On 17th April 2021, the UK’s first National Park turns 70 years old. It was only fitting that The Walking And Talking Society squeezed in a trip during the Peak District’s birthday week.
Stanage Edge
The best place to park your car when you visit Stanage Edge is in the large lay-by here on The Dale road:
53°20’21.5″N 1°37’06.6″W
If you’re a fool and come at a busy time, then there is a car park beneath Stanage Edge, with paths that lead up to the ridge.
Travelling from the west of the Pennines you’re likely to pass this car park first. Like I did. I stopped in cos I desperately needed a wee. I had to find a wall that shielded me from the wind, the road and people on the rocks atop Stanage Edge. I think I got away with it. Every time a car went by on the other side of the wall, I ducked my head. I’m sure if you could see me you’d think I was mentally unstable.
Bladder emptied I could appreciate the sounds of the Peak District: wooping lapwings and cawing pheasants and not much else. Very serene.
I returned to my car and ate a cookie, before joining Brendan of House Clayton further up The Dale. Here I took on my regular role of Tripod Mule.
Firstly, for those of you with Strava, here’s our super difficult walk:
Tonight was about treating the eyes and mind, not working the calves.
It was a glorious evening for it but there was a chill in the air.
The White Path Moss trig point on Stanage Edge is just a short walk from The Dale lay-by.
Brendan then taught me how to gracefully scale a cairn.
He then got out his drone and we played about on the rocks for a bit.
Obviously we took care as it’s dangerous to be an idiot up here. For example, the boulder that the trig sits upon is an overhang, and beneath there is a 15ft or so drop. Keep your kids on a leash.
So initially, the plan was to watch the sunset with a beer from near the trig point… Not a bad idea – evidently as other folk had had the same one. So Brendan suggested we find Robin Hood’s Cave and hope it was people-less.
Robin Hood’s Cave
A couple of years ago, The Walking And Talking Society came to the Peaks for an Edgy Walk, and completely missed Robin Hood’s Cave. It’s easy to do if you don’t know it’s there – the caves are hiding down a rocky track, underneath the lip of the cliff above.
Simply walk along the ridge in a north-west direction, keeping close to the cliff edge and you will eventually come across it, about a kilometre from the Stanage Edge trig point.
As you may have guessed, the cave is named after the legendary outlaw, who apparently used it to hide out from the law. I dunno what he was doing this far out of Nottinghamshire. Sherwood Forest is about 34 miles away but who knows – perhaps Robin liked caves as much as trees.
There are a number of little caves that have seemingly been dug out by people. One almost looks like a booth you’d find in a pub, with a rounded seat from which you can sit and watch the sun go down. Another is a small hole in the cliff face with a carpet of sand.
From here, you can take a beautiful naturally framed photo of the horizon.
Oh ain’t it just lovely.
Here’s the main cave.
Climbing through takes you to another section.
Ohhhhhh can you imagine camping over here?? Can you imagine spending the night as a cave troll with a campfire?? It’s a shame you can’t really do that, as the cave is in perfect view of a ranger’s station and wildfires are not a good idea out here on the moors.
The cave leads to what resembles a balcony, separated from the rest of the section by a metre gap and a fairly big drop.
We settled down to watch the sunset with a beer. It was very bromantic.
Just a short trip this time but after the week I’ve had, it was nice to get away from Cheshire. The Peak District is like a huge medicine cabinet, with countless tonics to take in and soothe the soul. Those of us who like to wander owe a lot to the ramblers who committed a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932, to highlight the fact that people in England were denied access to open country so that the wealthy had exclusive use of moorlands to shoot grouse. Their actions helped usher in the Right To Roam, and the UK’s first national park was born in 1951.
To, Peak District,
Happy 70th Birthday!
Cheers, and all the best,
David
#VidOnTour 
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