Get Lost Mountaineering

 Lantern Pike, Cown Edge & Coombes Edge from near Plainsteads Farm

Start/Finish

Casual gravel verge parking on minor road from Plainsteads Farm which is on Monk's Road which leaves the A624 Hayfield to Glossop road about 400 m south of the Grouse Inn. Monk's Road starts on the highest point of the A624 and is signed for Charlesworth. Plainsteads Farm is about 0.7 miles down the Monk's Road.Coming from Buxton, take the A6 to Chapel-en-le-Frith then follow signs to Glossop. Coming from Chesterfield, take A619 to Baslow then A623 through Calver to Chapel-en-le-Frith then follow signs for Glossop. From Sheffield, take A57, Snake Pass, to Glossop then take A624 towards Hayfield.

Distance/Time

11 km     About 3 – 4 hours

Peaks

Lantern Pike, 373 m, SK 026 881.

The rest of the walk is on edges, ridges and open moorland.

OS Outdoor Leisure 1: Dark Peak. OS 110 (1:50 000).

Introduction

This is a pleasant walk ideal for a short winter's day. The going is generally good on signed paths and bridleways although there are some wet sections above Rowarth. On a clear day, there are excellent views to Mill Hill, Kinder, South Head, Chinley, Bleaklow and Higher Shelf Stones.

Route

(1) Take the tarmac bridleway going left just after the parking place. Follow this to a corner. Go ahead, through a gate, and follow a path roughly S. Before long, reach another bridleway going SSE and follow it for just over 1 km to reach the foot of Lantern Pike where there is a multi path sign post. Follow the Lantern Pike direction across a grassy field then on to a bridleway. Soon after, a path fork right signed for Lantern Pike. Follow this up and soon reach the view indicator which is the summit of Lantern Pike, 373 m.

(2) Retrace down the ascent path but soon leave this path when it drops off the crest and follow easy slopes, through broken walls, gradually drifting NW. Lower down, find a faint path and follow this to meet a better path coming from the right. Follow this to the obvious track coming from Blackshaw Farm. Cross over and go through the obvious gap in the wall. Follow a faint path to a stile. Reach another stile with a notice saying the path you have been following goes to Hayfield! No information about the way forward to Rowarth! Cross the stile and follow the wall down to just before the farm then cross back over at another stile. Follow the wall ahead to a sign and stile going left. Continue and go through a small gate then reach and cross a small bridge. Go up the bank and turn right – do not go ahead across the wet field – then walk down the field to a similar bridge and path which leads on to a lane. If you wish to visit the Little Mill Inn, turn left, otherwise turn right and follow the track/path to reach a road near an old red telephone box. Walk up the road to a T junction. Turn right and soon after reach the narrow path signed for Cown Edge which is on the left. Follow the path up past the houses and continue upwards heading roughly N. There are useful signs at key junctions. Once on the crest, look for a path going off right to the crest. This is the S end of Cown Edge. Follow the edge and cross a very obvious track which is in a groove. This will, later, be the descent path which leads back to the car. From the track, regain the right hand edge and follow it to the end of the rocks, passing some large “scoops”. When level with the end of the second wood on the left, the rocks have ended so go left down the side of the wood to reach Coombes Edge. A barbed wire fence bars access to the edge. To cross the fence go right, N, along the edge until it can be crossed then walk back along the edge. Alternatively, go left, along the wood to reach a gate giving access to the edge path. Coombes Edge is much more rocky than Cown Edge. Follow the edge to its end then follow the fence/wall to a gate at the end of the track in a groove crossed earlier. Walk up the track over the crest then follow it back to the start.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 13^th February, 2015.