Crowden Horseshoe

Crowden Horseshoe is a 9-mile loop from Crowden Car Park to Laddow Rocks and Black Hill, then back over Tooleyshaw Moss. The published stages add up to about 8.8 miles: 2.3 to Laddow Rocks, 2.6 more to Black Hill and 3.9 back. Allow about five hours for the climb, 589 metres of ascent and a slow, boggy return. This is a proper high-moor day, not a waymarked stroll.

Follow the Pennine Way out of Crowden. The first climb is short and steep, with several little streams to cross before the path reaches the gritstone edge. The trail narrows along the rocks, with the valley dropping away beside it, so this stretch can unsettle anyone uneasy with heights. Laddow Rocks is the walk’s best view. For a photo, keep a piece of gritstone in the foreground and frame the Crowden valley below; then look back along the edge to show how far it runs.

Continue on the Pennine Way toward Black Hill, crossing Crowden Great Brook several times. After heavy rain the stepping stones can be underwater, so expect wet feet. Beyond a gate, a mostly flagged path climbs across open, exposed moor to Black Hill’s trig point. The top is a broad peat plateau with little shelter from wind or cloud.

At the summit, leave the Pennine Way and cross Tooleyshaw Moss. This is the hard-to-follow half: boggy ground breaks up the path, and parts disappear. The route bearings lead to a clearer path by an old quarry, then stiles, a track and the campsite road back to the car park. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them; phone signal can be weak near Crowden, so save your route offline. Toilets are at the start, and the campsite shop may have basic snacks when open; there is no food stop on the hill. Dogs are allowed, but on open access land they need a lead no longer than two metres from 1 March to 31 July and around livestock at all times.