At this time of the year I get fed up with not being able to do any walks up mountains and I can’t wait for the spring. It’s the same every year and six years ago was no different: I hadn't done many walks over the winter and the ones that I had done weren’t up mountains so I was dying to go up a mountain, but the prolonged winter was putting a stop to it. Finally spring began at the end of March with the first weekend in the year of good weather and so accordingly I headed out to the Peak District to go for a walk. The place I picked was Stanage Edge, which I have, of course, walked along before, including on my first walking holiday, but not recently.
I parked at one of the many car parks that lie below Stanage Edge, specifically the one near Overstones Farm. After putting on my new walking boots for their first walk in anger, I headed up the road past Overstones Farm to join the path up to the 457m trig point on the eastern end of Stanage Edge. I gave myself a bit of a scramble to get to the top and from there admired the views, bracing myself against the strong winds. Heading off along the edge and braving the strong winds, I passed many rock climbers practising their craft on the cliffs below. Rock climbing is something I have never been interested in pursuing. I like scrambling, but the idea of hanging by a rope onto the side of a precipitous cliff seems to me akin to madness. I guess I just don't trust the rope to hold me and would prefer to be in full control of what I'm doing.
While traversing the edge stunning views could be seen of the surrounding countryside, including views across Bamford Moor to Win Hill with the bulk of Kinder Scout behind it. I wasn't going as far as that on this walk as I soon came down from the edge by way of the Long Causeway to the Dennis Knoll car park. From there I headed along the road over Bole Hill until I reached a footpath that took me onto the new Access Land around Bamford Edge. A few years ago when I did this walk I had to stay on the right of way that passes a disused quarry and then crosses Moscar Moor to reach the northern end of Stanage Edge. For this walk I was able to take advantage of the new Right to Roam legislation and proceed along the top of Bamford Edge. This is not as long or as high as Stanage Edge but it was still good to be able to walk along its top and enjoy the views that more than made up for any deficiencies. 
While stopping for lunch at the northern end of the edge I enjoyed stunning views over Ladybower Reservoir with the sun shining overhead and producing a glorious day. There is nothing quite like hill-walking. Anyone who doesn't go hill-walking is missing out on so much; I don't know how they can live with themselves (!). After lunch I continued around the side of the hill and explored a couple of peculiar pillars that litter the hillside, the purpose of which is beyond me. On crossing the moorland I reached Jarvis Clough, which I had to descend into and then climbed out of. I decided at this point that it would be a good idea to cross the moor to reach Stanage Edge, so I took advantage of my new walking boots and crossed the often boggy moor to the bottom of the edge where I took the opportunity to do a little scrambling though I picked a relatively easy route up the rocks onto the top. Turning to my left I headed north until I was certain I was at Stanage End, the northern end of the edge. When I discovered the disused quarry near Crows Chin Rocks I was fairly certain I had achieved this so I turned around and headed back along the edge.
While traversing the edge stunning views could be seen of the surrounding countryside, including views across Bamford Moor to Win Hill with the bulk of Kinder Scout behind it. I wasn't going as far as that on this walk as I soon came down from the edge by way of the Long Causeway to the Dennis Knoll car park. From there I headed along the road over Bole Hill until I reached a footpath that took me onto the new Access Land around Bamford Edge. A few years ago when I did this walk I had to stay on the right of way that passes a disused quarry and then crosses Moscar Moor to reach the northern end of Stanage Edge. For this walk I was able to take advantage of the new Right to Roam legislation and proceed along the top of Bamford Edge. This is not as long or as high as Stanage Edge but it was still good to be able to walk along its top and enjoy the views that more than made up for any deficiencies. 
While stopping for lunch at the northern end of the edge I enjoyed stunning views over Ladybower Reservoir with the sun shining overhead and producing a glorious day. There is nothing quite like hill-walking. Anyone who doesn't go hill-walking is missing out on so much; I don't know how they can live with themselves (!). After lunch I continued around the side of the hill and explored a couple of peculiar pillars that litter the hillside, the purpose of which is beyond me. On crossing the moorland I reached Jarvis Clough, which I had to descend into and then climbed out of. I decided at this point that it would be a good idea to cross the moor to reach Stanage Edge, so I took advantage of my new walking boots and crossed the often boggy moor to the bottom of the edge where I took the opportunity to do a little scrambling though I picked a relatively easy route up the rocks onto the top. Turning to my left I headed north until I was certain I was at Stanage End, the northern end of the edge. When I discovered the disused quarry near Crows Chin Rocks I was fairly certain I had achieved this so I turned around and headed back along the edge. The weather had now turned rather grey with rain on the way which fortunately held off until I got back to my car. I passed over the trig point at High Ned, the highest point on Stanage Edge, and returned to the point where I'd left the edge earlier in the morning and immediately left it to strike out westwards to Stanage Pole. I'd never been there before and I was curious to see what I would find. What I didn't expect was a pole! There is a wooden pole sticking out of a pile of rocks, which I thought was the most bizarre thing to find, I wonder why it's there? Another thing that is bizarre is the name. I have just called it Stanage Pole, but that is not what the map calls it. According to the OS this is Stanedge Pole, perhaps a shortened version of Stanage Edge pole? Perhaps?
The map indicates that a path heads from the pole back to the edge across White Path Moss, but the park authorities have closed it off. Curiosity, though, got the better of me and not wanting to go back the way I'd come I went along this path anyway. With hindsight I think the path has rightly been closed as it goes straight across a very boggy area of moorland. By the end I was wading through water rather than mud or grass. Anyway, back on the edge path I returned to the rock climbers and descended back down to my car. Five minutes after getting into my car, it started raining. Perfect timing!
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