Edale Peak District
Edale in the Hope Valley of the Peak District is the southern terminus of the Pennine Way, Britain's first and most celebrated long-distance walking route, a small valley village beneath the great escarpment of Kinder Scout that provides the starting point for the 430-kilometre walk to Kirk Yetholm in the Scottish Borders. The combination of the Pennine Way tradition, the excellent walking available from the village on the Kinder Scout plateau and the dramatic Dark Peak landscape that begins immediately above the valley makes Edale one of the most historically significant and most visited walking destinations in Britain.
The Kinder Scout plateau above Edale was the scene of the Mass Trespass of 1932, when a group of Manchester ramblers deliberately trespassed on the private moorland in defiance of the landowners who excluded public access to the high moors. The subsequent prosecution of the trespassers created national publicity and contributed to the long campaign for access to open country that eventually resulted in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act of 2000. The event is commemorated each year and has been recognised as one of the most significant acts of civil disobedience in the history of outdoor recreation in Britain.
The village of Edale provides the visitor services, cafes and the Moorland Visitor Centre of the national park that serve both Pennine Way walkers beginning their journey and day visitors using the Hope Valley railway line to access the Peak District walking without a car.