Curbar Edge, Froggat Edge and White Edge

It was not too cold for the end of November but very windy as Karen and I left Curbar Gap and walked along the top of the popular rock-climbing crags of Curbar and Froggat Edges. These follow each other with Curbar Edge first and due to their elevated positions above the villages of Calver and Froggat, give views to the west into the far distance ranging from Chatsworth House towards the south and over Stoney Middleton and beyond towards the North.
Luckily it remained dry despite the clouds and obvious signs of rain showers in the distance several miles away as we made our way along the path.
At the far end of Froggat Edge we followed a path through a Hazel wood above Grindleford Station and Padley Gorge and entered the park-like grounds of the National Trust's Longwood Estate.
We heard the cry of a Jay and saw a few as the were flitting from tree to tree nearby but becoming hidden once perched in the trees.
At the café housed in one of the Longwood Lodge buildings we had some cups of tea and a bit of cake then continued onwards to join a path crossing a section of White Edge Moor then joining a path continuing below White Edge.
This edge is of no interest to rock-climbers as it hasn't got the large bare cliffs of gritstone but beside the excellent views shared by Curbar and Froggat Edges it has an additional bonus.
White Edge borders the western side of Big Moor which has a herd of wild Red Deer and providing you know what you are looking for, especially at this time of year with the reddish-brown bracken and heather stalks, you can soon spot some of these shy wild animals.
Karen had been used to looking for Red Deer while on holidays to Exmoor where Red Deer are also found and soon spotted several in the distance a few hundred meters away. At on point she counted sixteen deer including some stags.
At one section, because of its position in height with respect to the deer, you could easily see several on the horizon, again with a few stage with their antlers easily visible.
We continued onwards until we reached the trig point then followed a broad path on the moorland heading back towards Curbar Edge.

We retraced our route back to the starting point at Curbar Gap.