Midweek Peaks: Curbar and the Stags on a WEDNESDAY

Location

East Peak District

OutdoorLads shares the exact meeting point with people who have signed up, closer to the date. See the OutdoorLads listing for details.

About this event

Midweek Peaks is a new series of walks designed to fit flexible lifestyles and give you the opportunity to see some of the best of the Peak District when it is less busy! This walk, on a Wednesday, is a 7.5 miles walk from Baslow up Curbar Edge and onto the Eastern Moors, where stags may be seen (and heard) rutting at this time of year. Meeting in the village of Baslow, we follow reasonable paths up on to Curbar Edge to get a good view of the dramatic rock outcrops. The plan is to follow the path along the top, to get good views, but if it is windy we may follow the path below which is sheltered but still offers good views of the edge above. On our way up we pass the Eagle Stone, a dramatic gritstone rock marking the start of the edge. There are great views west and south to Bakewell and further towards Chatsworth House. Following on from the top of the edge, we then turn east on to the open moorland which is the best place to see the stags. Large, male red deer rut, brae and clash antlers at this time of year. You can see a video of the stags on Eastern Moors here. This spectacular sight cannot be guaranteed but this is the best chance to see them in the Peaks.The moors and paths from the valley are also a good spot to see birds of prey, including barn owl, buzzard, kestrel, little owl. Being October, we should be there to see the first of the autumn colours as the seasons change, making this an atmospheric and nature-packed midweek outing.Well behaved dogs are welcome on this walk. Our planned route is here. We will return to Baslow in good time to beat the traffic on your return home.Photo CreditsDeer by the leader of this event. Trig_point Photo: Chris Morgan © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Curbar_Edge Photo: Neil Theasby © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Deer_Moor Photo: David Pickersgill © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Bar_Brook Photo: Graham Hogg © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Black_bank Photo: David Martin © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Eagle_stone Photo: Roger Temple © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Hillside lacking trees Photo: Graham Cole © (cc-by-sa/2.0); Curba_path Photo: Graham Cole © (cc-by-sa/2.0).New Members: If this is your first event or you are new to OutdoorLads we’d love to see you. Please message me if you have any questions.https://www.outdoorlads.com/my-first-eventWaitlist: If this event is fully booked and you really want to attend, add yourself to the waitlist because places often become available. If you are on the list but can no longer come, please cancel your attendance as soon as possible to allow waitlisted people to attend in your place.  Image Credits: All images taken by the event leader with permission for ODL use.