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Peak District Walks

Cown Edge & Lantern Pike

On Coombes Edge

Date: 12th February 2011
Distance: 8.7 miles
Ascent: 1717 feet
Time: 4 hours 10 mins
With: On my own
Start Grid Ref: SK019923

Walk Summary:
An enjoyable walk connecting Lantern Pike and Cown Edge, two of the lower heights west of Kinder.

Route Summary: Monk's Road - Cown Edge - Higher Plainstead Farm - Matley Moor - Lantern Pike - Wethercotes - Rowarth - Near Slack - Robin Hood's Picking Rods - Coombes Rocks - Cown Edge - Monk's Road

Pictures:

1. Cown Edge Rocks

Cown Edge Rocks

2. Looking back at Cown Edge after the fog had lifted

Looking back at Cown Edge after the fog had lifted

3. Lantern Pike from the north

Lantern Pike from the north

4. Mill Hill and The Knott

Mill Hill and The Knott

5. The memorial topograph on Lantern Pike looking down to Hayfield

The memorial topograph on Lantern Pike looking down to Hayfield

6. On Lantern Pike with Kinder Scout in the cloud to the right

On Lantern Pike with Kinder Scout in the cloud to the right

7. Lantern Pike

Lantern Pike

8. Looking along the Sett Valley towards Hayfield

Looking along the Sett Valley towards Hayfield

9. Lantern Pike from above Rowarth

Lantern Pike from above Rowarth

10. Stood by Robin Hood's Picking Rods

Stood by Robin Hood's Picking Rods

11. Looking down over Coombes Rocks

Looking down over Coombes Rocks

12. The view west from Coombes Edge

The view west from Coombes Edge

13. Coombes Edge

Coombes Edge

14. On Coombes Edge

On Coombes Edge with Coombes Rocks stretching away to the south west

Walk Detail: After experiencing average to poor weather on my previous five walks this year I was quite excited about the forecast which promised lots of sunshine. It was with some dismay therefore that I crossed the A628 in thick hill fog and arrived at the starting point of the walk with visibility still poor.

I parked the car at the summit of Monk's Road, not far from the top of Cown Edge, and set off in the murk consoling myself that I'd be returning to the highest point of the route at the end of the walk by which time the skies should be much clearer.

It didn't actually take too long for the fog to lift and for patches of sunshine to begin breaking through, by the time I was crossing Matley Moor I was already able to enjoy the views back to Cown Edge and south to Lantern Pike, my next destination.

After a short climb I arrived at the memorial topograph on Lantern Pike. It was a nice spot with great views down into Hayfield. By this point the cloud had lifted over Mill Hill though the top of Kinder was still covered.

Having dropped down towards Hayfield I then took the bridleway past Wethercotes which took me all the way to Rowarth and my second ascent of the day.

Before heading for the rocks of Coombes Edge I first made a detour along an incredibly muddy track to visit the brilliantly named Robin Hood's Picking Rods. These two small stone pillars are, according to some theories, the remains of an Anglo-Saxon cross. Today they sit just by the joint highest point in the Stockport UA and is therefore classed as a county top.

The highlight of the day was undoutedly the walk along the curve of Coombes Edge. By this time the early breaks of sunshine had mainly disappeared and so I patiently sat and waited, camera at the ready, for a small patch of sun to travel south west and briefly illuminate the gritsone outcrops.

After briefly crossing back over to Cown Edge to look at the view that had been obscured at the start of the day I returned back to the car just as it began to rain.

This was a pleasant walk on mostly good paths in an area of the Peak District that was new to me. It was also good to know that it wouldn't take too long to reach Hayfield for possible future walks. The weather was better than I had enjoyed on any previous walk this year but despite this I still couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed that the sun hadn't made a more sustained appearance.


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