The Great Ridge, Edale

As forecasted, it was a lovely day with dry and sunny weather but cold.

We parked in the village of Hope and followed the route leaving next to the school and onwards over the railway bridge to the summit of Lose Hill. We stopped along the way when the icy conditions made us decide to put on our Kahtoola Microspikes which made progress much easier.

There were lovely views across the Hope and Edale Valleys and it was surprisingly warm with the sun and little wind despite the freezing weather.

We followed the path along the top of the great ridge with icy sections making us graeful for the Microspikes, then after passing Back Tor and the top of Mam Tor, we dropped down from Mam Nick to Windy Knoll where we stopped for a snack.

Afterwards, we crossed the road and then followed the tarmaced track passing Rowter Farm then onto the unsurfaced track which follows where there was more snow and ice, making sure we got out of the way as a small convoy of four-wheel drives with their “One Life Live It” stickers trundled past.

Leaving the track at the signpost for The Limestone Way, our route crossed some fields then down a very icy Cave Dale to the village of Castleton where we sat on the seat around a tree in the Market Square and had another snack and hot drink.

From Castleton we followed the riverside path back to where we started in Hope.