DALE TO CROWDEN MAPS 1-9
Route overview
Traversing the peaty wastes of both the Kinder plateau and the tellingly named Bleaklow, distance-wise this 16-mile (26km, 6-7hrs) stage is a jump in the deep end, not least because, at over 900m, it includes the second biggest total ascent of the Pennine Way (the Cross Fell stage being nearly 1100m). A solid day’s walk, it’s a classic nevertheless, but these days for the right reasons.
The route was once so boggy and confusing that reputedly half of all who set out gave up. Today the worst of the mire has been subdued with stone slabs salvaged from demolished cotton mills and laid end to end to ensure the twin blessings of dry feet and a clearly navigable path.
The inaugural stage passes through the hamlet of Upper Booth (Map 2), a pleasant amble through the upper pastures of the valley. Thereafter follows the stiff ascent of Jacob’s Ladder (Map 3) before open moorland is reached near Edale Cross.
You’ll meet the first of a handful of ‘trig points’ on top of Kinder Low where the route descends to take an impressive arc along the Kinder Edges, the plateau’s western rim that at weekends can become thronged with day walkers.
Beyond the impressive but rarely flowing Kinder Downfall (Map 4) you leave the plateau rim for the steep stepped descent to William Clough (a Clough is a stream) and the Snake Path junction near Mill Hill.
Here a slab causeway unrolls invitingly across the bare moorland to Snake Pass (Map 6) on the A57. If you’ve had enough, hobble down to Snake Pass Inn (see p80) and drown your sorrows.
Otherwise it’s a good three hours to Torside, so buckle down and point your feet towards the sunken track known as Devil’s Dyke, with Bleaklow your next objective.
In poor visibility (a caveat that can be invoked for any of the hill sections along the entire Pennine Way) the route to Bleaklow Head (Map 7) can be confusing and will need careful navigation.
There are very few signs or waymarks to see you safely there, but if all is going well the meandering ascent along peat-lined gullies and past clear-water streams is an intimate, sheltered counterpoint to the preceding expanses of Kinder.
Bleaklow itself is not so much a mountain as a peat soufflé that failed to rise and with good intuition or plain luck you’ll reach the summit pile of stones skewered with a stake or two.
From this point it’s all downhill to the Longendale Valley along the rim of Clough Edge (Map 8), a deep heather-clad gully, from where an underwhelming panorama of reservoirs and plantations reveal themselves far below.
Once the B6105 is reached take heart as there’s a good B&B close by (see p84). On the north side of the reservoir, Crowden (Map 9) is no more than a campsite and hostel-cum-activity centre, bringing you wearily but satisfyingly to the end of your first day. Only 240 miles to go.
Route-finding trouble spots (Edale to Crowden)
Even in thick mist the pathway to the summit to Kinder Low should present no difficulties, but watch out: the short hop from the trig point to the Kinder Edges path (Map 3) is not blatantly obvious, even in clear conditions.
It’s the same story leaving Bleaklow summit (Map 7) where no single path leads to the mile post by the fence (GPS waypoint 006, see p256) at which point the route is clear. If in doubt or experiencing poor visibility follow a compass bearing or use GPS.
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