Amazing family walking route in the awesome Peak District

We love going to the Peak District and have been there a few times as a family. We have camped and more recently we stayed at a hotel in Sheffield where we drove into the Peaks every day. This time we walked up Kinder Scout on one of the hottest days this Summer (so far) and it was really nice to get back to an air conditioned hotel room. This is the route we took in the awesome Peak District.

Parking at Edale

We drove into the Peak District from Sheffield City Centre (30 mins drive) and parked at Edale. Edale is a beautiful spot and a lot of lovely family hiking routes are nearby from here. At Edale Village Hall Car Park it was £6 to park for the whole day, there is a toilet facility at the car park too which came in handy. (However, the toilets didn’t open until 10am). From this car park you walk north up the country lane until you get to The Old Nags Head and this is the official start of the Pennine Way.

The start of the Pennine Way

The Pennine Way is 268 miles long and is a National Trail that spans across England. It’s quite hidden in Edale, if I didn’t know it was the start of the a huge trail across England, I probably would have missed it. There is an alley way, that looks like you are walking in-between people’s homes (because you are) and it is opposite the pub, The Old Nags Head. On my map above, the pub is where I have put the purple star and the start of the walk is the black line to the left of the pub. This is the route we took to get up Kinder Scout. The pub is the perfect spot for a break, the pub garden is by the brook and it is just lovely to sit and listen to the trickling of water.

Kinder Scout in the Peak District

Kinder Scout is the highest point in the Peak District, it is 636 metres above sea level and making it the highest peak in the East Midlands. You can start out at Haydale or Edale to get up this mountain, we chose the Edale route. There is a waterfall that sits behind Kinder Scout, Kinder Downfall, which is something I want to see next time we go to the Peaks. It is such a beautiful area with great scenery, sheep running wild and lovely streams, pools and rivers to cool off in the Summer months. In the photo below you can just make out the Kinder Scout peak, the furthest peak with a mound of rocks on top!

Our walking route to Kinder Scout

As mentioned above we started out at the Village Car Park in Edale and followed the country lane to the pub where the Pennine Way starts. We then followed the Pennine Way up to Jacob’s Ladder, which is the grey pin point on the map below. Jacob’s Ladder is a set of steps up the mountains edge and although it is a short part of the route, it is really steep and hard work. I had to stop 3 times on my way up the steps as my heart rate had jumped up to 180bpm and it was at the top of this that Isla gave up. She cried her eyes out, so Rambo and I stopped with Isla at the top of Jacob’s Ladder whilst Daddy and Noah carried on to the top.

I found this route online too that might be more clear than my map doodle.

My Apple Watch calculated that Isla and I walked 10km (from the car park to the top of Jacob’s Ladder and back). We left the car park at 9:30am and made it back to the car around 4pm. We did stop at the Old Nags Head pub for an early dinner/late lunch on our way back. The food in the pub is delicious and they have a good range of kids meal options too. The watch also captured that I walked up 81 flights of steps, which must have been how high up Jacob’s Ladder is.

Overall I would class this as a moderate walk. Rambo, our Jack Russell, is 13 and he managed fine even in the August heat wave and Isla is 8. She doesn’t like the heat and if it wasn’t for the sun I believe Isla would have made it to the top. It is an up and down style route, whereby you are walking up and downhill throughout the entire route and the ground is mostly uneven. You couldn’t scoot and you would struggle with a buggy too! I did see a lot of cyclists at the top of Jacob’s Ladder which shocked me, that must have been scary up the top of the mountain on a bike.

With 2 kids and the dog it was a good day’s walk as we stopped a lot; in every stream and at the top. Then had food at the pub when we got back to the start of the Pennine Way. Which made it a nice day trip. Such beautiful views and it was so picturesque, I would definitely do it again but maybe on a cooler day!