Edale to Crowden Long Walk (via the Pennine Way) | 17-Mile Route

Hikers walking on the Pennine Way to Mill Hill

Here’s a great long walk you can do in a day. Or you can just keep walking and do the full 268-mile trail all the way to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders.

If you’ve ever thought about hiking the Pennine Way National Trail this is a perfect walk to test your skills and see what it’s all about.

The official Pennine Way starts in Edale, next to the Nags Inn pub and starts relatively easy, that is until you reach the bottom of Jacob’s Ladder, then it’s uphill all the way to Edale Rocks and the Kinder plateau.

After walking past Kinder Low trig point, then on to Kinder Downfall you begin descending to Mill Hill then across flagstoned moorland to the Snake Pass Road. Over the road, then you’re on to Bleaklow section, the remotest part of the hike.

Continue heading across the top before finally, you descend to Torside Reservoir, where you cross over, through the woods then walk along to Crowden car park.

Here you will find details on how to get to the start of the walk at Edale and finish at Crowden, route information, map, GPX file, plus a detailed step by step guide of the walk.

Would you like to walk the full Pennine Way? Let me know in the comments.

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Edale to Crowden via Pennine Way

Peat river and rocks at Kinder Downfall
Peat coloured water at Kinder Downfall

Walk information

Walk type: Long linear walk

Distance: 17 miles/28 km

Walk time: 8-9 hours

Total ascent: 1,008 m/3,307 ft

Highest point: 633 m/2,076 ft

Walk highlights: Edale village, Jacob’s Ladder, Edale Rocks, Kinder Downfall, Torside Clough + views of Torside Reservoir

Trigs: 1 – Kinder Low (option to add Highershelf Stones)

Ethels: 2 – Kinder Low + Bleaklow (option to add Highershelf Stones)

Stiles: 0

gpx file

Pennine Way (day 1 section) walk map

Pennine Way map Peak District
Pennine Way map – Edale to Snake Pass
Pennine Way map
Pennine Way map – Snake Pass to Crowden

© Crown copyright and database rights (2024) OS 002572460

Walk route + map here

Walk start + finish point

As this is a linear walk, below are the locations for the start and end of the hike. The drive between the two locations is about 22 miles, roughly 40 minutes if you have a hiking buddy with a car.

Edale has good public transport options with the train, however, Crowden bus options are pretty limited. To ease the pressure if you’re hiking alone it might be easier to do the hike in reverse, starting at Crowden.

Start from Edale

Grid reference: SK 12366 85309

Car parking address: Edale car park, Edale, Hope Valley, S33 7ZQ

This car park can be busy during peak times, but for a long walk if you get there early you should be fine.

Parking cost (cash, cards and payment app)*

  • Up to 1 hour – £1.80
  • Up to 2 hours – £2.90
  • 2-4 hours – £4.50
  • 4-10 hours – £6.80
  • 24 hours – £7.90

*Prices correct at time of writing.

You can also use the PaybyPhone option either call or use the App to pay for parking, there are numerous other Peak District car parks that use this so its worth downloading the App. (The one with 9 green squares logo).

Public transport

Nearest train station: Edale train station (opposite the start location at the car park)

End at Crowden

Start grid reference: SK 07200 99231

Car parking address: Crowden car park, Woodhead Road, Glossop, SK13 1HZ

Free parking – The car park is pretty small, but it’s not too popular so you shouldn’t find a problem getting a space

Public transport

There no train station near to the start of this walk. However, there is a First Group bus service that goes along the road so could drop you off at the start. The services are fairly minimal at the moment so you’d need to do more research beforehand.

Facilities on the walk

At the start of the walk in Edale, there are two pubs, a cafe and a village shop. There are also public toilets at the Village Hall car park.

During the rest of the walk, there are no facilities. At Crowden, there is a campsite, shop + toilet, but unfortunately, they close for winter and reopen in the spring.

Stream and rocks on Pennine Way
Perfect to top up your water – Torside Clough

There are plenty of streams on the walk; bottom of Jacob’s Ladder, Kinder Downfall and Torside Clough, as well as other little ones – perfect for topping up your water supply if you have a filter water bottle.

I use and recommend Water-to-Go bottles, they safely filter water so you don’t have to carry extra! (20% discount code if you sign up to the weekly walks)

Other useful information

Pennine Way signpost
Pennine Way signpost near Snake Pass

Although the Pennine Way is a National Trail with some signposts, there are also tricky sections on this route regarding navigation, especially if the weather is bad, so I would recommend a map and compass for your hike (details below).

Edale is also a popular place to visit during the summer months, however, if you start early you should miss most of the crowds at the start of the walk.

Peak District weather

Check the weather for your walk location and hills

The Pennine Way trail is known for its remoteness, with this section being no different. Be prepared for the weather to close in on the hills and it can get pretty cold on windy days.

