The Roaches and Hen Cloud

The walk starts from the free roadside car park at Roaches Gate, below Hen Cloud, among the gritstone edges on the Staffordshire side of the Peak. It first climbs Hen Cloud (410 m), which stands apart, then goes up onto the Roaches and follows the ridge north past Doxey Pool, which has its own mermaid legend, to the summit (505 m) and on to Roach End. The return is back along the ridge. It is on path virtually all the way.

It is 7.5 km with 314 m of ascent; allow about 2½ hours. The grade is Easy: the climbs onto Hen Cloud and the Roaches are short and steep, and the ridge path is straightforward.

The edges are crags with steep drops on one side, so keep back from them, and in mist stay on the ridge path. Rockhall Cottage, below the crags, was once a gamekeeper's house and is now a climbers' hut, the BMC's Don Whillans Memorial Hut. Wallabies escaped from a private zoo lived wild here for decades.

The car park is free. The nearest station is Buxton, about 13 km away in a straight line.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.