Edale Hike in the Peak District

I love Cambridge, don't get me wrong, but it is quite lacking in Nature and hills. The steepest climb would be a bridge. Luckily I was able to get out of our lovely old city and into the sticks. I joined the CU Hillwalkers Society and hopped along for a day trip to Edale in England's Peak District.

This map shows the section of the country I was in. Cambridge is toward the southeast. The drive was somewhere between 3 and 4 hours. We took a bus.

Once arrived, my classmate and I joined the group going on one of the harder hikes. We had a 10 mile hike ahead of us on Kinder Scout, which kind of seems like a mesa. The group was mostly grad students ranging from Bulgaria to Argentina. Everybody was fantastic! Here's the down-to-earth folks I've been looking for.

The hills are gently rolling and covered with low-lying brush and grasses and sheep. We were lucky to have a sunny day!

After scaling the appx. 2000 foot Kinder Scout, we traversed the top of the plateau. This area was covered in moorlands, which are wet area with heather brush covering a thick layer of peat. Gullies form and the area is generally tricky to traverse, wet, spongy, and muddy! The wet peat is good at eating shoes and generally causing slips and a mess. But lots of fun!

Moor peat!

Scaling the peat canyon!

After traversing the muddy moors, we headed along the
plateau edge and down toward our pick up point at a pub (of course) at 6pm. The "gritstone" along the edge is interestingly eroded, making for interesting scenery. This landscape was a pleasant surprise. I had no idea what to expect, but I can't wait to go hiking again!  

Sheep with a view.