B29 Crash Site Walk

This walk climbs onto the high moorland of Bleaklow in the Peak District to visit the well-known B29 crash site at Higher Shelf Stones.
The USAF Boeing RB-29A Superfortress crashed here on 3 November 1948 while flying from RAF Scampton to Burtonwood, killing all 13 crew members on board.... Wreckage from the aircraft remains scattered across Shelf Moor, alongside a memorial, making this one of the most significant plane crash sites in the Peak District, located just east of Glossop.
The route is a fairly challenging walk of around 5 miles from Glossop, climbing onto exposed upland terrain at over 2,000 feet. The Bleaklow plateau is vast and remote, with open moorland, peat hags and little shelter, and weather conditions can change rapidly, so good navigation skills are essential.
The walk usually starts from Glossop train station, though it can also be accessed from the parking area on the A57 Snake Pass road to the south of the moor. Another alternative is the Birchin Clough car park in Lady Clough Woods, which provides a shorter approach and is shown in the video below.
From Glossop the route heads north east through the town before turning east to follow the Doctor’s Gate Roman Road towards Crooked Clough. From here, footpaths climb steadily onto Shelf Moor and Higher Shelf Stones, where twisted aluminium wreckage from the RB-29A Superfortress lies among gritstone outcrops. The aircraft belonged to the 16th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron and the site remains a powerful and sobering place to visit. A continuation to Lower Shelf Stones adds striking rock formations and expansive views across the Dark Peak.
After exploring the crash site, the route returns to Glossop along the same paths. The site lies just south of Bleaklow, allowing the walk to be extended onto the plateau. The summit can be reached using a nearby section of the Pennine Way, which passes just east of Higher Shelf Stones and provides wider context to this historic and atmospheric landscape.

Ordnance Survey Map OpenStreetMap OS Map (Mobile GPS) OpenStreetMap (Mobile GPS)

Interactive Map

Route Video

Nearby Routes

Bleaklow Pennine Way Lady Clough Woods

Photos

B29 Engines. One of the gun turrets is on display at the air museum in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.

Doctor's Gate path towards Gathering Hill

Footbridge over Shelf Brook

Remains of the Superfortress. The aircraft had taken part in the Berlin airlift during 1948. It was also flown in July 1946 by the 509th Composite Group during Operation Crossroads to photograph nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. When it crashed it was on a routine daytime flight with two other aircraft, leaving RAF Scampton near Lincoln and heading to the US Air Force base at Burtonwood near Warrington. 

Higher Shelf Stones

Lower Shelf Stones

Remembrance. In 1988, a memorial was erected at the site by servicemen from RAF Finningley, with a plaque in memory of those who died in the crash.

Engine from the crashed Superfortress. The aircraft was carrying the $7,400 wages for the Burtonwood airbase. The money survived the fire and was recovered at the crash site by the American Military Police

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Peak District Aircraft Wrecks Walk.gpx