5 Edges Walk From Curbar | 8 Miles | The Wandering Wildflower

Explore beautiful moorland and gritstone edges on this 5 Edges Walk from Curbar Gap. Visit Baslow Edge, Blackstone Edge, White Edge, Froggatt Edge and Curbar Edge as well as an ancient stone circle, two Companion Stones, a trig point, the Eagle Stone and Wellington Monument! This 8 mile walk has a lot to see, including some amazing moorland views, but only a few short climbs.

A woman walking on Curbar Edge — Curbar Edge

The route starts from Curbar Gap car park. Turning right out of the car park and following the road a short distance, there’s a pedestrian gate on the left hand side leading onto Baslow Edge. There’s also a sign asking people not to feed the highland cows.

Following the path south for about half a mile we came to the Eagle Stone, a large gritstone boulder. Legend has it that young men used to prove their ‘manliness’ by climbing this rock. I’ve not managed to climb it yet!

From the Eagle Stone we carried on a short distance before reaching a junction. We turned left onto Blackstone Edge, passing Wellington’s Monument, built to celebrate victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. There’s a similar monument to Nelson on Birchen Edge a short distance away (and you can visit both on this Three Monuments Circular Walk From Chatsworth | 7.5 Miles).

Wellington Monument — Wellingtons Monument

Continuing along Blackstone Edge, the path leads out onto a road, passing one of the Companion Stones. This one looks like a sail or shark fin. We crossed the road and went through a gate onto Big Moor. This is indeed a very big moor, and you can sometimes see a herd of deer roaming here.

A Companion Stone on Blackstone Edge/Eaglestone Flats — Companion Stone on Blackstone Edge

We followed the path, climbing gently up to the White Edge trig point (at 365m above sea level this is almost the highest point on Big Moor).

From the trig point we carried on to the north-east, following the path along White Edge, passing another Companion Stone. We reached a wall with a wooden fingerpost signed to the Grouse Inn. We followed the rough track downhill, passing through a small area of woodland before emerging out into some fields. We crossed the fields to join the road in front of the Grouse Inn.

Passing the Grouse Inn, there’s a footpath and gate marked with a National Trust sign for Longshaw Estate. We walked across the field and into Hay Wood, turning left and passing the car park to head down to the stream. Crossing the stream via the stepping stones, the route climbs up to the road. We then crossed the road and went through the gate next to the big white wooden gate to Froggatt Edge.

A woman and her daughter walking across a field — Heading over the fields to the Grouse Inn

Here we passed the Bronze Age stone circle on Froggatt Edge, then continued along the well trodden path along the edge itself. Froggatt Edge runs into Curbar Edge, which then takes you back to the car park.