Edale to the Dragon Rapide on Kinder Scout | 7.5 Miles
Leaving the beautiful village of Edale, this Peak District walk climbs Grindslow Knoll before heading off over the Kinder Scout plateau to discover the wreck of the Dragon Rapide on Edale Moor, the Seal Stones on the northern edge of the plateau and returning via the ‘Seven Minute Crossing’ across the plateau. This is a challenging 7.5 mile walk and good navigational skills are essential.
Views from the top of Grinds Brook with Grindslow Knoll to the right of the image
I was gifted a copy of Mountain Walks: Kinder Scout by Sarah Lister. This is one of the walks from the book, which is packed with 15 brilliant walks on or around Kinder Scout, including some lower level walks for when the weather isn’t great or time is short.
Dragon Rapide Crash Site, Edale Moor
The De Havilland Dragon DH89 Rapide G-ALBC crashed on Edale Moor in 1963 after carrying out a photographic survey. Both crew members were recovered alive by rescue teams, as were their films and cameras! The grid reference for the crash site is SK 10160 88241 – it’s hidden in a grough though so you might need to search about as it’s not immediately obvious.
We had planned to head out on this walk a few weeks back but a combination of poor weather (not what you want for searching for plane wreck sites on Kinder Scout) and then a cold/flu bug meant that we had to wait. Luckily for us, we picked a day with lovely weather!
The walk starts from Edale car park and heads up through the village of Edale to the start of the Pennine Way, at The Old Nags Head inn. We followed the Pennine Way a short distance past the campsite and then forked right at the wooden sign post to start the climb up Grindslow Knoll, up the fields then the steep, rocky path.
At the summit of Grindslow Knoll we were met by stunning views over to the Kinder Scout plateau and back over the Great Ridge of Mam Tor and Lose Hill.
The view from the top of Grindslow Knoll, with Kinder Scout in the background
We followed the path down to the top of Grinds Brook, where there was a steady stream of people coming up the Grindsbrook Clough scramble. The path heads round the edge a short distance to a rocky gorge. We followed the stream to the north over the Kinder plateau, and this is where your navigation skills will come in – the stream winds it’s way past the remains of Four Jacks Cabin, at one time the highest shooting cabin in Derbyshire, but then it gets harder to see where the path goes as it winds in and amongst the peat groughs.
There were some other plane wreck hunters looking for the Rapide, but they were heading to the Anson wreckage first
The remains of Four Jacks Cabin
The “path”! The groughs are high and it’s hard to see where you need to head. Good navigational skills are a must!
We found the site of the Dragon Rapide and then headed to group of rocks at the 623 spot height, before winding our way up and over the peat groughs in a north-easterly direction to pick up the path around the northern edge of Kinder Scout near the Seal Stones.
The terrain…!
The stones at the spot height
Safely on the northern edge path of Kinder Scout
Nearing the top of Blackden Brook
The path follows the edge until you reach Blackden Brook. After passing through the wooden gate and crossing the second stream of Blackden Brook, there is a path off over the plateau known as the Seven Minute Crossing. It took us 17 minutes to cross though as we had to pick our way through the peat bogs!
A small shelter near the top of Blackden Brook
After crossing the stream the path forks and we went right over the plateau
You can *just* see where the Seven Minute Crossing path forks off, in the centre of the image
When you hit the beach (!) the southern edge path isn’t far away
We picked up the paved path that runs along the southern edge to Nether Tor, and then descended back down via a rocky path below Ringing Roger to Edale and a well-earned pint and pub lunch in The Old Nags Head.
We took the right hand path which heads back down the hillside to Edale
Walk Details:
Walk Map (Opens in OS Maps): Edale to Kinder Scout, Dragon Rapide and the Seal Stones
Parking: Edale Car Park, Water Meadows, Hope Rd, Edale, Hope Valley S33 7ZQ W3W:///prices.heartburn.adjust
Facilities: There are public toilets in the car park, and plenty of cafes and pubs nearby including the Penny Pot cafe and The Old Nags Head pub in Edale itself.
Walk Time: 4-5 hours
Difficulty: ▲▲▲
Distance: 7.5 miles (12km)
Elevation: 1,750ft (534m)
Trig Points Bagged: None
Peak District Peaks Bagged: Grindslow Knoll
Peak District Ethels Bagged: Grindslow Knoll
For more Peak District plane crash site walks, you might like:
Tintwistle Seven Falls and Plane Crash Sites
USAAF B24-H Liberator Crash Site on Twizle Head Moss, Holmfirth
B29 Overexposed Crash Site on Bleaklow – A Guide
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