Monday 28 September 2026 - The Steel Cotton Rail Trail Stage 4 - Edale to Chinley

We had chosen a lovely late summer's day for this brilliant walk in the Peak District. Trains were on time, and as it was a fairly short day's walk, we reckoned we could afford a bit of time in the café at Edale Station.

There were seven of us today (for a while, anyway!). Sue took this picture to record the event. Cary didn't like their hot chocolate but apart from that we were all happy.

L-R: Sue W, Rick, Cary, John (a friend of Rick's), Andy and me.

On leaving the café we passed the church and reached the centre of the village at The Old Nags Head after posing yet again.

The Pennine Way starts here. There was no sign of anyone starting today, though a good number of folk were enjoying shorter walks in the sunny weather.

The path starts up a gentle gradient through an avenue of mature trees.

Soon the route opens out to cross fields on the firm stone surface that has replaced the bog that the over-used paths used to generate.

There were good views back to Mam Tor and the Edale skyline.

On the steep descent to Upper Booth, Cary's attempt at a forward roll turned into a sideways roll that finished in a cluster of arms and legs and a very loud 'Ouch' He recovered sufficiently to hobble back to Edale, but a trip to A&E the following day revealed a broken ankle. So if you see an old man stumbling around Sale in a orthopaedic boot, say 'Hello' - it might be Cary. Get well soon, Cary.*

And then there were six.

An elevenses break was taken at the foot of Jacob's Ladder, a packhorse route dating from the 18th century. Jacob Marshall cut steps in the rock to make his passage with packhorses laden with wool easier as they headed this way to Stockport market.

 

There continued to be good views back towards Edale as the path rose.

The path turned a corner and offered a sight of some of the rock formations at Edale Head.

 

The rocks shown above are the pimple towards the right in the next picture.

At the top of the Ladder we left the Pennine Way in favour of a lovely flagged path to South Head. Before reaching that landmark, lunch was taken on the flagstones as they provide an easy march through a somewhat boggy area. We only encountered one other person on the path - a chap who works in Didsbury and was keen to learn about both the Steel Cotton and the GM Ringway trails.

In the distance, the skyscrapers of Manchester.

Sue B and John decided to go over South Head. The rest of us took the nice contouring path, with a rest while we waited for the other two. Sue B was particularly energetic today, having already run back towards our lunch spot to recover the hat that Rick had carelessly left behind.

The sharp descent towards Chinley reminded Sue and me of a TGO Challengers' reunion walk some 18 months ago, after some of the walkers had encountered extreme weather on South Head. What a contrast this was.

The iconic Peak & Northern footpath signs are quite prolific around here.

Soon we were down to five of us, as John wanted to visit Chinley Churn - somewhat off the Steel Cotton Trail's route. Meanwhile we continued past several farms, one of which sported an impressive insect house.

Most of the railway between Edale and Chinley is in a tunnel. Passing under this bridge we realised we were nearly at the end of this stage.

An empty platform and a few minutes wait that passed quickly, and we were on the train to Piccadilly, and home in time to cook tea and proceed to our various evening engagements.

Here's our route - 12 km with 400 metres ascent (an extra 50 metres for Sue and John), taking a shade over 4 hours.

I have failed to integrate some of Sue's pictures into this rather hasty diary entry, so here are some of her images - very nice they are too. As usual, click on any image for a slideshow.

At the start of the Pennine Way

Marching towards Upper Booth before 'The Incident'

Jacob's Ladder

Looking back towards Edale

Flagstones leading to South Head

South Head - John hijacked a dog for a ride up the hill

On the descent to Chinley

What a lovely day out, for most of us. We all hope Cary recovers quickly.

* Cary's is only the second 'breakage' in my 60 years of organising walks, the first breakage being Julia's in 1999, when she fell off a horse that I'd hired and broke her shoulder.

Tuesday 15 September 2026 - The Steel Cotton Rail Trail Stage 3 - Hope to Edale

Six of us met at Piccadilly for the 9:48 to Hope, with Sue W returning after her successful trip to Anglesey. This relatively short walk with no time constraints was an absolute delight.

Field paths took us away from and then back to the railway. Sue found some very healthy looking field mushrooms and Cary provided a bag in which to transport them.

It took a while to escape the environs of Hope.

Soon we were rewarded with views to Lose Hill and the Edale skyline.

Foliage is currently abundent and bright green, but most of the wild flowers are in decline, with Herb Robert, Ragwort and a variety of thistles hanging on in the verges and the fields.

We passed under the railway at Killhill Bridge.

A secret doorway had us wondering ...

Still in the environs of Hope, a welcoming watering hole, but too close to our start today.

Near Normans Farm, we came across a display of 'Norman's Farm Raw Honey' - delicious looking golden honey - £11 a jar, paid into their bank account, so no cash lying around and plenty of honest hikers on the Steel Cotton Trail. We bought three jars. Granddaughter Isabella will love it.

After going under the railway for the last time today, at Bagshaw Bridge, we continued on a narrow road to reach the National Trust Dark Peak Area Office and the Edale End Welcome Barn.

It rather looked as if Paul had beaten us to it, as his latest acquisition was parked outside the Welcome Barn.

Anyway, we carried on past the buildings and were soon confronted with a stone marker that pointed us decisively left, to Jaggers Clough.

The sky darkened as we followed the excellent path into Backside Wood.

A suitable spot for lunch was found, at which point some large, juicy, raindrops decided to join us. They didn't last long.

Backside Wood was home to numerous fungi, a couple of which are shown below.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)  - pretty poisonous

Suillus grevillei (a Boletus variety, edible but this one is past that stage)

Once through the delightful wood, we joined the old packhorse track that runs up Jaggers Clough. A 'Jagger' was a leader of packhorses. This route may have been used to transport lead from the Castleton mines in the 16th century.

The Edale skyline and the fertile valley provided a scenic backdrop as we made progress on a contouring path towards Edale Youth Hostel.

Some Parasol Mushrooms (Macrolepiota procera) were added to our goodie bag.

Just outside the hostel - some striking dahlias.

A straightforward walk down the driveway and across some fields saw us eventually emerging at the church in Edale, where we drained our flasks on a convenient bench before heading for the station and a 3:47 train back to Piccadilly. .

Here's our route - just 12 km with 300 metres ascent, taking about four and a half hours.

Later:

The mushrooms survived intact and formed the basis of a very mushroomy meal. Too mushroomy if anything - we should have saved half of the Giant Puffball.

Next:
I've decided to adjust the remaining stages in order to reduce the long Stage 4 to New Mills. That will now finish comfortably at Chinley. Stage 5 will be Chinley to Marple (16 km). Stage 6 will be Marple to Guide Bridge (14 km). There will be an extra Stage 7, from Guide Bridge to Manchester (9 km) on Tuesday 3 November.

The summary programme, for reference, is here.