Stanage Edge

Peak District, United Kingdom

Stanage Edge, or simply Stanage is a gritstone escarpment in the Peak District, England, famous as a location for climbing. The northern part of the edge forms the border between the High Peak of Derbyshire and Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Its highest point is High Neb at 458m above sea level. Areas of Stanage were quarried in the past to produce grindstones, and some can still be seen on the hillside—carved, but never removed. A paved packhorse road ran along the top of the edge, and remains of it can be seen, as can remains of the Long Causeway Roman road which works its way over the edge on its route from Templeborough to Brough-on-Noe, crossing Hallam Moor and passing Stanedge Pole (note the slightly different spelling), an ancient waymarker on the route to Sheffield. Some cairns along the top are even older, and there is a well-known cave in the cliff known as Robin Hood's Cave. More recent features include early 20th-century drinking basins, designed to collect pure rainwater for grouse to drink. Stanage is a magnet for climbers and ramblers in addition to runners. The Stanage Struggle is a popular local fell race that starts in nearby Hathersage and rises to High Neb before returning to the village 500 feet below.