Like most of our trips, this was also a sudden one. We had not done any outdoor walks/trails in this month of March and were looking for a decent place to start with. We came across this Mam Tor hike, and it was starting right from the Edale train station. We have been to Edale once before and did a very small trail (around 2 miles) without any proper gear. This time, we felt more confident and so decided to give it a go!
We (my wife and I) boarded the 9.47 AM train (Northern service) from Eccles to Manchester Piccadilly. The train to Edale (again, Northern service) was at 10.48 AM from there. The train was not much busy, and we got nice table seats. The journey towards any of the Peak District’s (oh, did I mention, Edale is in the Peak District!) places is always scenic (of course, unless the weather decides otherwise) and this time it was no different. The train was on time and we reached Edale at around 11.30 AM.
As I mentioned before, the trail started right from the station approach. We opened our AllTrails app and started following the route. As soon as we took a right turn from the main road, it started drizzling and we thought, ‘Not a good start!’. However, about 200 meters in and the scenic beauty began to unfold itself! You don't worry much about the weather when you experience something like that. The path was surrounded by hills and you feel like someone has trapped you there (of course, in the best possible way). We noticed something very unusual on our way, there was a small bird-nest type box and it contained small juice cans, chocolates, biscuits and eggs! You could take any of those and put the money (the price was written on a board outside) in the ‘honesty box’. The whole thing felt nice! We did not take anything from there (except a warm feeling) and continued on our journey.
About 500 meters in and the pathway suddenly dissolved into a muddy, rocky terrain. There was literally no road/path visible. We thought we might have taken a wrong turn or something, but the app said we were on the right path and need to continue straight. We found a group of travelers walking far away in front of us and they were taking the muddy road (if you can call that a road though). We trusted the app and the group and continued. The next kilometer or so was really tricky for us. If it was not for the small twigs and tree branches (we held on to them as if our lives were in their hands), we would not have been able to cross that hurdle. Once the muddy patch was over, we were in the open fields again. But this time, even the weather decided to join hands with nature. The bright light was guiding us on our way, and we were slowly ascending upwards.
A couple of kilometers and we reached the intersection of a motorway. We realized people would usually come to that point by car and then start the ‘actual’ climb to the peak of Mam Tor. We stopped there for a while. As it was a Saturday, we could see many people coming in. Armed with proper trail/hike gear, backpacks, water bottles, and whatnot. It felt great to see we no longer had to bear the muddy roads, it was proper stone steps to the top. But what we did not realize, was that it was all going to go ‘downhill’ from there!
As we climbed about 10 steps ahead, we could feel the strong winds blowing. We had experienced something similar while on our hike to the Haw Crag trig point in Skipton, so we were not much worried. As we climbed further, the wind grew stronger. There was a point, when we had to hold each other's hands to fight the wind (nothing romantic, just basic surviving strategy!). A few more steps ahead and that too was not sufficient. I could not stand and brave the wind anymore and sat down on the steps. We could see many people going up and coming down, most of them did not even flinch at all! A few more minutes and we gathered our courage a bit more to push our strength, a bit more.
We could now see the trig point ahead of us, ‘just a few more steps and this will be over’, we told ourselves. But will ‘it’ be over or it's us, who would fly away from there!
We decided to put a pitstop and moved a little bit away from the paved path. I, as before, sat down on the grass. My wife chose a rock to sit on. We thought we will gather some more courage (again) and then finish the last bit. We could see people reaching the top, touching the trig point, taking photos, and laughing. This gave me some inner strength to cross the last hurdle. We both got up. But, as ever, the wind might not have liked it and it started blowing with all its might!
I had never experienced something like this, ever! That sound of wind blowing through my ear still reverberates in my head. At one point, I felt, it might make a hole in my eardrums! All I could hear was some flapping sounds of someone’s jacket, someone’s backpack cover, and so on. I thought that was it and I almost gave up. If it was not for my wife (who literally tucked my hands and pushed ourselves to the trig point), the last bit would still be unaccomplished.
We reached the top and sat down there. I could sense, she was enjoying every bit of it. I, on the other hand, was really scared! But now if I think of it, I remember the scenic view that the top was offering! There was nothing blocking your view around you, nothing for hundreds of miles. You could see as much as you want! I don’t know how the people reaching the top of Mount Everest would feel! That’s literally the top of the world! Anyway, coming back to our story, the experience taught us a very valuable lesson. Sitting there, fighting hard against the strong wind and failing miserably, we understood how insignificant we are. How small we are compared to the nature! We are nothing in front of the mighty mother nature.
We grasped the moments for some more time before heading off from there. We wanted to take a photo, but the wind did not let me take my phone or gopro out! We started our descend.
As it was a circular walk, we did not come down the same way, instead we went ahead following the same paved path. The weather was ever changing, as someone rightly said, ‘you can experience all the 3 seasons within a day’ (within an hour even, according to my wife). It slowly started to rain heavily as we continued on our trail’s direction. After just 10 mins, the rain god stopped and the sun god appeared! And, he brought his ‘rainbow’ friend along with him! That was the first time, I saw a rainbow being formed in front of me! It was so close that you think you can touch it! It was something serene. I felt like we have been rewarded for overcoming our fear! As suddenly it appeared, it vanished without any notification. We continued our walk.
We were now descending quite fast and wanted to cover as much of the muddy way as possible before it starts to rain again. The descend did not take us long and soon we reached the little, beautiful ‘Penny Pot Cafe’ on the station approach.
It was nice and warm inside the cafe. We had a couple of vegan rolls, a carrot cake, a cafe mocha to give peace to our stomachs after a strenuous walk!
We boarded the 3.45 PM train (again, Northern service) to Piccadilly from Edale. Our tired bodies finally gave up and off we napped our way back to Manchester.
This trip was a memorable one like any other. But moreover, it taught us to get ahead of our fears and embrace them as part of us.
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