A fun trip overall, with varied terrain, views and weather - had to shelter under some trees for about half an hour. Actual journey time was about 4 hours, as predicted.
Starting off from Glossop and cycling to Hadfield was unremarkable; could have got the train straight to Hadfield instead. Then on to a National Cycle Network (NCN) path, surrounded by trees running parallel to the main road(s); the path was unpaved but fairly good, with occasional rutted / gravel sections and gates. The final main road section - after a disused railway tunnel - was too steep / slippery to pedal.
The rest of the journey was on paved road, with very few cars, varied scenery including views over different valleys. Hade Edge looks like a dump, so it made sense to follow the NCN path there even though it's a bit of a detour.
Weather was relatively cold / rainy so wore a long sleeve jacket with sports shirts underneath, and shorts on the bottom. Having hiking boots was ideal for the wet / muddy conditions.