Finding myself and the dog with an unusual spare weekend, I did an emergency OS Map order on the Thursday night, leaving my commute to and from work on Friday for researching some suggested routes. I settled on Kinder Scout, a moorland plateau and the highest point in the Peak District (636m above sea level).
With an ETA of midnight on Friday night I decided that we would sleep in the car on the Friday night. It seemed daft to book a room somewhere for only a short nap, with a planned get-up-and-go plan of 05:00. Having an estate car, this was actually a surprisingly comfortable night’s sleep…I had the roll mat and sleeping quilt out within 5 minutes of parking down the road from Edale. So Neville (the dog / hot water-bottle) and I snuggled down, excited for our adventure ahead.
Kinder Scout
On Saturday morning as the sun was rising, Neville and I headed to find somewhere to park nearer the start of our planned trail. There is a car park in Edale, near the train station. It is cash only and will cost you around £6/24hr. As you can imagine, the car park was empty arriving at the car park around 05.15 and most things in the village are closed (except the toilet block located at the car park), so if you also plan to start early bear in mind you’ll need to remember to bring breakfast.
There are plenty of hiking routes starting from Edale to choose from. I personally had plotted an 18 mile loop, ascending and descending via Grindsbrook Booth. The loop allowed us to stay on Kinder Scout plateau all day before bringing us back down to Edale to camp for the evening.
Starting our walk in beautiful blue skies, within 2.5 miles we were up onto the plateau and plunged into thick fog; standard British hill walking kind of day. Luckily after an hour or so this fog lifted and for the rest of the day we were treated to a usual mixture of British weather, ranging from glorious blue skies to drizzly rain. The views, while the sun shone, were just as fantastic as you would expect!
As soon as you are on the plateau of Kinder Scout you start coming across the incredibly intriguing rock formations. The wind has eroded the gritstone boulders into various shapes, many of which have been named, e.g. Ringing Roger, Pym Chair and Noe Stool. Let’s just say Stonehenge seems almost boring after you experience this vision.
There was around 2 hours, while I was exploring the Northern side of the plateau, that I didn’t see another person. On this northern edge of the plateau the ground is peaty and consequently boggy in patches, so my personal preference for this terrain is walking boots (and possibly gaiters on a really wet day).
This remoteness, experienced more on the Northern side, is partly what draws me to these beautiful places. As I was nearing the end of the day I did, however, start finding more and more people to talk to. I do love bumping into other people to find out where they have come from and where they are heading to. From a couple of these discussions, it sounds like Ladybower Reservoir needs a visit next time we am in the Peaks.
This trip was an opportunity to try out some new kit that I had recently purchased – Marmot 3P tent and Bobcat down quilt – so I chose to find a campsite just in case I couldn’t work out how to put up the new tent!
I stayed at Fieldhead campsite, which is located next to the visitor’s center in Edale. The site and facilities were clean and the price was very reasonable at 1 x Adult £7.50 and 1 x Dog £1.50 – (Website here) Also, most importantly, there are a couple of pubs and cafes within walking distance of the camp to help refuel after a day in the hills!
Mam Tor
After a pleasant, but slightly chilly night’s sleep (let’s just say there was a frost on the ground in the morning), Neville and I zipped up the tent and headed for Mam Tor. I had decided that we needed to climb this 517m high hill to get a view back over Kinder Scout to appreciate our previous day’s effort.
As Mam Tor hill sits on the edge of the Dark Peak (gritstone), when you reach the top you are rewarded you with incredible views of the White Peaks (limestone) parts of the National Park.
Once we had enjoyed the views from the summit we followed the undulating ridge eastwards. Once getting off the Mam Tor ridge line, we walked for around 1 hour over open moorland towards Jacob’s Ladder. This is quite the descent, and I am glad we were going down rather than up!
To get back to Edale, we followed the Kinder River, in the valley, weaving our way through fields back towards the car. A shorter day of 10 miles but equally satisfying with another amazing hike…and back in time for breakfast number two of the day.
Leave No Stone Unturned 