Crowden Horseshoe Walk | 9 Miles | The Wandering Wildflower

If you’re looking for a quieter walk in the Peak District with spectacular views and some of the best walking in the Dark Peak, the Crowden Horseshoe fits the bill. The 9 mile walk heads up the Pennine Way over Laddow Rocks (with one of the best views in the Peak District, in my view!) to Black Hill before returning via the (probably wet and boggy) Tooleyshaw Moss and Westend Moss.

A view of an expansive moorland valley at Crowden — A view from the climb up the Pennine Way

The Crowden Horseshoe walk is one for waterproof boots and gaiters as it’s usually wet year round on Westend Moss and gets very boggy. Don’t chance skipping through the middle of the boggy bits – some can be armpit deep!

What to Expect

Distance: 9 miles, a horseshoe route starting and finishing at Crowden
Terrain: Rough moorland walking, with a mix of clear paths and rougher, more pathless sections
Boggy ground: Very boggy underfoot in places, so expect wet feet, especially after rain
River crossings: A few stream and river crossings, which can be trickier when water levels are high
Footwear: Sturdy, waterproof walking boots are a must, and gaiters are a good idea
Navigation: Take a map and compass (as well as the knowledge to use them), as paths can be vague and the moors are easy to get disoriented on in poor visibility
Exposure: Very little shelter on the tops, so pack for changeable weather
Best for: Confident walkers who enjoy rough, remote moorland and don’t mind getting muddy

Route Highlights

Laddow Rocks: A dramatic gritstone edge high above Crowden Clough, with far-reaching views out across the wild moorland
Black Hill: The big prize of the day, a remote and boggy summit with a real sense of being out in the middle of nowhere. The trig point sits at 582m above sea level and this summit is the county top of West Yorkshire – before the boundaries were redrawn it was the county top of Cheshire!
The Pennine Way: A stretch of the famous long distance trail, giving a proper feel of the Dark Peak’s wilder side
River crossings: A few fun splash-through moments along the way, which add some variety to the walk
Beautiful wilderness: Wide open moorland, big skies and very few other walkers
Tranquillity: A walk that feels far removed from everyday life, ideal if you want a quiet day out in the hills

The walk starts from the free car park at Crowden and heads through the woods to Crowden Campsite. Turning left at the campsite entrance, we walked past the farm, through a wooden gate and over the bridge spanning Crowden Brook. We reached the wooden signpost for the Pennine Way and turned right, passing through sheep fields before reaching the Open Access Land. Here there’s a memorial to Harry Philips, a ‘staunch walker’, and a small woodland planted in the 1980s.

The path is quite easy to follow as it snakes its way along, crossing a ford before the steep climbing section begins. I always think this is one of the toughest climbs in the Peak District (usually because I get here when I’m running the 10 Reservoirs so am absolutely worn out!).

An image with burnt moorland on one side of the path and vegetation on the other

There’s a small waterfall at Oakenclough Brook (which is a great place for a breather) but the route continues to climb until you reach a small cairn. Here the path splits – the left hand fork heads over to Black Chew Head and Featherbed Moss, but we followed the right hand fork as it heads along the top of Laddow Rocks.

There is a small cave here but we didn’t visit on this walk – it’s on Laddow Rocks and Crowden Great Brook Circular | 5 Miles.

The path then starts to descend gradually to meet Crowden Great Brook at the base of Sliddens Moss, and we had to pick our way carefully over the stepping stones. This can be really difficult to cross after heavy rain – I once waded across it while it came up to my knees on a long run!

After crossing Crowden Great Brook, the route has some intermittent stone slabs. I’d advise you not to stray off these – the bogs either side can be thigh deep in places.

Over the stile, and then the route starts to climb up towards Black Hill. For the most part the stone slabs are pretty good but there are a couple of sections where you need to take a wide detour around the boggy parts on Dun Hill.

The stone slabs disappear for a short section before reappearing when you near the summit of Black Hill, topped by Soldiers Lump at 582m above sea level.

We had a quick snack on a tussock away from the trig point (it’s nice not to hog the trig point in case other people are coming up – I’d hate to ruin someone else’s summit photos). The route back is not easy to find – we gave the boggy marsh a wide berth and then picked up a faint path running south-east, skirting the eastern side of the large pool. There’s a wooden stake and then a stone cairn to show you’re on the right track. The path gets more distinct as you continue, heading through the peat groughs of Tooleyshaw Moss to the stile.

Heading towards the stone cairn on Tooleyshaw Moss

Over the stile, the path climbs steadily up to White Low and a short detour from the path can bag you the Ethel summit. We continued to follow the path over Westend Moss, which gets REALLY boggy, and then took the right hand fork to head downhill to join a path running along the top of Crowden Little Brook.

A view of a boggy peat moor at Westend Moss — Boggy path near White Low

The path runs below the Loftend Quarry (also known as Crowden Great Quarry or Crowden Castle) and over a stile, descending back to a small wooden gate. Turning left onto the track, we came to a gate by the Crowden campsite and headed back through the woods to the car park.