A lovely short walk from Edale in the Peak District. This route takes in one of the popular summits – Mam Tor, and as a bonus, you get to bag a trig point too.
Edale is a great place to start a walk, with many different trails, This hike is perfect if you’re short on time, or fancy a less technical route. From the Edale car park (or the train station), you walk through the village then take the footpath through Ollerbrook Farm to the road. Next, it’s a gradual climb up a muddy and rocky path to Hollins Cross.
At Hollins Cross, you can enjoy this viewpoint in all directions, seeing the scale of Mam Tor against the old broken road which is visible from this spot. And also looking down to the village of Castleton and Hope Cement Factory in the distance. From this point, you continue your walk on the flagstoned path up to Mam Tor trig. Then it’s a gradual descent (with one small steep section) back to Edale Village.
Here you will find details on how to get to the start of the walk, route information, a map, a GPX file, plus detailed step-by-step directions for the walk.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve done this walk and what you think!
Buy a printable/downloadable PDF route guide for the walk here.
Hollins Cross + Mam Tor from Edale
Walk information + GPX
Walk type: Short Circular Walk
Distance: 4.5 miles/7.3 km
Walk time: 2.5-3.5 hours
Total ascent: 332 m/1,089 ft
Highest point: 517 m/1,696 ft
Walk highlights: Views of the Great Ridge from Edale, Hollins Cross and Mam Tor summit
Trigs: 1
Ethels: 1
Stiles: 0
Mam Tor walk map
© Crown copyright and database rights (2024) OS 002572460
Click for online mapWalk start point
Start grid reference: SK 12381 85327
Car parking address: Edale Village Hall car park, Edale, Hope Valley, S33 7ZL
Cash only or download the ‘PaybyPhone’ App to pay for parking. Numerous other Peak District car parks use this so it’s worth downloading the App. (The one with 9 green squares logo).
- £1.60 up to 1 hour
- £2.50 up to 2 hours
- £4.00 up to 4 hours
- £6.00 up to 10 hours
- £7.00 up to 24 hours
*Prices are correct at the time of writing.
Please note this is a medium-sized car park with 138 spaces. You must park within the bays otherwise you will receive a parking ticket (I’ve seen many people return from a walk to find a ticket on their car).
At weekends/peak times, you’ll need to arrive early to guarantee a space. Alternatively, you may need to drive to another location for a different walk if they are full. In the summer months, a local farmer does open a field for parking but this is not available all year round.
Public transport
Nearest train station: Edale train station (opposite the car park)
Facilities on the walk
There are public toilets at the start in Edale car park. These are the only toilets on the route.
There is also a cafe near the train station – Pennypot Cafe, plus a second one at the other end of the village. There are also two pubs – The Ramblers Inn and The Nags Head.
Other useful information
The weather can change quickly whilst you’re hiking on the Great Ridge, please check weather apps/websites below.
Also, sections of this walk on the ascent and descent are extremely muddy (as of March when I walked it). Please make sure you’re wearing appropriate footwear for this walk. The photo above was a section where the walk was very muddy and slippy, please take care of this final section into Edale.
Please keep the Peak District beautiful and respect everyone who uses the park. Take ALL your rubbish home to dispose of and remember close gates (as you found them). Thank you so much.
Would you know what to do in an emergency situation?
We have a guide with what to do, who you need to call and also some useful kit that should be in your backpack. Ask us any questions in the comments or via our social media.
Happy hiking + stay safe
read herePeak District weather
Check the weather for your walk location and hills. We’d recommend that you check a few resources and for hill walks look at the weather conditions in the valley and on the hilltop as they can greatly vary.
- BBC Weather for Edale
- Met Office weather for Mam Tor
- Met Office weather and MWIS (Mountain Weather Information Service) for the Peak District
Ordnance Survey walk map
The map for this walk is the Ordnance Survey OL1 – Peak District (Dark Peak Area).
View the different prices here with Ordnance Survey or Amazon. If you’re hiking in all weather the Active OS maps are good to have as they are laminated so better on rainy days.
View both Peak District map options here.
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.
See both maps that cover the Peak District here.
Want to learn more map skills? Check out our Guided Walks with map reading skills here.
Mam Tor walk route
Stage 1 – Edale to Ollerbrook Farm
Distance: 0.9 miles/1.4 km
Grid reference SK 1239 8528
From the Edale car park, begin your walk by going down the steps next to the toilet block. Turn right and walk down the road, under the railway bridge, past The Ramblers Inn and continue through the village of Edale, going past the church until you reach the Nags Head pub.
At the pub, turn right and follow the path over a stone bridge (photo below) as it crosses a small brook then up some steps and through a gate. Continue on the path, through a second gate then take the main track heading towards the farm buildings. At the entrance to the farm go through the small metal gate and walk through the farm.
Stage 2 – Ollerbrook Farm to Hollins Cross
Distance: 1.2 mile/2 km
Grid reference SK 1283 8590
Once you’re through the farm you’ll reach a crossroads of paths, turn right here and walk down the road, and go over the bridge above the railway line. At the road, walk right, then cross carefully when you’re opposite the gate with the green public footpath sign (photo below).
This is where the path starts to get muddy. Walk down this wide track, go over the bridge across the water then through the small wooden gate. Stay on this wide track as it begins to head uphill, you’ll go past a few farm buildings before you reach some stone steps up to a wooden gate.
From here it’s a grassy and muddy footpath continuing uphill. Then you’ll pick up a rocky footpath which leads you to Hollins Cross, marked with a stone marker.
Stage 3 – Hollins Cross to Mam Tor
Distance: 0.9 miles/1.4 km
Grid reference SK 1361 8452
At Hollins Cross, there are numerous paths leading in all directions. You need to turn right on the main flagstoned path heading west. From here you follow the path through two sets of gates and eventually it will lead you to Mam Tor summit, marked with the trig point.
Stage 4 – Mam Tor to Edale
Distance: 1.6 miles/2.6 km
Grid reference SK 1277 8360
Once you’ve enjoyed the views and taken a few photos, continue on the path now heading down the other side of Mam Tor. You’ll go down a few steps and follow the path as it bends around to the left and out through a gate onto the road.
Turn right and walk a small section along the road until you reach another gate just around the corner (photo above), which has a signpost pointing you back to Edale. Walk down this path, through another gate, then down a steeper section as the path continues to wind downhill.
You’ll reach another gate, go through here, along the path, and then there’s another gate. Once you’re through here, go through the gate on your left (photo above). This track will take you back to the main road. At weekends there’s sometimes a snack shop open, if not there’s an honesty box with snacks and also eggs for sale!
At the road junction, turn right and you’re about 100 metres from the Edale car park.
Ask me any questions about walks from Edale or this Mam Tor route in the comments below.
Other walk information
Shorten the walk
There isn’t a way of shortening this walk, other than opting to turn around at Hollins Cross and retrace your steps back to Edale. At the road junction, instead of turning right, if you go left you can walk along the road back to the Edale car park.
More walks in the Peak District
Love the walks in the Peak District? You might like these walks from Edale.
- Ringing Roger Short Walk From Edale | 4-Mile Route
- Grindslow Knoll Walk (via Ringing Roger) From Edale | 5.5-Mile Route
- Kinder Scout Walk From Edale (via Grindsbrook Clough) | 8-Mile Route
Or search all our Peak District walks here
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