Curbar Edge

Curbar Edge was the first place in the Peak District where I actually understood why climbers talk about gritstone the way other people talk about a good vintage. It’s a coarse, grippy rock, weathered into these blocky, almost architectural outcrops along a mile-long escarpment above the Derwent Valley, and on the weekend we visited there were maybe a dozen climbers scattered along the base of it, ropes and chalk bags and the occasional shout of “safe” echoing up whenever someone topped out.

We’d come for the walk more than the climbing — neither of us climbs, though watching people do it while eating a sandwich turned out to be surprisingly good entertainment. The path along the top runs flat and easy from the car park at Curbar Gap, which makes it one of the more accessible bits of dramatic scenery in the Peak District; you don’t need to earn this view with a brutal ascent, you basically just walk up and it’s there. Below, the valley opens out in a huge green sweep, with Chatsworth’s parkland visible in the distance and the Derwent looking more like a silver thread than a river from that height.

What struck me most, honestly, was the light. We’d timed it badly on purpose, arriving a couple hours before sunset because a friend in Sheffield swore it was worth it, and she was right — the gritstone goes this deep orange-brown as the sun drops, and every climber and dog-walker on the ridge seems to quietly agree to stop and watch for a minute. There’s also a scattering of ancient boundary stones and, further along near Baslow, the strange little stone circle known as the Eagle Stone, which nobody seems entirely sure about the origin of. We didn’t make it that far, saving it for a return trip that I still owe Lia.

Curbar draws serious climbers year-round, but even if you have zero interest in scaling rock, it’s worth the visit purely as one of the best easy-access panoramas in the Peak District. We brought a flask of tea, found a flat slab of gritstone to sit on that had clearly been sat on by several thousand people before us, and just watched the valley go gold. Simple, and one of those evenings that ends up being a highlight of a trip almost by accident.

When to go: Aim for a clear evening an hour or two before sunset — the gritstone lights up beautifully, and weekday visits avoid the busiest climbing crowds at the car park.