Peak District Challenge by Wilderness Development

Detailed route information is be provided to entrants seven days before the event, but a broad overview of the provisional route is below. The terrain is a mixture of trails, grassy footpaths and under 15% tarmac minor roads.

Your challenge begins with a walk up on to the Dark Peak moors. You will cross Stanage edge, site of Robin Hood’s cave, and Moscar Cross Road to reach and start your climb over Derwent Moors. Next it’s a descent to Ladybower Valley and an easy flat section around Ladybower reservoirs where the Dambusters trained for their bombing missions in WWII.

Next is a climb to the geological oddity of Alport Castle, before descending into Edale and the next climb of Jacobs Ladder and stunning views over Hayfield. Turning back towards the Great Ridge, as dawn breaks, you’ll pass Mam Tor on your way to Hollins Cross and descend down to Castleton. You are given a short break in navigational difficulty as tracks and lanes lead to Peak Forest in the white Peak and the valley nature reserve at Hay Dale. Your map will come out again as a mixture of paths and tracks lead between a string of pretty villages in the undulating limestone landscape, finally leading to Calver on the river Derwent.

The final section of the challenge takes you past popular climbing venues on the eastern gritstone edges above Curbar, Froggatt and Burbage. Your challenge draws to a close with dusky views over the river Derwent and a final climb over Owler Tor before the final grassy slope down home to Hathersage.

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Fully qualified, professional Mountain Leaders supervising the event.
A GPS tracker for every team, tracking you continuously on the entire route
A modest prize pool of token prizes.
A goodie bag at the end of the event.
Water stations, Drinks and snacks from our friendly checkpoints every 10km on average.
A stew supper on arrival back in Hathersage on Saturday evening
Kit guidance and advice, along with a pre-walk registration and briefing.
Bag care, including drop-bags for 50-100km distances.
Printed route guides and GPX files for self-navigating teams
A scenic and challenging route, and all pre-event planning.

• GPS tracking included
• No minimum fundraising
• Low entry fee (depending on distance chosen)
• No cost to any charity, ever

You should carry with you everything that you need to keep safe and comfortable during the event (with the exception of water, food, and for 50-100km challengers a “half way” bag). There are no indoor or undercover resting areas during the event, (only at the start and finish), so you need to prepare to be outdoors for the entire event.

Each participant must be equipped with:

Waterproof jacket with taped seams and hood. Softshell or “coated” products are not suitable.
Waterproof trousers with taped seams.
Footwear with a good tread and ideally with high ankle support. We advise boots are safer than trainers.
A warm jumper/fleece/primaloft, in addition to what you’re wearing to start the event, and initially carried in your bag. Real down not sufficient.
Any personal medication you need, eg Inhaler, Epipen.
A headtorch per person (Compulsory, for all challenges except Copper. Strongly recommended for Copper). A good quality headtorch will make a big difference to your speed and safety overnight, and we’d particularly recommend the Petzl Nao and Myo headtorches. Expensive, but really worth it. Sunset on 14 September 2024 is at 7.26pm.
Drink bottle and personal snacks (you can top-up with food and water every 2-3 hours on average)
Lightweight travel cup if you would like hot drinks at HQ or checkpoints. (We don’t provide single-use cups. Why?)
Warm gloves and hat.
Item(s) of reflective clothing. Armbands or clothing trim intended to enhance night-time visibility are adequate. (Compulsory, for all challenges except Copper).

Each self-navigating team (including teams of 1) must also carry:
Waterproofed physical maps of the Peak District eg British Mountaineering Council Dark Peak, or both Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Dark Peak (known as “OL1”) and White Peak (“OL24”) (White peak not required for Back Before Dark 10km fell race). Electronic mapping and the route guide we provide are not sufficient on their own.
Minor first aid kit including blister and wound dressings. This can be self-assembled or shop-bought.
A spare headtorch and adequate spare batteries, including for Copper and solo challengers.
Separate, spare emergency food, not intended for consumption.
Whistle
Compass, for all teams on Bronze 50km and longer routes. We strongly recommend a “reputable” brand of compass (eg Silva)– in our experience, with compasses, you really do get what you pay for.
Charged and waterproofed mobile phone (such as this 65g option).
Emergency shelter large enough for the whole team

• Survival bags are available to buy at registration for £5.