Walk Summary
A high-level peak district moorland perimeter walk. Excellent views, especially from the northern and western edges. Visits Castle Naze, an impressive iron age fort. Includes one of the easiest Ethels, Corbar Hill.
Date: 14/10/2022
Length: 8.98 miles
Height Gain: 311 m
Terrain: Very boggy paths; slippery paths, grass paths, easy woodland trail.
Navagation: The footpaths are well signed, but map/compass and gps required. The route from Corbar Hill on to Combs Moss is obvious. The perimeter path is obvious; just follow the edge.
Start: Street Parking On Corbar Road
Route: Street Parking On Corbar Road, Corbar Wood, Corbar Hill, Black Edge, Castle Naze, Combs Head, Corbar Hill, Corbar Wood
Map: OL31 White Peak Area
Weather: Mostly sunshine, a little grey in the afternoon.
Walkers: Nun
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Gateway To Corbar Hill
Captain's Log
Gateway To Corbar
I'm not keen on parking in residential streets, but I'd checked Corbar Road out on Google maps and there seemed to be lots of places to park that weren't in front of houses. My parking paranoia claimed me when I arrived, and I spent 10 minutes kicking the leaves from the kerbside to make sure I wasn't on a double yellow. I also checked every lamppost in sight to see if there were any signs detailing obscure parking restrictions. Nothing. It seemed a bit too good to be true. A binman, on the other side of the road, was watching my performance with some bemusement. I was just about to cross the road and ask if he knew of any legal reason why I shouldn't park here, when his bin lorry arrived between us, and the opportunity was lost.
The walk started using a pleasant trail through Corbar Wood. After a few minutes I was met by the bizarre sight of a door in a makeshift frame made of branches. Clanking the door knocker didn't raise anybody. It reminded me of a time when I once trekked in a remote area of the Andes. In the middle of nowhere, we came across a door in a stone frame, positioned next to the trail. A man turned up and demanded payment from us to go through the door. While our guide discussed the situation with this chap, we wandered around the door frame to the other side. It was all quite surreal. The guy was only after a couple of dollars and in the end the situation was settled amicably. He never actually opened the door for us, we just walked around it. I thought that maybe this was a similar situation in Corbar Wood, but nobody arrived demanding payment.
Corbar Hill
Corbar Hill
The woodland trail ended at the edge of a field, and I could see a large cross and trig on a crag a short distance away. A few minutes later I was stood next to the cross admiring a wonderful view of Buxton in the valley below. Early morning light reflected on the clouds and made the sky look quite dramatic. There seemed to be a heavenly conflict going on between the white, fluffy clouds of the northeast and a maelstrom of storm clouds in the southwest. Corbar Hill was the first Ethel of the day and probably the easiest one of I've climbed in this Venture. If only they were all this easy. During planning I'd had a slight concern about access to the moorland plateau of Combs Moss from this point, but in the end, an obvious path led me from the Cross up on to the edge of the moor. The rest of today's walk was a just a circuit of this moorland plateau. In terms of navigation, it was simple; just keep the edge on my right. There were two other Ethels to bag, Black Edge and Combs Head.
I started walking along the eastern edge of the moor towards Black Edge. The path was quite heathery and very boggy. Back at the car I'd debated whether to put my gaiters on, and in the end I didn't. 'It'll be a good path,' I told myself. I figured that with it being so close to Buxton, it would be a popular route and a well-worn path. Although there was an obvious path all around the perimeter of the moor, I found it to be very boggy and slippery. The path didn't really look much used at all. During my patrol of the plateau's perimeter, I never past one person. The good people of Buxton must carry out their walking elsewhere.
Corbar Hill Cross
Bunny Comms
Black Edge
By the time I reached the trig on Black Edge my trousers were muddied up to my knees and I had the unpleasant feeling of damp feet. This was definitely a soggier walk than I'd expected. The views hadn't been the best on the way up either. It was a view of a flat, heathery moorland to my left or a stone wall to my right. After Black Edge, the terrain and views improved significantly. The northern end of the plateau definitely delivered the best views.
A short while after Black Edge summit, I came across an array of satellite dishes pointing in various directions. I looked over the stone wall and saw that the leads from the dishes disappeared into some rabbit holes. Obviously, the bunnies around here had got their comms sorted out. The path gradually descended as I headed northwards opening up wonderful views of the hills and valleys.
Combs Reservoir
Castle Naze Fort
The drama of the northern edge of the plateau culminates in Castle Naze, an Iron Age fort. The fort is triangular with two sides protected by cliffs and steep hillside. The plateau side of the fort is defended by a deep ditch. It has been well chosen as a defence position. There is evidence that the site was used by the Romans and reconstructed in Medieval times. Naze derives from the Old English 'naess' which means a ness/promontory/headland. It is well named. There was a wonderful view down into the valley to the Combs Reservoir.
It took a while to drag myself away from this dramatic landscape, but eventually I started walking southwards. I could see my perimeter path heading off into the distance. It looked as though it meandered a lot more on the plateau's west side than it had done on the east. The cliffs on Combs Edge were quite impressive.
Castle Naze Fort Defence
Combs Edge
Combs Moss Shooting Hut
Combs Head
I think the west side of the plateau sees fewer people than the east. The path deteriorated and returned to a boggy and slippery challenge. I spent a lot of time looking down at my footing which was a shame since the views from the path were excellent. Halfway along the edge I came across a landrover track leading up to a small shooting hut that has been built on the edge. The map shows a string of grouse butts running from the shooting hut, across the moor to the east side of the plateau. I think a lot of Ethel baggers use the grouse butts access path as a quick way of making the route shorter to Combs Head. That's a shame since they miss out on the better northern edge of the plateau.
The path gradually followed the edge uphill until it turned southeast. Looking west I could see the high hills of the Goyt Valley. The clouds were greyer now and I thought I might be in for a spot of rain. I had to get the gps out to find the official top of Combs Head. There was no cairn, just a heathery patch of moorland. It was only a short walk from the summit to the point where I'd accessed the moor earlier this morning.
The views from Corbar Hill were just as good as they had been this morning, although the clouds didn't have quite the same drama. In Corbar Woods I knocked on the door again, but nobody was at home. I was delighted to find no parking tickets under my windscreen wiper when I got back to my car.
The perimeter walk had some great views, especially on the north and west sides. Looking at the state of my trousers though, I'd definitely wear gaiters next time.