Campsite review: Newfold Farm Campsite & Edale Kinder Scout circular walk
Campsite review: Newfold Farm Edale
The Peak District National Park is one of Britain's most spectacular areas of natural beauty. Majestic and rugged, it is needless to say that it is a hot spot for camping, hiking, and so many other outdoor activities. Since the events of 2020's COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more popular than ever for wild camping, and as is probably the case for many others, it was the stage for my first wild camping experience back in 2021. On that trip, we caught a train from Manchester to the village of Hope and started walking beneath the sweltering June sun up Lose Hill and along to Mam Tor. From Mam Tor we went down into the village of Edale, where we stopped for lunch, before continuing through the valley and towards Kinder Scout, which would be our home for the night. The events of that trip gave me a love not only for wild camping, but also for the Peak District, Kinder Scout, and Edale, which is why at the start of Spring, 2024, I decided to go back.
The main reason for heading back was to complete a big circular hike, starting and ending in Edale, after climbing Kinder Scout. I wouldn't be wild camping this time however, so I found a campsite that I had seen last time that I was in Edale, that is located right next to the Pennine way, making it perfect for starting out towards Kinder Scout - enter Newfold Farm Campsite! Located in the middle of the village, and right next to the start of our would-be walking route, it was perfect for this trip. After a fairly lengthy drive up from the West Midlands, we arrived on site in Edale just as the rain began to subside and the skies emerged from the clouds, revealing what really is a pretty campsite. Fairly small in stature compared to some sites, but with a rustic countryside appeal that wins over all of its guests, Newfold Farm is definitely worth a look if you want to camp in the area. Due to the size, you can't park next to your pitch on this site (which is normally a deal-breaker for me), however, the sense in this quickly became apparent as we started to setup on the post-rain field, which became slippery and slick with mud as soon as more than a few foot steps had landed on any spot of the ground. Despite the mud, which caused a few slips, and some very muddy clothes, we eventually had the tent setup, with the tarp overhead to give us some extra dry space in case of any bad weather.
During our stay in Edale, we were lucky enough to experience mostly dry weather (until our last day anyway) but with some prevailing winds, that did sometimes make it a little too cold to sit outside the tent, unless you had plenty of layers on. This campsite does particularly well on the "View from Tent" factor, as it's sat in the bowl of the valley and surrounded by higher ground, so as soon as you unzip the tent door, you find yourself looking at the unmistakable majesty of the Peak District. Facilities on the site are basic but functional, providing flushing toilets, showers, and somewhere to wash up - everything you need! My only small comment on the facilities would be that they could probably benefit from a little more deep cleaning, however, the site was really busy for most of our stay, as it just so happened that the site was hosting the Peak Divide long distance race on the same weekend, so this was probably a contributing factor.
In addition to the facilities listed above, Newfold also boasts a small café and a basic shop on site, the former of which we took full advantage of as we sought some much needed sustenance after our long walk (more on that later) in the form of woodfired pizza and a few cold beers - which made for a pretty spectacular dinner sat in the sun taking in the epic views.
When we weren't out walking, we found that the campsite was a really great place to just relax, and I spent most of the downtime reading, taking in the views, and preparing BBQ dinners, and then sitting around the fire pit in the evening as the sun set.
Kinder Scout circular walk from Edale
As I have previously mentioned, our main reason for visiting the Peaks was to return to Kinder Scout, and on the Saturday, our first full day there, we were provided with the perfect weather for this - clear blue skies, and warm sunshine. We joined the Pennie Way just a few short minutes walk from the campsite and then started the gentle ascent up onto the open fields, following the flagstone path down the valley.
The first few miles over the rolling hills and quaint farm land reminded me so much of the start of Frodo and Sam's journey in the Lord of the Rings (walking terrain that I describe as 'Hobbity') and the good weather gave us fantastic clear views of the surrounding hillsides from our elevated position - I was however very glad that our walking route would not lead us to Mordor or Mount Doom!
Although we would visit no fantastical, evil, bad land on our walk, as we cleared the last of the 'Hobbity' farm land I was all too aware that Jacob's ladder would very shortly be on our horizon, and as we walked the dry, gravelly path parallel to the stream, it wasn't long before the bridge and staircase of the ladder came into view. The ladder is definitely one of the most significant milestones on this walk, being a steep incline over a relatively short distance, it certainly warranted a rest at the bottom, where I filled our water bottles from the stream using my Katadyn filter, and scoffed a cereal bar for a little extra energy to get me up the steep, uneven, and rocky staircase. After a brief rest of no more than 10-15 minutes, we shouldered our back packs, and started to slowly tackle one of the hardest parts of our route, taking regular breaks, whilst exchanging exhausted, jokey comments with other worn out walkers - a prime example of the British sense of humour.
