B29 Crash Site Walk in the Peak District

The Walk up to the Crash Site

When we went it was cold and misty, a fitting day to soak up the atmosphere, since the crash happened on 3 November 1948 when there was low cloud over the bleak moorland plateau near Glossop.

We were able to park in a layby along the road that runs near the crash site and began walking up towards the site. We couldn’t get a signal on our phones, so we weren’t sure if we’d come to the right place until some other hikers pointed us in the right direction across the open moorland. I’d recommend you download the route before you get there.

The Crash Site

After walking for about 30 minutes across a flat but challenging terrain, I was starting to wonder if we were in the right spot, and then I knew we were, because I started to see mangled bits of rusting metal strewn about the plateau. Not much at first and then more and more as we approached the centre of the crash site. Not just a few bits, but a lot of torn and bashed up lumps of metal and barely recognisable aeroplane parts. I managed to spot the obvious bits like the engine and wing sections, but not being an expert on aeronautical engines my family and I discussed at length the various parts. At the centre of the crash there is a memorial and poppies arranged and attached to some of the aeroplane parts, as a tribute to the 11 crew and 2 passengers who lost their lives on that terrible day.

The crash happened 75 years ago during an early descent in low cloud at Higher Shelf Stones in Glossop. It was a routine flight from RAF Scampton near Lincoln to the US Air Force base at Burtonwood near Warrington. The pilot Captain Landon Tanner was flying on instruments because it was very cloudy that day. What struck me was that most of the wreckage of the Boeing RB-29A Superfortress is still there and hasn’t been taken away by souvenir hunters. I think the enormity of the tragedy perhaps influences visitors, plus it’d be tricky to carry lumps of rusty aeroplane back to the car across soggy moorland!

Higher Shelf Stones Trig Point

We spent about 30 minutes exploring the crash site and taking photographs, and then walked on up to The Higher Shelf Stones Trig Point. The 360-degree views were breathtaking…literally as it was so cold and windy that day. I was ready for the hot chocolate in my flask to warm me up. We had the place to ourselves, it’s not called Bleaklow for nothing!

The Man with One Shoe

On the way back down to the car we only saw two people, and as our paths crossed, I couldn’t help but notice that one of them, only had one shoe on. He was wearing a soaking wet sock on his other foot. I had to say something about this to him. Apparently, his foot had got stuck in a deep patch of mud and the only way he could free himself and his foot from the boggy ground was to wriggle out of his brand-new expensive Nike trainer. He was fuming to have lost it! His mate thought it was hilarious. We walked back to our cars together with the mood certainly lightened after our melancholy experience at the crash site. So, a word of warning, be careful it does get muddy up there, and think twice before wearing new trainers!