Kinder Scout

I have always wanted to climb up Kinder Scout (the highest point in the Peak District) so we decided to do it on Tuesday.  We woke to wind and sleet but with a forecast of sunny spells in the afternoon so we kept to our plan.  We had to get a train one stop towards Sheffield to Edale.  We had a 1 ½ walk to the station and somehow got our timings wrong and ended up having to run to catch the train so we were pretty exhausted before we had even started.

This was Buddy’s first train trip but he was fine.  He has seen many close up when we have dropped Karen off or met her from a station.

The walk we had planned was eight miles that would take between four and six hours. It was circular and went up to the east of Edale, across the Kinder plateau at over 2,000 feet to join the Pennine Way and back down to the west of Edale.  There was snow on the tops and as we set off it started snowing in the village.

The main part of the ascent was following Grinds Brook.  This was the hardest part as it meant scrabbling up rocks for 1 1/2 miles.

It was dry for most of the walk but every so often it clouded over and snowed – the wind meant the snow hurt our faces as we were walking into it.  The views were fantastic when the sun came out but our photographs cannot do them justice.  At the top we lost our way a few times as the snow covered the path in places.

The summit is not a striking place like mountains such as Snowdon as it is a slight rise on the plateau.  This is us standing at the highest point.
 

The rock formations, made of millstone grit, were interesting especially as they were at the very tops.  Most formations are named such as Pagoda Rocks, Noe Stool, Pym's Chair, Letterbox and the Woolpacks. Some say the Woolpacks were an inspiration to Henry Moore.

The plateau is mainly peat with heather.  To help preserve the peat, these pathways are being constructed.  The slabs are lifted up by helicopter and there is plan to work from April to September building more this year.  We only came across them in places but when completed should make a marked difference.

On the way back down Karen found this old man eating his packed lunch in a barn.

At one point there is a choice of paths and we decided on the slightly shorter but much steeper Jacob's ladder. This path was named after a farmer, Jacob Marshall, the last owner of a farm at Edale Head.


The Pennine Way starts in Edale.

When we got back to our station we popped in to see our friend Gemma for a welcome cup of tea.  We then had a slow walk for the last 1 ½ miles back to the boat.A tiring day but we felt really satisfied that we had made it!