On previous trips up the dreaded ladder, I have experienced weather that really limited the visibility of what should be an astounding view, but on this trip we were blessed with clear skies, and the view extended for miles before us - this definitely helped motivate me up the steps! When you reach what feels like the top, but actually isn't anywhere near the end of incline section, there is a large cairn, which was another good opportunity for a snack, swig of water, and to take some pictures of the view, and not to mention, recover some lost breath!
After passing the cairn, the ground undulated as we hiked over the top of the moorland plateau, with the ground quality varying between a hard and reassuring flagstone path and soft, black, boggy soil that would swallow a walking boot whole. The temperature was definitely lower up here, and with the strong wind chill attempting to lower my temperature further, I equipped my thin rain coat as a windbreaker layer, and we continued onwards, trying to progress as much as we could. Consistent progression became increasingly difficult in the more boggy areas, where sometimes a frustrating amount of progress would be lost, as the path that you had intended to follow disappeared into thick marshland, leaving us with no option other than tracking back and trying to find another way. Despite following the OS maps route that we had found on the National Trust website (link at the bottom of this post), much of the path up on the plateau only roughly corresponds to the actual map.
Whilst walking along the Edale moor, we were frequently greeted with the awe inspiring rock formations that are so often associated with this part of the Peak District, and understandably so, there are always plenty of other walkers taking advantage of the photo opportunity, many of whom climb the rocks to get their picture taken near the edge - as a firm non-lover of high places, I preferred to get my photographs taken from the solid ground.
The terrain remained fairly consistent as our path crossed Noe Stool, Pym Chair, Wool Packs, and Crowden Tower and eventually we came across quite a few small fords, which we crossed slowly on the well used stepping stones, taking care not to fall in - I can't imagine how uncomfortable that would've made the rest of our journey! Eventually we knew that we would have to start making our descent from the moors, which from the gradient lines on the map, seemed to be near the area labelled as 'Fox Holes', and when we reached the converging area of these lines, our nice flat(ish) path completely disappeared! I checked the compass on the map, and in the direction that we needed to keep heading in we could only see what would be more accurately described as a rocky cliff than a path. Perpendicular to this was, in comparison, and absolute luxury path, made up of the familiar flagstones that had already brought us so far, however, this headed North and then East, and so would bring us nowhere near our intended destination of Edale. We could see other walkers coming and going from the direction of the steep and rocky descent, so with the hope that "it might be better than it looks!" we took the plunge. It was not better than it looked.
As the picture above shows, this "path" was comprised of large and uneven stones, piled one on top of the other, jutting out of the earth at irregular intervals. It was around this time that we discovered this so called, National Trust recommended route, was actually a waterfall! Over the next few hours our progress slowed down to a painful pace, climbing down backwards from rock to rock, trying to ensure that we didn't slip and fall, helping each other down wherever possible. Even when the gradient eased and our path wasn't so steep, it was still littered with boulders, and we didn't gain much speed. Most other walkers began to overtake us, and it wasn't long before we rarely saw anyone else, and at this point I had my first concerns about finishing this walk. With a blister on each heel, most of our food gone, and energy levels at an all time low, we slogged on because we knew there was no other choice. At this point we had been out for maybe 6 hours, and we knew that we had to get back to the campsite while we still had daylight to prepare and cook our dinner.
After what felt like hours of slow paced walking and scrambling, at long last we reached a real, sandy coloured path, free from large rocks, running water and shrubbery - and at the time, it was as beautiful and welcome a sight as any. This path took us down along the Grinds Brook, and back to the rolling hills of farm land, which eventually led to Edale. We arrived back at the site muddy and exhausted, but with a sense of relief and accomplishment. We had been out for over eight hours, and we had somehow made the 7.5 mile planned route into over 10 miles. The idea of cooking went completely out of the window, and so we gave in to the savoury smells of the campsites' wood fired pizza, and found a table outside the café, where we enjoyed ice cold refreshments from the bar, and fresh, hot, delicious pizza - the meal felt well earnt and tasted all the better for it.
We had a fantastic time at Newfold Farm, and would definitely recommend it for anyone who wished to visit Edale and Kinder Scout, and we hope to return before too long, although, we may use another walking route, one without waterfalls perhaps! Thank you for reading, I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and maybe even found it insightful or even useful!
Please see the link below for reference (the walking route that we took):
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