{"id":1004062,"date":"2021-08-12T18:57:15","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T17:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.half-daywalker.com\/?p=1004062"},"modified":"2022-11-04T16:18:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T16:18:11","slug":"edale-grindsbrook-clough-and-the-pennine-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.half-daywalker.com\/?p=1004062","title":{"rendered":"Edale, Grindsbrook Clough and the Pennine Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

With a fine day forecast, and a quiet day in prospect tomorrow, I decided to follow the Olympic spirit of the past couple of weeks. So, I challenged myself to go further, higher, and faster than any previous walk on the blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather, as forecast, was sunny and just pleasantly warm, ideal for a walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the OS Maps app the walk was just under 9 miles, but on completion my phone reckoned I’d walked over 10 miles! There was 2030ft, 618m, of ascent to tackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edale is 45 minutes drive from Cheadle Hulme and the walk took 3hours 45 minutes to complete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you try this walk, allow longer as I had very favourable weather and tended to push on quickly, being on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For dog walkers, the walk is great now the ground nesting bird season is over. There are some short stretches with sheep grazing. I saw more than one dog chasing grouse out on the moorland – well, it is the glorious 12th so the grouse hunting season commenced today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walk is on OS Explorer Map OL1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walk starts at postcode S33 7ZQ which is the Edale Car Park. I paid \u00a34 for 4 hours. It was quiet at 10 am, but busy at 2pm. There are regular trains direct from Manchester Piccadilly, and a couple of pubs to finish the walk, for those not driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Edale and Grindsbrook Clough<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was a pleasant enough walk up the road past the station, The Ramblers Inn, the parish church, and The Old Nags Head, before a path to the right led down over Grinds Brook via a narrow bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The path emerged onto a field where stone slabs showed the way, and the purple heather first appeared on the distant hillside..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After a short woodland walk, the path leads out into open country, and as it rises, magnificent views appear. The story of this stunning rise is more easily told in pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    And then comes the last section, where walking just won’t do it. This requires use of the hands for a great final scramble up the boulders to reach the moors – I loved this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The view back down from the top is worth the climb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Over The Moors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I elected to head over to the peak at Grindslow Knoll. Although this could be easily by-passed, I hoped the view would be worth the detour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    I was not disappointed as I overlooked the Vale of Edale and the ridge from Lose Hill (centre left) to Mam Tor (right).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I walked on past Crowden Tower and Edale Head, a section with much peat and some strange looking boulder formations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      A short stop for lunch provided a last opportunity to take in the splendour of the Vale of Edale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Jacob’s Ladder<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      I joined the Pennine Way to embark on the descent which was less steep than the way up. At this sign, I opted for Jacob’s Ladder, said to have been named after a local farmer who cut the steps into the hillside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        Upper Booth to Edale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Once in the valley, the path meanders along easily. However, there’s a sting in the tail in the final mile – another uphill section to the top end of Edale village. I found this quite tough. What it’s like for those who have walked 267 miles from Kirk Yetholm I can’t bear to imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          Some nice views though!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            Mam Tor over the Vale<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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            The heather of Grindsbrook Clough<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            A lovely walk, and a real sense of achievement for me. Highly recommended, and can be easily shortened by coming down Crowden Clough to Upper Booth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            And Finally…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            A week tomorrow, we are seeing Van Morrison at Manchester Apollo, so I’ve been playing his latest album all day. Here’s the title track from Latest Record Project Volume 1 – Latest Record Project!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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