Great Ridge
The popular Great Ridge of the Dark Peak is undoubtedly the area’s classic hillwalk.
The Great Ridge is the Peak District’s only true ridge walk, and is the classic outing of the region. The ridge follows a dramatic high level course between Mam Tor (517m/1696ft) and shapely Lose Hill (476m/1562ft), taking in Barker Bank (426m/1398ft) and the stunning viewpoint of Back Tor along the way. The line of the ridge marks the boundary between the gritstone of the Dark Peak and the limestone of the White Peak, and there is an excellent path all the way along it. Views are stunning in all directions but especially well seen is the Vale of Edale and the Kinder Scout upland.
The Great Ridge is extremely popular with walkers, and this route climbs Lose Hill (also called Wards Piece) by a long rising path and then continues all the way to Mam Tor. It’s hard to choose the best viewpoint, but do try to do this outing on a sunny day to enjoy the panoramas at their very best. The return route uses the disused Castleton road for a while and as this has been prone to the landslips that dog Mam Tor, it looks as though it is earthquake damaged and as such is quite unique.