Edale

Edale is a small, gloriously situated village tucked into a green valley in the heart of the Peak District, and it punches far above its size as a walking base. It is the official start of the Pennine Way, Britain's oldest long-distance trail, and it sits directly beneath Kinder Scout — the high, wild moorland plateau that was the scene of the famous 1932 mass trespass that helped win public access to the hills.

The walking is classic gritstone Peak District: dark edges, peat-hagged plateaux and the dramatic horseshoe of ridges around the valley, from Mam Tor and the Great Ridge to Lose Hill and the brooding bulk of Kinder. Mam Tor's "broken mountain" and the airy walk along the Great Ridge to Lose Hill are among the most popular half-days in the country, all within easy reach of the village.

What makes Edale special is how easy it is to reach car-free: it has its own railway station on the line between Manchester and Sheffield, so you can step off the train and onto the hill. It is a modest, welcoming place — a couple of pubs, a campsite, a bunkhouse — and superb value for weekend hill days from the northern cities.

Spring to autumn (April to October) gives the best walking, with firm ground and long evenings; the Great Ridge is glorious at sunset. Summer weekends and bank holidays are busy, especially around Mam Tor, so arrive early or come midweek. Kinder Scout in winter is a genuinely serious, exposed plateau where navigation matters — save it for settled conditions unless you are confident with map and compass.

Edale's biggest asset is its railway station, directly on the Manchester–Sheffield Hope Valley line — one of the best car-free walking bases in England. By road it is about an hour from Manchester and a little more from Sheffield or the East Midlands. Parking in the village is limited, so the train is often the easiest way in.