08/10/23
Edale skyline! What can I say. This was the best hike I have done so far in my life! Just over 21 miles but not only did it feel like one of my most easiest hikes, it was one of my more enjoyable
which is really odd because I have done the full skyline all in separate parts over the years, so I wasn't seeing anything new! I was just experiencing a new level of fitness and length of hike!
For anyone that enjoys hiking, the Edale skyline is one I would recommend you to try! Do it in the summer though so you manage to get the views and warmth. Amazingly we got a really warm day in October and timed it really well. We started off in the dark very early morning in the carpark of Mam Tor and headed up...hoping to catch a sunrise that I am yet to get, it was busy and so misty you were not seeing any sunrise! But that did not stop us enjoying the hike! The sun burnt off all of the clouds and the sun beamed down and gave us a wonderful afternoon!
Doesn't matter how much hiking I do or how many times I do Mam Tor, those steps up to Mam Tor always kill me off! It could be the fact I have long covid and my lungs need time to warm up on a hike before going straight in with a hill, but you know! We do it and push on anyway! Once you are at the top of Mam Tor though which to be fair only really takes a few minutes. You are at the top for a while and just following the ridge. At this point it was still so dark and misty out so we couldn't see a damn thing. But it did not matter! You make the most!
Eventually the light started to come through and we could turn our head touches off quite quickly which was nice! we made our way over to Barker Bank, Back Tor and Lose Hill. There were not many photos or videos around this point as it was just too misty to see anything! At this point we came down into Hope, stopped at the shop for some treats and coffee and headed back off again!
This time we had a long walk to get over to Win Hill from Hope! Leaving Hope heading down the roads before we came off and found ourselves walking through the dreaded cow fields, uphill sheep fields and some very grown crops, before hitting the top of Win Hill, still in the mist at this point! The sheep were as usual not too fussed, apart from one that just stood in the way and did not want to move. The cow field luckily they were not interested at all and just ignored us!
Once on top of Win hill, it was just a simple walk really around the rest. It all felt very flat until we came back down to the car. If anything we were just getting tired and sore feet. I had worn my new hiking trainers for the first time...Yep no testing...Straight in with a 21 mile hike. they didn't bother me one bit and my feet were a lot less sore than they could of been in order boots! We headed around the rest of the ridge and got to see some beautiful views.
We came across a lot of mushrooms, all different types, which I kept getting pictures off and nearly got covered in about 3 spiders to the point where I screamed when I realised they were nearly touching my hand. yep...Typical of me to scream at one spider never mind 3 together.
Blue sky eventually came out which meant it was a switch to shorts for a short times, sunglasses out too. It was a beautiful day and not a day I would of expected for October! It was nice walking around the ridge, As mentioned I have done the full thing in the past but over many hikes instead of just all in one. So it was really nice to put everything together in my head. We would leave one part I remember and walk to the next and I would recognise that too but didn't realise it was next to the last one I had been to. It was great putting two and two together and finally working out where everything I had previously walked in that area was.
We did come across someone that had had an accident on one of the mountains which meant mountain rescue came out. There were around 15 mountain rescue team members out trying to help, it reminded me how important the mountain rescue team are! They must have been up there for an hour or two trying to get the helicopter to drop low enough to help.
While sat watching the helicopter come in, one of my friends came to join us for the last 1/4 of the hike. He brought the spirits back up with fresh energy and helped one of the guys with us that had hurt his leg.
Once my friend had joined us, we did have to walk the stupidly boring part of the hike towards Lord Seat. It is just a long path of openness. I remember doing it in the pouring down rain the first time and you couldn't come off the path as it was just water both sides. This time it was dry at least but still just as boring! I do remember saying last time I would never do it again....Not realising it was part of the skyline! So yes I did it again and still hated it. Other than the 30 mins walking that path, this is one of the best hikes going!
You can tell how much I loved the day as I did not have many photos from the day. I was just really enjoying being out and feeling relaxed and happy in a hike! 21 miles just flew by that day and every moment was enjoyable.
Towards the end of the hike, we stopped on Lord Seat for a drink to celebrate what we had just accomplished, although with the sun going down, it got cold very quickly and we had to move!
This is one hike I will 100% go back to do again even with that boring path! This will be one I will be happy to lead others on for the future!
You will find many more of our interesting hikes on here, on our socials and on our YouTube! You can find everything on this link: https://linktr.ee/Acasualhikersguide Come and join us and see where we head off to next!
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