Stanage Edge is the longest and most impressive of the Dark Peak escaprments, being approximately three and a half miles in length, with fabulous footpaths through Access Land beneath it and a path along its edge.

For centuries Stanage Edge was quarried for millstones – large circular stones used for grinding. Peakland millstones were considered to be the best you could get for flour milling and were in great demand both in Britain and abroad. Around the end of the 18th century a pair of five feet diameter stones cost as much as ten guineas.

If you follow the path beneath Stanage Edge, starting in the vicinity of The Long Causeway which is an old Roman Road leading up and over the moors from Bamford, you will find what appears to be a graveyard of discarded millstones which appear like giant prehistoric dominoes that have rolled over the Edge.

Down the eastern flank of the Peak District you can find a series of ‘Edges’ . which were formed in the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago. These Edges are incredibly scenic and very popular with walkers and rock climbers. Many of the Edges are named after the village that they tower above such as Baslow Edge, Froggatt Edge and Curbar Edge

The farther north you go the higher and more dramatic the Edges become, some exhibiting strange shaped standing stones and boulders such as the famous Salt Cellar or the Cakes of Bread. Many of the rock climbs in the area have also been given names including The Tippler, Mississippi Buttress and Goliath’s Groove