tracking back

Edale is a great starting point for a walk, but not a bad place to finish one either

Continuing his series exploring the meaning of place and pathways, Will Gore considers Peak District memories

Saturday 16 March 2019 18:49 GMT
Comments
Kinder reservoir seen from the flanks of Kinder Scout, ‘a better beast than many a mountain’
Kinder reservoir seen from the flanks of Kinder Scout, ‘a better beast than many a mountain’

Last week the Ordnance Survey revealed that Edale in Derbyshire is the most popular place in Britain to start a hike – judging by the volume of walkers.

It’s not, perhaps, a huge surprise. After all, the Pennine Way starts there, and the village is easily accessible by rail from Manchester in the west and Sheffield in the east.

It also has the benefit of having some notable social history attached to it, being the site of the famous mass trespass of 1932 that presaged the opening up of the countryside to the public in the decades that followed. Indeed, by 1951 the Peak District had become the UK’s first designated National Park.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in