Kinder Scout circular walk
Follow this challenging circular moorland walk. Along the route you will discover how this landscape will be changing over the next 50 years as a result of the National Trust’s vision and plan for the High Peak moors.
Stay safe
This is a moorland walk so, to stay safe, make sure someone knows when you are expected to finish.
Total steps: 8
Total steps: 8
Start point
Edale train station, Peak District National Park, Derbyshire. Grid ref: SK124856
Step 1
Set foot from Edale station and head up through the village, passing the Moorland Centre on your right.
Step 2
Turn left on to the Pennine Way, opposite the Nag's Head pub.
Step 3
Follow the Pennine Way to Upper Booth Farm, which has won awards for its habitat restoration.
Step 4
As you walk along the River Noe, you pass some ancient clough woodland on your left.
Step 5
Climb Jacob's Ladder. We aim to restore more native trees in this clough by planting and protecting young trees and seedlings from grazing animals. This old packhorse track crossed the moors and was a trade route for lead, coal, salt and wool from medieval times until the railway was built in 1894.
Step 6
Come off the Pennine Way, taking a path to your right and skirt eastwards around Kinder Plateau. On the left around the giant anvil-shaped rock called Noe Stool, you will see the areas of eroded bare peat now beginning to recover as a result of gully blocking work higher up on the plateau, which has reduced the peat erosion into the gullies. Once the peat in the gullies is stable and wet, cotton grass, mosses and other moorland plants will grow.
Step 7
The weathered gritstone rocks or tors along the Kinder Edges create an otherworldly atmosphere as you make your way past first the Pagoda and then the cluster of rocks called the Wool Packs. Continue past Crowden Tower then follow the footpath along and then down into Grindsbrook.
Step 8
You will be treated to sweeping views of the Vale of Edale as you descend from the plateau. Notice the patterns of historic dry-stone walls and field boundaries. Follow the Grindsbrook footpath back to Edale village.
End point
Edale train station. Grid ref: SK124856
Trail map
More near here
Mam Tor circular walk
This circular walk from Mam Tor in the Peak District takes in some of the most dramatic scenery in the Edale Valley.
Kinder Scout mass trespass walk
Follow in the footsteps of the 500+ mass trespassers who, in 1932, walked from Hayfield to Kinder Scout in the Derbyshire Peak District to secure access rights to the countryside for all.
Edale Circular Walk
This low level walk through the Vale of Edale leads you through vast, open fields as well as parts of the Pennine Way, following streams and stone-flagged paths.
Derwent Valley and reservoir walk
This walk takes you through key Peak District habitats including farmland, alongside the Ladybower Reservoir and up to the moors for panoramic views of the High Peak.
Get in touch
near Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 8WA nearest postcode area
Our partners
We’ve partnered with Cotswold Outdoor to help everyone make the most of their time outdoors in the places we care for.
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