Sunrise Hiking on Winnat’s Pass, Peak District

sunrise winnats pass
With a pretty positive forecast suggesting the possibility of cloud inversions in the Hope Valley at the weekend, I set a 5am alarm and headed off in the hope that I could enjoy my morning coffee on Winnat's Pass with beautiful skies and cloud inversions. I was NOT disappointed.

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I take my morning coffee on a hilltop at sunrise with beautiful skies and a cloud inversions, preferably. It’s not often I get that though, so I appreciate it all the more when I do.

I’ve been learning how to read forecasts to better predict higher chances of cloud inversions and I thought an early October Saturday morning looked promising in the Hope Valley. Mam Tor is, of course, a popular sunrise spot but can be something of a busy place (understandably – it’s easy to access and offers incredible views). I wanted a quieter spot but with the same Hope Valley views. Winnat’s Pass seemed a really obvious spot. So that’s where I went.

Short version of this post? It was well worth the 5am alarm clock.

winnats pass sunrise views

Here’s the info for parking and the route I took.

Parking for Winnat’s Pass

The main pull of Winnat’s Pass was the fact it’s accessible without a massive walk. So I didn’t need to do a lengthy hike in the dark.

I parked in a roadside lay-by round the corner from the pass. The What 3 Words location for that is ///ballroom.airbrush.automatic.

There are lots of bays around there and only a few were taken.

Winnat’s Pass Sunrise Hike Route

I then took this route.

AllTrails estimated it at 5.79km with 244m of elevation gain but in reality, with all the wandering I did while I watching the sun come up on the top of Winnat’s Pass, my morning came in at 7.3km on my Apple Watch.

hiking with a headtorch winnats pass

I arrived at my car just as the first sign of light was starting. But of course, that was still pretty dark so it was a head torch walk to the top of Winnat’s Pass.

It only took 10 minutes or so from the car to hit the views.

winnats pass at dawn

The sky was starting to burn, the cloud inversions were forming. And headlights from other cars travelling around the Peak District in search of the sunrise (I assume) were visible.

sunrise cloud inversions winnats pass

Even before the sun peeped over the horizon the views were immaculate.

just after sunrise peak district

Once the sun rose, the pinks started to turn more red:

red sunrise hope valley peak district

It was just beautiful.

Before continuing down an off Winnat’s Pass, I went back on my myself immediately after the sun came up back further to the start of my route. This is because the clouds were starting to lift, giving really dramatic views back up the pass.

winnats pass clouds sunrise

It was dramatic, eerie and frankly just beautiful.

winnats pass looking to mam tor

Once I’d enjoyed the misty morning views of Winnat’s Pass, I continued on my way and made it back to my car before 9:30. 

What a way to start the day.

 

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