Ordnance Survey Walk Map

The map for the start of the Pennine Way walk is OL1 – Peak District (Dark Peak Area)

Check prices here with Ordnance Survey, (standard map or a waterproof one). You can sometimes find cheaper deals on Amazon, but the Ordnance Survey website sometimes has discounts for buying more than one map!

And don’t forget your compass, I recommend the Silva Expedition or the Silva Classic compass.

For online maps, I recommend the OS Online App (I have been using it for many years and it is worth getting if you want to start walking more). Check prices here for the one-month or annual option with the OS Online App. All the walks on the website are created using OS Online + you can download them to the App..

Check prices here for the one month or yearly option with OS Online App. 

 

Want to read later? Save the walk to Pinterest

Pennine Way path in Peak District

Pennine Way (Edale to Crowden section)

Stage 1 – Edale to Jacob’s Ladder

Distance: 3 miles/4.8 km

Grid reference SK 12374 85328

The route starts next to Edale train station (or car park), they are both next to each other. Then follow the road under the railway bridge, past the Ramblers Inn to Nags Inn. This is the official start of the Pennine Way, you’ll spot a sign on the pub and also a map of the full trail on the wall.

Follow the footpath down a narrow path next to a stream, through a gate, then turn left through the next gate and across a few fields.

Continue on the path until you reach Upper Booth Farm, turn right and walk through, then once you’re out turn right and over a bridge following the path as it bends around the corner.

Walk on the path, past a few houses, then continue on the track until you reach a beautiful bridge over a stream and a sign for the start of Jacob’s Ladder.

Bridge with stream and trees
Bridge at bottom of Jacob’s Ladder path

Stage 2 – Jacob’s Ladder to Mill Hill

Distance: 4.5 mile/7.2 km

Grid reference SK 08826 86160

Jacob’s Ladder is pretty tough to start with big stone steps winding up the hill, which continues all the way until you reach a large stone cairn. The rocky path continues up a track, which can become more like a stream when it’s rainy.

Edale Rocks on Pennine Way
Edale Rocks on Pennine Way

Then look for the footpath and sign on your right which takes you even further uphill to another large stone cairn, with Edale Rocks in front of you. Walk past Edale Rocks and head for yet another huge stone cairn, in poor weather it’s easy to miss but on a clear day, you’ll easily see!

Follow the edge of the Kinder Plateau, with views down towards Kinder Reservoir. Walk all the way to Kinder Downfall, cross over the River Kinder (it’s normally easy to cross but in heavy rain be prepared to get wet!)

Rocky path
Views from Kinder Downfall on the Pennine Way path

Once across, turn left and continue following the edge, as you start to descend you’ll see another stone cairn. Hike down the path, where it splits at a crossroads, keep going straight up to Mill Hill, marked with a small stone cairn (yes, another one).

Stage 3 – Mill Hill to Bleaklow

Distance: 4.9 miles/7.9 km

Grid reference SK 06106 90424

From Mill Hill, turn right and follow the path along a flagstoned section all the way to Snake Pass. This is an easy part of the walk, it’s flat and you can’t go wrong with the flagstones, but it can be a little tedious – I’d recommend some singing and sweets!

Flagstone path on Pennine Way
Flagstone path towards Snake Path

Once you reach Snake Pass road cross over, through the gate and along a track, the path winds quite a bit on this section and you’ll go past Higher Shelf Stone on your left.

Keep following the path all the way to the stone cairn (with a stake sticking out the top). The trail can be tricky around this section so be careful not to deviate off the route, but it’s pretty much flat so not physically challenging.

Water and green grasses on Pennine Way
Following the path through the Bleaklow section

Stage 4 – Bleaklow to Crowden

Distance: 5.1 miles/8.2 km

Grid reference SK 09223 95910

The next few kilometres are very remote. You’ll reach the trickle of Torside Clough which you cross backwards and forwards several times at the top, then keep walking next to it as you make your way along the path.

As the clough widens and you head downhill, the path disappears and you need to head up to walk along the Clough Edge. Then it’s a narrow path along the edge which slowly descends towards a farm building and the road.

At the road, cross over, walk over the reservoir bridge, up the steps at the end, then across the road and up a track.

Torside Reservoir over stone wall
Walking over Torside Reservoir

Continue walking through a short section of wood then along the track. After about 1 mile you’ll see a sign turning left for the Pennine Way (ignore this – unless you want to walk the next section too!).

Follow the track past the campsite, then turn right and you’ll be at the car park.

From here, as mentioned above there are limited bus options, or if you have a hiking buddy, a car would be handy!

Do you have any questions about this walk or the Pennine Way (I’ve done the full trail)? Ask me in the comments below.

Full Pennine Way guide here – Wild camping the Pennine Way guide

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Signpost on Pennine Way Peak District

Edale Rocks on Pennine Way

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