Jacob's Ladder - Edale Head - Grindslow Knoll

Peter Orchard

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This 10km walk takes in some wonderful Peak District views, a fairly steep ascent of Jacob's Ladder - an old packhorse route - and an even steeper one down Broadlee Bank Tor.

Starting at the car park south of Upper Booth, join the Pennine Way up through Jacob's Ladder, then visit the Noe Stool, the boulder-field known as the Wool Packs and Grindslow Knoll, before heading south down Broadlee Bank Tor to join the Pennine Way as it heads back into Upper Booth. There are some spectacular views to be had from many parts of this walk down into the Noe Valley, the Hope Valley and across to Mam Tor.

This walk is the one done by Nicholas Rudd-Jones in the 'Pathways' book, but in reverse.

England - Central England - Derbyshire - Peak District

Features

Birds, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Moor, National Trust, Tea Shop

12/16/2020 - Simon Worrall

Walked December 2020. Superb walk - quite possibly our best walk of 2020. The climb up Jacob's Ladder and up to Swine's Back rocks is well worth it. Great views for the rest of this walk which really must be done on a clear day to get the best long range views. The view of the Wool Packs (boulder field) from WP10 is very interesting. NAVIGATION WP16 - the signpost referred to is still missing but as you drop down the grassy path from WP15 you pass through a wooden gate and will be able to make out the grassy path below heading due south (to the right of the two small ponds) towards WP17. EQUIPMENT - at its highest point this walk is some 2,030 ft ASL so it's pretty exposed from WP's 7 - 17 even if all is calm in the car park! TIMINGS - we clocked the walk at 6.7 miles and it took 4 hours 15 mins with stops for coffee, lunch and halts just to take in the fabulous views.

10/11/2020 - Andrew Potter

Did this walk on a glorious October day with very good visibility. A short steepish climb up Jacob's Ladder and onwards to Noe Stool and the Woolpacks.We thoroughly enjoyed it - directions were spot on and fairly easy to follow.Some amazing views from the top and all in all an excellent walk.No distinct path at first through the Woolpacks but head east and as the description says you can't go wrong. One comment I will add is that on the way to Grindslow Knoll the path is not boggy at all in fact stone slabs have been laid making it much more pleasant than the description. Totally recommend doing this walk.

8/1/2011 - JO PHILLIPS

Did this walk 30th July 2011. It's worth doing a side trip before going on to Noe Stool, from Swine's Back to the cairn & trig point, because the views across to the west are great. The descent down Broadlee Bank Tor is very steep (and quite daunting espcially if you're a wuss like me!) but there is great lemon drizzle cake at the farm once you're down into Upper Booth! General comment - the car parking area is quite secluded so sensible security precautions should be taken: when we got back to our vehicle the car next to us had had it's back window smashed in, apparently an (empty) briefcase left in view on the back seat had been taken and then thrown away when found to be empty. Not a nice thing to come back to after a good day walking.

1/14/2007 - Mat Hough

Superp walk even in 50 MPH+ winds. The only note of caution is that the signpost mentioned in waypoint 16 is no longer there so make sure you carry straight on (the less well worn path) at the junction of paths.

6/13/2006 - Stephen Harris

Superb walk. Outstanding views and a great sense of adventure. Easy to go off the track at the top but we had a GPS and this made it excellent with the memory map file. Caution on the descent, very steep but very rewarding walk. 10/10.

6/5/2002 - Joe Fitzgerald

Did this walk on Golden Jubilee weekend. First rate. Good directions - didn't get lost once. Scenery was wonderful from beginning to end. One spectacular view after another. Our first real taste of the Peaks. We are now in love with them. One of our best ever walks. Joe Fitzgerald, Stony Stratford, Bucks