AXE EDGE

BUXTON

Not quite as harsh as its name suggests, Axe Edge is nonetheless a solid climb, which can be a real morale breaker in the wrong conditions. The ascent begins somewhere in the busy centre of Buxton, but I chose to measure my distance from the final set of traffic lights at the junction with the B5059. Rising gently away from town, a little steeper past a garage and the junction for the A54, you are soon free of habitation and heading towards the Edge. The whole climb is now lined out in front of you – a constant, exposed gradient stretching up and round the gritstone mound. As you enter the Peak District National Park, choose your gear and settle into a comfortable rhythm to drive you along the smooth but attritional surface. As it approaches a fake summit, the road is lined with a chequered Armco barrier; here you drop a little, so shift up and power to the second brow and the true summit.