On the Moorland's Edge

Hayfield was busy. It had cotton mills, it had papermaking mills and it had calico printing and dye factories. Hayfield had times of trouble. Floods washed away three bridges, even swept away some bodies from their churchyard graves. And in 1830 it resounded to marching feet, not the feet of ramblers, but those of a thousand protesting mill workers, demanding a living wage. As was always the case in such times, the men were beaten back by soldiers and charged with civil disorder. Their industry went into a slow decline that would last a century, and Hayfield returned to its countryside ways.

The first part of the walk to little Lantern Pike follows the Sett Valley Trail, the trackbed of a railway that until 1970 linked Manchester and New Mills with Hayfield. At its peak the steam train would have brought thousands of people from Manchester. Today it's a pleasant tree-lined track, working its way through the valley between the hills of Lantern Pike and Chinley Churn. The track, and its former wasteland surroundings, are becoming quite a haven for wildlife. Beneath the ash, sycamore, beech and oak you'll see wood anemone, bluebells and wild garlic along with the rhubarb-like butterbur. In the days before fridges butterbur leaves were used to wrap butter to keep it cool.

Lantern Pike is the middle of three ridges peeping through the trees, and by the time you get to Birch Vale you're ready to tackle it. So up you go, on a shady path through woods, then a country lane with wild flowers in the verges, and finally on heather and grass slopes to the rocky-crested summit. Lantern Pike's name comes from the beacon tower that once stood on its summit. Fortunately for countrygoers, it had to be demolished in 1907 after falling into a dangerous state of disrepair.

Having descended back down to the busy Glossop road the route then climbs up across Middle Moor where it enters a new landscape - one of expansive heather fields. Soon you're on the skyline looking down on the Kinder and the ever-so-green valley beneath your feet, This seems to be complemented to perfection by the shapely and ever-so-green peaks of Mount Famine and South Head.

You come down to Hayfield on the Snake Path, an old traders' route linking the Sett and Woodland valleys. A fine street of stone-built cottages, with window boxes overflowing with flowers, takes you to the centre. This is a place where walkers come, and motorists take tea before motoring somewhere else. It's all so very peaceful - now.

Where to eat and drink

Twenty Trees Café in Hayfield serves good food, including filled jacket potatoes, bacon sandwiches, cakes and salads. Drinks and bar meals can be had at the Royal Hotel in Hayfield.

While you're there

Take a look round Hayfield. It has many old houses, former mills and cottages. The Pack Horse Inn on Kinder Road, for instance, dates back to 1577. The Royal Hotel was visited by John Wesley in 1755 - but in those days it was still the local parsonage.

What to look for

Lantern Pike was donated to the National Trust in 1950, after being purchased by subscription. It was to be a memorial to Edwin Royce, who fought for the freedom to roam these hills. A summit view indicator, commemorating Royce's life and struggle, records the 360 degree panorama.