Captain's Log

Not So Windy Knoll

It wasn’t that windy as I parked up on Windy Knoll at the top of Winnats Pass. That was quite unusual since it normally blows a gale up there. Looking up at Mam Tor I could see quite a few people making their way up and down the summit ridge. It wasn’t even 8 o’clock yet; it’s certainly a popular hill. I set off to join the masses. 

I’d not be joining them for the trudge up to the top though. Today’s walk would take me up to the col between Mam Tor and Rushup’s Edge and down the other side into the Edale Valley. I’d then head off to Barber Booth at the head of the valley and then join the Pennine Way’s first climb to the top of Kinder Low. I’d then descend from the Kinder Plateau via Crowden Clough before traversing the Edale Valley again towards Mam Tor. I’d decline the option of going to the summit again and drop down to the defunct road that skirts the crumbling eastern slopes of Mam Tor. I’d then follow the road back up to Windy Knoll. 

On reaching the pass to the Edale Valley I looked back to the impressive Winnats Pass. It was once thought that this gouge in the earth was the result of a massive collapsed cavern. The current thinking is that it had been a canyon in a reef of a shallow lagoon. The mind boggles, especially at this time in the morning.

Edale Valley

The morning had a gloomy twilight feel to it. At least it wasn’t raining. The views around the head of the valley were stunning  as I  picked up the path that dropped down the hillside in the direction of Edale. I was surprised to find a couple of Roe Deer mooching around near a wooded area. I think they must have been the first deer I’ve ever seen in the Edale valley. Halfway down the hillside, I diverted off on a path  towards the west. In all the decades I’ve walked around Edale, this was the first time I’d ever taken this path. Most of my walks have followed the tops of the surrounding hills. Although the path involved a  lot of field hopping, the route was blessed with good views and was quite interesting. I came across one of the fattest sheep I’ve ever seen. She was so big, her tummy was almost touching the grass. I had to remind myself it was October and not lambing season. 

Eventually I came to the small village of Barber Booth and was disappointed to find that there didn’t appear to be a hairdressing establishment there. I continued out of the other side and across the railway bridge. I waited for a while to see if I could get a photo of a train at the tunnel entrance that disappears under Brown Knoll towards Manchester. It was all quiet though and so I continued my walk. A couple of minutes later I heard a train zooming out of the tunnel. I’d never make a professional photographer; I just haven’t the patience

Jacob's Ladder

Some more field hopping took me to Upper Booth, a village even smaller than the barberless Barber Booth. Jacob’s Ladder is the first climb on the Pennine Way if you start from Edale. I suspect some Pennine Wayers may give up the trail after attempting the ascent. It is fairly steep and it is fairly long, but to be fair, it isn’t that difficult. Jacob’s Ladder was of course that useful implement that allowed angels to make their way between earth and heaven. I always thought angels had wings, but I'm no expert. I suppose we’d probably have lifts or escalators if the Bible was rewritten for today’s punters. I didn’t see many angels on my ascent, although a couple of other walkers did manage to overtake me. I’m not in a rush to get to heaven and so didn’t try to catch them up. 

The trig point at Kinder Low was stood a few hundred metres from the plateau’s edge on the top of a large boulder. A man popped his head up from behind the stone as I approached. ‘Hello again!’ he said. He’d been one of the energetic angels that had overtaken me on the way up Jacob’s Ladder. He headed off along the western edge path and I set off eastwards over the plateau towards the distinctive stone of Noe Stool. 

Crowden Tower

There are plenty of distinctive stones on this southern edge of the plateau. In fact there is a plethora of distinctive stones. If Noe Stool doesn’t take your fancy then the huge wedding cake of one, a little further on might be to your liking.  And then there is the area known as the Woolpacks where stones seem to grow from the earth like huge, bulbous fungi. I’ve traversed the Woolpacks many times over the years and I bet I’ve never used the same route through them. After the Woolpacks came Crowden Tower, a pile of massive boulders that form a natural fortress at the top of Crowden Clough. It provided a wonderful view down the valley which would provide my route off the Kinder plateau. It is almost a sheer drop from the edge of the boulders and a descent looked impossible. The secret was to walk from Crowden Tower to the head of the beck that runs down the clough. From there I picked up a path that descended into the valley. 

Crowden Clough

Initially it was a steep and awkward descent down Crowden Clough. I’ve climbed up the valley many times, but this was my first attempt at a descent. It wasn’t dangerous, but it wasn't a route to be rushed. It wasn’t long before I got to easier ground and I started following the beck down the valley. I rather like Crowden Clough because it is far less busy than the neighbouring Grindsbrook valley. You get similar views, but far less people. Having said that, I met quite a few walkers making their way up the Crowden Clough. There was  a lot of water coming down the beck and I had to find a way to traverse it in a couple of places. A crossing point was never that far away though. As I approached the end of the clough with its junction with the Edale Valley, my path diverted to cross the beck again. I knew I wanted to remain on the east side of the beck and so I concluded that I’d gone wrong somewhere. After a perusal of the OS map I could see that I’d missed  the turnoff point from the beck on a path that followed the contour of the hill towards Edale. It just goes to show that no matter how many times you walk a route, if you do it in the reverse direction, then mistakes can happen. I backtracked a few hundred yards and picked up the track to Edale. It followed the stone wall between the fields and open fell. I like the path because it has a bit of elevation and gives a grand view across the Edale Valley. Even the sun made some lacklustre attempts to reveal itself. Eventually I breached the stone wall at a gate and dropped down on to the Pennine Way that then delivered me to Edale. 

Hollins Cross And The Broken Road

I field hopped my way back across the Edale Valley, going under the railway line this time, rather than over. The sun made more attempts to break through the clouds but ultimately failed. I headed up towards Hollins Cross, the lowest point on the ridge between Lose Hill and Mam Tor. The cross that used to be here disappeared in 1905 and has been replaced by a memorial to Tom Hyett, a former member of the Ramblers Association. It is a marvellous vantage point with panoramic views of the Edale Valley one one side and the Hope Valley on the other.  Many walkers were making their way along the ridge up to Mam Tor. I avoided this busy route by descending on a path towards Mam Farm. After the farm, I joined up with the defunct Mam Tor road. 

This road was first constructed in 1819 making it an easier gradient than the nearby packhorse route up Winnats Pass. Unfortunately it was built across a landslide area on Mam Tor which caused landslips and resulted in major repairs  in 1912, 1933, 1946, 1952 and 1966. In 1974 the road suffered from another massive landslide and in 1979 the Civil Engineers stopped scratching their heads and decided nothing more could be done. All traffic now has to go up and down the alternative, but spectacular Winnats Pass road. It is interesting to  walk up the Mam Tor road and find whole sections of tarmac and foundations swept away downhill. It is a reminder that whatever infrastructure humans create on earth, they will only ever be temporary. Some day nature will reclaim all the land. The road is still intact further up and serves the entrance to the Blue John Cavern. The entrance fee is  just shy of £20 for a 1 hour tour if you want to extend your walk or escape the weather. I didn’t fancy it today and so walked the last stretch of road to where my car was parked on Windy Knoll. 

It was a rather undulating walk today. Some of it was quite tough, particularly the Crowden Clough descent. There’s no denying though, that the head of the Edale valley is one of the prettiest areas of the Peak District.