Stanage Edge, or simply Stanage (from "stone edge") is a

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...

, England, famous as a location for

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

. It lies a couple of miles to the north of

Hathersage Hathersage ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District in Derbyshire, England. It lies slightly to the north of the River Derwent, approximately south-west of Sheffield. Toponymy The origin of its name is disputed, although it is ...

, and the northern part of the edge forms the border between the High Peak of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. I ...

. Its highest point is High Neb at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. Areas of Stanage were quarried in the past to produce

grindstones A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...

, and some can still be seen on the hillside—carved, but never removed.

Features

A paved

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

road ran along the top of the edge, and remains of it can be seen, as can remains of the

Long Causeway Long Causeway or Long Causey was a medieval packhorse route in England, which ran between Sheffield in South Yorkshire and Hathersage in Derbyshire. In the past the route has been marked on maps as a Roman Road as it was believed it followed part ...

, once thought to be a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

which works its way over the edge on its route from

Templeborough Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the R ...

Brough-on-Noe Brough and Shatton is a civil parish in Hope Valley in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is named for the two hamlets of Brough-on-Noe and Shatton. Brough is about 2 km, or just over 1 mile, west (upstream) of Shatton; ...

, 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

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

water for

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

to drink. During the construction of the Rivelin tunnel a sighting tower was constructed on the edge to assist in surveying the route of the tunnel. All that remains of the tower is a heap of stones at Ordnance Survey grid reference .

Sport

Rock climbing

Stanage's naturally weathered Millstone Grit face is now known as a highly popular location for

rock climbing in the Peak District Rock climbing is a popular activity in the Peak District; particularly on edges such as Stanage or Froggatt. Generally the climbing style is free climbing (as opposed to aid climbing) and the rock is either gritstone or limestone. Climbing ha ...

. The edge runs three miles north from the Cowper Stone to Stanage End. It is the northernmost of an almost continuous line of cliffs, including

Burbage Rocks Burbage Rocks is a gritstone escarpment in South Yorkshire, overlooking the village of Hathersage in the Peak District. The highest point along the escarpment is above sea level, whilst Burbage Moor rises above to . Burbage Rocks is a southern e ...

, Froggatt Edge,

Curbar Edge Curbar Edge is a gritstone moorland escarpment above the village of Curbar, in Derbyshire, England and close to the villages of Baslow, Calver, and Froggatt. It is located within the Peak District National Park at an altitude of . It is regard ...

, Baslow Edge and

Birchen Edge Birchen Edge is a gritstone rock face in the Peak District, England, popular with walkers and novice climbers as most of the climbing routes are in the lower grade. Walking Birchen Edge provides an easy high-level walk with views over the n ...

. The Cowper Stone is a block of

at the most southerly point of Stanage. Set alone a few hundred metres from the last buttress of the main crag, it is a large boulder with distinctive rounded breaks running across it. It is the scene of some classic hard-grit routes of the 1980s first climbed by protagonists such as

Johnny Dawes Johnny Dawes (born 9 May 1964) is a British rock climber and author, known for a dynamic climbing style and for establishing bold traditional climbing routes. This included the first ascent of ''The Indian Face'', the first-ever route at the E9 ...

and John Allen. The Edge was notably omitted from the first rock climbing guidebook to the Peak District, ''

Some Gritstone Climbs ''Some Gritstone Climbs'' is a rock climbing guidebook written by British lawyer John Laycock (1887–1960). The book's subtitle, included uniquely on the frontispiece, is ''Some Shorter Climbs (in Derbyshire and Elsewhere)''. It was published i ...

'' by John Laycock, published in 1913, due to the then severe access restrictions to the land. It has subsequently been featured regularly in over a century of regular climbing guidebooks, which document the growth in the number of routes and the rise in climbing standards. Although the edge reaches only 25 metres in height it is one of the most famous UK climbing venues: aside from having a multitude of routes close to a major population centre, it is home to the route Right Unconquerable (HVS 5a), which, when first climbed by Joe Brown in 1949, was considered a milestone achievement in British climbing. In spite of its height, the edge is home to the longest recorded rock route in the United Kingdom; the 5000m Girdle Traverse, completed by Ron Fawcett in 1992 and graded "E5 6b(ish)".

Running

Stanage is a magnet for walkers and runners. The Fat Boys Stanage Struggle is a popular local

fell race Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport ...

that starts in Hathersage—altitude —and routes up to and along Stanage Edge to High Neb——before returning to the village below. The 19 September 2021 edition of the event was won in a time of 40m 51s by Michael Kenyon of

Dronfield Dronfield is a town in North East Derbyshire, England, which includes Dronfield Woodhouse and Coal Aston. It lies in the valley of the River Drone between Chesterfield and Sheffield. The Peak District National Park is to the west. The nam ...

Running Club; there were 224 finishers.Struggle Results 2021
Retrieved: 20 September 2021.

In popular culture

The location has featured in films and television series, most notably in the 2005 film ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' during a scene Elizabeth Bennet (portrayed by

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

) is seen facing the horizon from the Edge.

Gallery

File:Cowper Stone Stanage Edge.jpg, The Cowper Stone File:Stanage_Edge.jpg File:Stanage edge2.JPG File:View-north-west-along-stanage-edge-uk.jpg

References

{{Climbing areas of the Peak District Hills and edges of South Yorkshire Mountains and hills of Derbyshire Mountains and hills of the Peak District Climbing areas of England Geography of Sheffield Escarpments of England