The end of March marks the first bank holiday weekend of 2024 here in the UK, and what better way to spend Easter Sunday than on a gruelling 21-mile hike in the Peak District? It’s what Jesus would’ve wanted!
Statistics
- Date: 31st March 2024
- Distance: 20.75 miles
- Elevation: 4,330 ft
- Workout Time: 7:15 hours
- Elapsed Time: 7:45 hours
It started with half a bowl of cereal and an 8am visit to Little Sainsbury’s, to pick up a couple of meal deals, and then it was a swift 80-minute drive north, up the M1 from Nottingham into the quaint little village of Edale.
Typically, the main car parks were absolutely chocka, and so we had to follow the winding country lane along the River Noe, until we found a narrow mud verge with just enough room for a VW Polo to perch onto without obstructing the road.
This wasn’t too far from the plotted route so we booted up, tucked my wing mirror in, and headed up the nearby farm track.
Starting the day with a Ringing Roger
In almost no time at all, we’d sludged through half-a-dozen farmers’ fields, spotted some very cute lambs, and approached the foot which winds its way up to the summit of the iconic Ringing Roger – a 1,000 ft ascent which certainly got the pulse racing and warmed up the ol’ limbs.
At the summit, an obligatory break was in order with a quick swig of the Huel meal deal main to inject some much needed calories into the system, before a quick meander through the boggy marshland at the summit and descending back down a cripplingly steep hill and onto the iconic Snake Road.
We wondered why there was so little traffic, and as it transpired a motorcyclist had tragically lost his life earlier in the day. RIP.
We then immersed ourselves into the most gorgeous stretch of woodlands, which honestly felt so remote and seldom trod that it genuinely tricked my brain into thinking we’d accidentally ended up in North Wales; the forestry signage being written in both English and Welsh didn’t help!
A foot in the bog
Gradually climbing out of the valley, we approached the ten-mile mark and began to scout out a lunch spot. But not before I dunked both feet into a stream which was cunningly disguised beneath the wind-flattened grass.
Not to be picky, we slumped down behind a mound of earth which provided adequate shelter from the winds. Stuffing my hat and gloves into my sodden boots in an attempt to dry them proved useless, but changing into clean, dry socks provided a few minutes of relief at the very least.
Making up for lost time
The second half of the hike flew by. Once I’d grown accustomed to the squelching in my boots, we started to pick up the pace and jogged as much of the downhill sections as we could – in part because the trails around the Kinder Scout area are nicely paved for the most part, but also because we were on a time limit.
We had to be back in Nottingham for 7pm, to give us time to eat tea and freshen ourselves up for a night out. Thankfully, Komoot’s estimate of a ten-hour duration was very conservative, and we managed to wrap up the adventure in 7 hours and 45 minutes, averaging a 21-minute mile.
The Kinder Scout area is a popular playground, but as the evening drew in and the rainclouds grew near, the bank holiday crowds had thankfully dispersed and I managed to snap a couple more photos as we quickly passed through, before making another treacherous descent down a remarkably steep field, and found sanctuary once more in the driver’s seat of the car – which I’d been half-jokingly concerned about being smashed up by a disgruntled farmer.
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