Edale Skyline
You spend almost the whole loop on the skyline itself, linking gritstone edges and summits with the Edale valley dropping away below you the entire way round.
Effort: Long day out, serious climb
Underfoot: Technical, navigation required
E4·T4 — how we grade routesYou spend almost the whole loop on the skyline itself, linking gritstone edges and summits with the Edale valley dropping away below you the entire way round.
A 29.5km high-level circuit of the moors ringing the Edale valley, with 861m of climbing over Mam Tor, the Great Ridge, Brown Knoll and the southern edges of Kinder Scout. Starts and finishes near Edale village.
The route
The Skyline does exactly what the name says: it traces the rim of high ground that encircles the Edale valley, so you are on tops and edges for most of the 29.5km. From Edale you climb south to Mam Tor, then run the paved crest of the Great Ridge over Hollins Cross and Back Tor to Lose Hill. The line then swings back west across Barker Bank and up onto Brown Knoll, where the ground turns to peat and flagstones.
The Kinder edges
The second half is the best of it. You gain the southern edge of Kinder Scout at Edale Rocks and Kinder Low, then follow the gritstone rim past Noe Stool, the Woolpacks and Crowden Tower. These are some of the strangest rock shapes in the Peak, and the running along the edge is fast and clear with a long drop to your right. Grindslow Knoll and Crookstone Knoll close out the high ground before the drop back to the valley floor. Total climbing is 861m and the high point is 634m on Kinder.
Why it works
Most Peak District loops give you one good top. This one strings together a dozen and keeps you high between them. It is also the line of the Don Morrison Edale Skyline fell race, so you are running a genuine piece of Peak running history. The trade-off is commitment: there is very little shelter and no easy way to cut it short once you are on the Kinder edges, so treat it as a proper mountain day.
Getting there
Edale has a train station on the Manchester to Sheffield Hope Valley line, which makes this one of the easiest big Peak routes to reach without a car. The village car park and the Penny Pot Cafe are both a short jog from the start.
High, exposed and largely unmarked, with the Kinder edges genuinely dangerous in cloud or strong wind - carry a map and compass and know how to use them. The peat groughs on Brown Knoll and Kinder hold water year round, and grouse shooting runs on the moors from August to December.
Safety on this route
- No signal? Text 999 — pre-register first: text register to 999
- Tell someone your route and expected return time before you head out
Leave No Trace
- Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.
- Please respect the countryside and all its inhabitants.
- Dogs on leads near livestock, and around ground-nesting birds from March to July.
- Gates as you find them — open or closed, leave it that way for the farmer and the next runner.
- Take it all home — wrappers, peel, tissue, the lot. It doesn't count as biodegradable if you can still see it.
- Stick to the path where the ground either side is wet, planted, or nesting habitat.
Common questions
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