Stanage is the largest and most impressive of the gritstone edges in Peak District National Park. Situated on the moors north of Hathersage, and visible from miles away down in the Hope Valley, it stretches for a length of approximately six kilometres (3.5 miles) from its northern tip at Stanage End to the southern point near the Cowper Stone. At about its mid-point the edge is crossed by Long Causeway, the old Roman road from Navio (Brough) to Doncaster. It is a famous location for rock-climbing and a popular spot for walkers.

The edge is made of one of the finer gritstones and is therefore ideal for rock-climbing, and the visitor on a summer weekend will see plenty of evidence of this. The climbers have given the sections of the edge colourful, sometimes fanciful names - Marble Wall, Crow Chin, Goliath's Groove, The Tower, The Unconquerables, Mississippi Buttress, Robin Hood's Cave, Black Hawk, Flying Buttress area etc - and the edge currently has over 800 recorded rock climbs with more being invented every year.