Dovestones Edge and Saddleworth Moor Sunrise

We’re on a mission to try and discover more of Peak District. We’ve never been to the Northern part before so last weekend was a good time to visit. On a quick google search for Northern Peak District photos, we found what seemed to be like an amazing sight called The Trinnacle. A formation of gritstone pillars overlooking Greenfield Reservoir, created who knows how long ago. It looked amazing in the pictures.

We left home at 4 am, and parked our car at around 5am in the Binn Green Car Park. It was pitch black so we were definitely happy to have our head lamps with us. We’ve never had the chance to do a night hike before and I’d like to say we were happy to do it, but honestly… None of us were very keen, haha. It’s could be quite creepy and all of your senses are so heightened it almost hurts. Now that I look back, I think we should have done a night hike on a trail we were familiar with. This was an unfamiliar trail, so it was definitely more difficult than I thought.

Thankfully we didn’t have to wander through the darkness for too long. The sky started to lighten after around 20 minutes, just as we reached the path alongside Yeoman Reservoir.  Removing our head lamps we started our climb towards Saddleworth Moor along the concrete waterfall in Dove Stone Clough. The sun started to rise just as we reached the top.

I knew we had to walk some more before we got to The Trinnacle, and it seemed like we were against the clock, as the sun was rising fast. The light was mellow and the sky was awash with lovely shades of pink and purple. The few clouds on the sky were lines with gold and everything looked wonderful. But as the sun was rising the light was becaming stronger and whiter. I definitely wanted to reach The Trinnacle and capture it in mellow golden light so the hike turned into a run.

We didn’t end up reaching the Trinnacle. The path became narrow and was right on the edge of Moor. It had rained recently so it was a bit muddy too. I loved it but Stefan said it was too risky to continue. He’s not keen on heights sadly. Everytime he saw Alex get too close to edge he’d have a small panic attack. I decided to spare him and we turned back. I can’t help but feel like I failed though. My one goal for that day was to reach the Trinnacle and I didn’t. Maybe sometime later… When it’s dry. We’d definitely take a different path, one that crossed the Saddleworth Moor and isn’t right on the edge.

It was a great hike though. Even if we didn’t reach the end. We took some pretty amazing pictures, and we all felt tired but fulfilled. The climb is not easy, so that made the challenge all the more sweet. On our way back we took loads of other photos, even with the strong sun. And we met so many people out and about. When we started our hike there was no one around. Now there were people everywhere.

I can wait to go back there. I’m sure Dovestones Reservoir, Yeoman Reservoir and all the surrounding Moors and Edges look amazing in the autumn!  Until then, here we go: our first Northern Peak District photos. I hope you like them as much as I do! Also, remember to follow us on Instagram, we post all of our adventures there. Including the amazing sunrise we captured at Winnats Pass.