Editing Stanage Edge

{{Short description|Escarpment in the Peak District, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Stanage Edge
| photo = StanageEdge.jpg
| photo_caption = 
| elevation_m = 458
| elevation_ref = 
| prominence = ''c.'' 103 m
| location = [[Derbyshire]] / [[South Yorkshire]]
| range = [[Peak District]]
| grid_ref_UK = SK228853
| topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 110
}}

'''Stanage Edge''', or simply '''Stanage''' (from "stone edge") is a [[gritstone]] [[escarpment]] in the [[Peak District]], England, famous as a location for [[climbing]]. It lies a couple of miles to the north of [[Hathersage]], and the northern part of the edge forms the border between the [[High Peak, Derbyshire|High Peak]] of [[Derbyshire]] and [[Sheffield]] in [[South Yorkshire]]. Its highest point is '''High Neb''' at {{convert|458|m|ft}} above [[sea level]]. Areas of Stanage were quarried in the past to produce [[grindstones]], and some can still be seen on the hillside—carved, but never removed.

==Features==
A paved [[packhorse]] road ran along the top of the edge, and remains of it can be seen, as can remains of the [[Long Causeway]], once thought to be a [[Roman road]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/227865/MP0912-Long-Causeway.pdf|title=Long Causeway Management Plan|website=Peak District National Park|accessdate=4 December 2017}}</ref> which works its way over the edge on its route from [[Templeborough]] to [[Brough-on-Noe]], crossing Hallam Moor and passing [[Stanedge Pole]] (note the slightly different spelling), an ancient waymarker on the route to Sheffield. Some [[cairn]]s along the top are even older, and there is a well-known cave in the cliff known as Robin Hood's Cave. More recent features include early 20th-century drinking basins, designed to collect pure [[rain]]water for [[grouse]] to drink.

During the construction of the [[Rivelin Dams|Rivelin tunnel]] a sighting tower was constructed on the edge to assist in surveying the route of the tunnel. All that remains of the tower is a heap of stones at Ordnance Survey grid reference {{gbmappingsmall|SK226862}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cass|first=J. F.|title=The Rivelin Tunnel 1903|journal=Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society|volume=18|pages=60–74}}</ref>

==Sport==
===Rock climbing===
[[Image:The Tippler, Stanage.jpg|thumb|Climbers on The Tippler ([[grade (climbing)|graded]] E1 5b)]]
Stanage's naturally weathered [[Millstone Grit]] face is now known as a highly popular location for [[rock climbing in the Peak District]]. The edge runs three miles north from the Cowper Stone to Stanage End. It is the northernmost of an almost continuous line of cliffs, including [[Burbage Rocks]], [[Froggatt Edge]], [[Curbar Edge]], [[Baslow Edge]] and [[Birchen Edge]]. The Cowper Stone is a block of [[gritstone]] at the most southerly point of Stanage. Set alone a few hundred metres from the last buttress of the main [[cliff|crag]], it is a large boulder with distinctive rounded breaks running across it.<ref>[http://www.rockfax.com/databases/results_buttress.html?id=69 Rockfax page on the Cowperstone]</ref> It is the scene of some classic hard-grit routes of the 1980s first climbed by protagonists such as [[Johnny Dawes]] and John Allen. The Edge was notably omitted from the first rock [[climbing guidebook]] to the Peak District, ''[[Some Gritstone Climbs]]'' by John Laycock, published in 1913, due to the then severe access restrictions to the land.  It has subsequently been featured regularly in over a century of regular climbing guidebooks, which document the growth in the number of routes and the rise in climbing standards.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}

Although the edge reaches only 25&nbsp;metres in height it is one of the most famous UK climbing venues: aside from having a multitude of routes close to a major population centre, it is home to the route Right Unconquerable (HVS 5a), which, when first climbed by [[Joe Brown (climber)|Joe Brown]] in 1949, was considered a milestone achievement in British climbing.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}} In spite of its height, the edge is home to the longest recorded rock route in the United Kingdom; the 5000m Girdle Traverse, completed by [[Ron Fawcett]] in 1992 and graded "E5 6b(ish)".<ref>Stanage (BMC Guide), David Simmonite ''et al'', (2002) {{ISBN|0-903908-42-5}}</ref>

===Running===
Stanage is a magnet for walkers and runners. The Fat Boys Stanage Struggle is a popular local [[fell running|fell race]] that starts in Hathersage—altitude {{convert|91|m|ft}}—and routes up to and along Stanage Edge to High Neb—{{convert|458|m|ft}}—before returning to the village {{convert|367|m|ft}} below.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://racecheck.com/races/fat-boys-stanage-struggle-fell-race/ |title=Fat Boys Stanage Struggle Fell Race |website=RaceCheck |access-date=2021-09-20}}</ref> The 19 September 2021 edition of the event was won in a time of 40m 51s by Michael Kenyon of [[Dronfield]] Running Club; there were 224 finishers.<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u2mi-rrOowHKHifkKhkTZsbPM9Md8oXe/view?fbclid=IwAR2XK_TdFOxln9g7F8eAABD2IdEj6zUC-iPKnMh4bI4cVnGoXKW0XYWprUIStanage Struggle Results 2021]. Retrieved: 20 September 2021.</ref>

==In popular culture==
The location has featured in films and television series, most notably in the 2005 film ''[[Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]'' during a scene in which Elizabeth Bennet (portrayed by [[Keira Knightley]]) is seen facing the horizon from the Edge.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Cowper Stone Stanage Edge.jpg|The Cowper Stone
File:Stanage_Edge.jpg
File:Stanage edge2.JPG
File:View-north-west-along-stanage-edge-uk.jpg
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Standedge]], a [[moorland]] [[escarpment]] and [[Pennines|Pennine]] crossing point

==References==
{{commons category|Stanage Edge}}
{{reflist}}

{{coord|53|20|50.25|N|1|37|59.74|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{Peaks of the Peak District}}
{{Climbing areas of the Peak District}}

[[Category:Hills and edges of South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of the Peak District]]
[[Category:Climbing areas of England]]
[[Category:Geography of Sheffield]]
[[Category:Escarpments of England]]