Edale Skyline in February: The Most Brutal One Yet
- bootsandbanter
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
When the wind doesn’t quit, neither did I
Date: 22 February 2026
📍Route: Hope Train Station → Lose Hill → Back Tor → Mam Tor → Rushup Edge → Brown Knoll → Kinder Low → Woolpacks → Crowden Tower→ Ringing Roger → Crockstone Out Moor → Hope Cross → Win Hill → Hope Train Station
📏Distance: 32 km
⬆️Ascent: 1,527 m
⌛Time: 7 h 54 m
Weather: 9°C, feels like 4, fog + brutal 70 km gusts
Mood: Crushed. Stubborn. Endured.
The Edale Skyline is a challenging 20-mile (32–33.5 km) circular walking and running route in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, England. It encircles the Edale Valley, taking in five major summits: Win Hill (463m), Brown Knoll (569m), Mam Tor (517m), Back Tor, and Lose Hill (476m). The route is renowned for its dramatic views, rugged moorland terrain, and iconic sections like the Great Ridge, Ringing Roger, and Kinder Scout plateau..
I didn’t expect to write a blog post this time. I thought, just one more Skyline, tick it off, no story to tell. I done it before. I know what is coming. I was wrong.
Morning Hopes, A Blue Sky Lie, Brutal Reality
I started late, around 10 am, parking as usual at Hope Train Station. The sun was out for the first time in ages in the UK, and I felt happy, optimistic even. But as I walked towards Hope Village, the wind already felt suspicious. I checked the forecast: 30 km/h with gusts of 70 km/h. I laughed nervously to myself. “Oh, this is going to be something else on top of Lose Hill.”
And it was.
As soon as I emerged onto the open ridge leading to Lose Hill, the wind hit full force. I was wearing just a thin thermal long sleeve, holding onto my hat for dear life. The gusts were brutal - wobbling me three times - it became clear quickly that this was not going to be easy.
At the top of Lose Hill, I struggled to put on my windbreaker, propping my backpack against the trig like a small fortress against the wind. I am sure the backpack would have gone downhill with the wind otherwise! Hood over baseball cap, I pushed forward.
It felt ridiculous and serious at the same time.
Lose Hill was brutal. The worst I have ever felt it.
Mam Tor, Rushup Edge, and Brown Knoll: Soul-Crushing Wind
The story repeated itself over Mam Tor and Rushup Edge, where the path had become a small stream. By Brown Knoll, the wind had been battering me for over three hours. It was relentless, soul-crushing, almost meditative in its intensity.
I wasn’t thinking much, just mentally noting that once I turned from Kinder Low, the wind would hopefully be at my back. There was another full hour before that.
Clouds gathered after Brown Knoll. I put on my rain jacket and backpack cover. The boggy, muddy ground was everywhere. Some flagstones were floating in water, misplaced, treacherous. Every step demanded attention, but the exhaustion was real. It didn't rain but I kept everything on.
Kinder Low: First Mental Flickers
Before Kinder Low, for the first time, a fleeting thought crossed my mind: I didn’t have to go all the way. I could cut across from Swine's Back toward Noe Stool and skip the summit. It lasted a heartbeat, then I ignored it. But it existed.
I reached Kinder Low and had another reality check. I usually cut across the cloughs towards Noe Stool. I looked at that black, boggy mess and thought, absolutely not. It looked like it would swallow me whole.
So I retraced my steps towards Swine's Back.
And then the wind claimed a prize.
My backpack cover ripped clean off and took off downhill. I watched it for a few seconds thinking, that’s it, it’s gone. Then it stopped.
I stepped off the flagstone path, fully aware that one wrong move and I could disappear into a bog, and went after it. Retrieved it. Stuffed it inside my backpack. If the wind wanted it again, it would have to fight me for it properly.
That moment sums up the day.
The Long, Lonely Stretch
From Ringing Roger to Win Hill I saw two people. It was nearly 5 pm at Hope Cross. It felt remote in a way this route rarely does. The hours blended into a blur. Paths I’ve walked countless times looked alien: mud, water, silence.
My feet were in agony from the previous day’s five hour booted hike. I wore Salomon trainers, but the damage was already done. My back hurt from bracing against wind all day. I could not even take my hood off when the wind shifted behind me. It was still cold.
Mental Flickers below Win Hill
After Hope Cross, another flicker appeared before Win Hill. The path was splitting there - one last ascent after 7 hours non stop movement or I could just descend to Hope and skip it.
I have never had thoughts of quitting on a Skyline. The fact they appeared at all shows how brutal this day was. I felt mentally and physically crushed.
For the first time, I wasn’t hyped about finishing. I just wanted it to end.
Win Hill And No Sunset
At Win Hill I thought I might enjoy sunset. Clouded skies swallowed the sunset. No light. Grey. Cold.
I had 3.5 km left. I knew I would finish after sunset. That genuinely worried me.
I pushed the final 2 km harder than I wanted to. I reached the car. Ten minutes later it was fully dark.
I’ve never completed a hike after sunset.
If I had not sped up, I would have been descending in darkness.
7 Hours 54 Minutes
This was the most strenuous Skyline I have done. Not because of distance. Not because of ascent.
Because of:
• 70 km gusts for hours
• Bog and flooded flagstones
• Residual fatigue from the previous day
• Mental flickers of “I could skip this”
• Almost finishing in darkness
It nearly crushed me.
But it did not.
The day was about keeping your stubborn feet moving when your body and mind are screaming. About surviving until the red line on the map finally joins the beginning.
🔍 Final Thoughts
By tomorrow this will probably feel epic. But it was heavy, lonely, stubborn, and real. That’s what we do. We sand down the sharp edges and keep the glory.
Usually, finishing a Skyline fills me with buzz, pride, a rush of “yes, I did it.” Today, I didn’t feel that. Today, I just wanted it to end.
Some days are magical. Some days are crushing. And sometimes, both can happen in the same walk. Today was crushing although on pictures it looks magical.
The blue skies lie. The wind doesn’t. And still, you walk.
Peaks
⛰️ Lose Hill (476 m)⛰️ Back Tor (438 m)⛰️ Barker Bank (426 m)⛰️ Hollins Cross (388 m)⛰️ Mam Tor (517 m)⛰️ Lord’s Seat (550 m)⛰️ Brown Knoll (569 m)⛰️ Kinder Low (633 m)⛰️ Win Hill (463 m)
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