep cutting in the peat where the stony ground beneath has been exposed. In wet weather it carries a stream. A gradual ascent through the cutting links with more flagstones, then the path becomes a stony channel flanked by peat. Another stretch of flagstones leads to Hern Clough.
Turn left to walk upstream, crossing and re-crossing the little stream as necessary. Later, there are more flagstones, as well as a series of helpful marker stones bearing carved directional arrows. These are useful as OS maps mark the route incorrectly. The broad and peaty top of Bleaklow Head is worn to sand and grit in places, with a large summit cairn bearing a wooden stake at 633m (2077ft).
Views south are blocked by the plateau of Kinder Scout. Other prominent features include distant Winter Hill and Pendle Hill, with Black Hill closer to hand. In very clear conditions, Pen-y-Ghent can be seen far ahead, maybe as much as a week away via the Pennine Way.
Summit cairn and a tall wooden post on Bleaklow
To leave Bleaklow Head, make a slight left turn, confirming the correct path by looking for ‘PW’ carved on a rock. Take care, as many walkers fail to spot this marker. A narrow and gentle path heads roughly north, then, swinging west down a slope dominated by bilberry with cloudberries dotted around, the path becomes rather awkward, with stones and boulders underfoot on the way down a heathery slope. There are some stretches of flagstones, but the path is quite rugged as it leads down to a confluence of streams. Ford both streams and climb a short, steep slope above Torside Clough.
The Pennine Way runs along a heathery edge, passing a few gritstone outcrops overlooking the stream. It can be rugged as it runs downhill, but a good stretch on flagstones crosses a fence. At a junction of paths, keep right downhill, later climbing to traverse Clough Edge. There is a view down to Torside Reservoir, with Black Hill beyond. A stone-pitched path descends steeply from the edge, passing through a gate in a fence. Turn left down a broader path, keeping left of a farmhouse at Reaps, following its access track to the B6105 road at 220m (720ft). Turn left if staying nearby at the Old House B&B, otherwise cross the road as signposted for the Pennine Way to continue to Crowden.
The Old House at Torside