Kinder Scout
Barely making the list.
Kinder Scout may only just make it onto the lower end of the mountain ranking lists (Nuttalls and Hewitts), but what it lacks in height, it makes up for with features that are not normally seen on larger mountains. It's certainly worth a visit while in the Peak District. We started at Bowden Bridge near Hayfield, and aimed for the path running just behind a tiny reservoir. Missed it, and had to return back down the road to find it again. Added perhaps 1 km to our route, giving a total of 16 km, done comfortably in 5 hours.
South Head (494 metres) and Mount Famine (473 metres), seen over the River Sett from Hill Houses.
Trees with Kinderlow Edge.
The Knott (454 metres)
Panorama of Kinder Scout. On the left is a 384 metre hill above Glossop, then The Knott and its parent Mill Hill (544 metres). After that is the long moorland plateau of Kinder Scout, with the notch of Kinder Downfall in its middle, and Kinderlow Edge on its right. The top cannot be seen from here, as it sits some distance back on the plateau.
Distant view of the Kinder Downfall - note the people above it on the left for scale. At 30 metres, this is the tallest waterfall in the Peak District, though its summer flow level is pitifully small, making it look dry.
The southern spur, with Brown Knoll (569 metres) on the left, and South Head and Mount Famine on the right. They don't look so impressive from up here. To their right is the edge of Chinley Churn (452 metres).
Edale Rocks, the first of the big gritstone outcrops. Some of these (more coming up) get really impressive. The path joining from the right here is the famous Pennine Way, which we follow for a while.
Kinder Low (633 metres), not really a summit in its own right, but the location of a trig point. The terrain is eroded peat bog with underlying sand. It looks almost like a tidal plain. In the background on the right are some peat haggs, small masses of peat standing proud of their surroundings (this term also is used to mean a place where the peat has been intentionally cut away).
Wind eroded rock outcrop at Kinder Low. Looks like a pair of ducks to me.
Looking over the Edale valley towards the back of the ridge containing Lose Hill (476 metres), Mam Tor (517 metres) and Rushup Edge (546 metres). The ridge extends from the side of Brown Knoll.
Pym Chair and the Wool Packs outcrops. Weird names, cool features.
A day at the beach. Incidentally, this picture is taken looking directly towards the spot height marked on the OS Landranger 1:25'000 map as the summit. It's out there somewhere, in that indiscernible terrain.
The plateau is a maze of deep groughs (sounds like gruffs) like these - often 4 metres deep. They are natural drainage channel features caused by rainwater washing away the peat bog, to reach the gritstone and sand below. It makes navigation exceptionally hard without a GPS - even a compass is fairly useless. Never seen anything like them in the Welsh moorlands.
There seem to have been some conservation attempts to reduce the amount of peat that is washed away. Why interfere with nature? Well, the highest solid part of Kinder Scout is Kinder Low, and that is the same height as the second tallest mountain. Wash away the peat, and then there will be competition for which one should be taller. Plus this mountain is popular because it is their highest, and lots of walkers adds to the erosion.
Cracked mud. Er ... peat. After rain, this must become a horrendous soggy bog.
Somewhere near the point marked with the spot height is the top, 636 metres. The spot height itself appears to fall within a grough, according to our GPS. Nearby (about 30 metres away) is this cairn, presumably marking what someone thought was the top. The grassy patches are a little higher, but at least it's a focal point, and can be considered near enough to the top. Bizzarely, this summit is also known as The Peak. There is absolutely no sense of accomplishment. Beyond this is Crowden Head, which is 4 metres lower, and appears to be a top, but it's also not.
We tried to cut off a corner, and head for Kinder Downfall (right side of the picture), but got caught by too many groughs. They are just too deep and frequent to keep crossing them, and their sides are slippery enough that they sap too much energy.
Add to that the fact that they meander, branch and rejoin, and they become a real navigation problem. This is a surreal terrain that makes for some great fun. Now ... which way?
Eventually, they collect and form small streams. They're like wadis though, and would be exceptionally dangerous in wet weather, when they could easily flood pulse, with their sides making it hard to get out in time. Admire, and treat with respect.
Once back at the Pennine Way, it didn't take long to reach Kinder Downfall. The tiny stream barely manages to exist in summer. In winter flood though, it is a full-blown river thundering off the edge, fed by the groughs.
The waterfall is situated in a nicely funneled gully, and the strong winds cause the waterfall to be blown back up onto the top, after falling less than 0.5 metres. It even manages to do this when in spectacular flood, with the waterfall seeming like it will never make it to the bottom, being blown far back over the moor.
Today, it is barely worthy.
Stream cascade.
Looking down the cliff-sided gully of the River Kinder. In the distance is the Kinder Reservoir, with the tiny perched Mermaid's Pool tarn in front of it.
Posing sheep.
Scarp of the southwest flank of the moor.
More weatherworn rocks. This either looks like a fox head, or a grinning old farmer with a flat cap.
Looking over the upper River Kinder.
Rocks with a mushroom-shaped hoodoo.
Eroded and striped rocks.
Ribbed rock in a wind-blown slot canyon.
Slot canyon.
Turtle-head rock (not an official name).
Lone mushroom hoodoo.
View from near Sandy Heys (seems to be part of the scarp), showing Kinder Reservoir on the left, The Knott in the middle, and the final point of the Kinder Scout plateau on the right.
View from the point, showing The Knott and Mill Hill on the left. On the right is Bleaklow Hill, with Black Hill (582 metres) in the distance behind it on the left. Bleaklow contains the other two mountain summits at Bleaklow Head (633 metres) and Higher Shelf Stones (621 metres), both of which are in line with a black smudge near the top.
The top of William Clough (that last word seems to mean valley).
Froglet on the path - compare to the size of the blade of grass.
Cascades on the stream. The tallest on the stream is only about 2 metres, but at least there's a bigger stream than the Kinder River.
History; Before 1750, all of this would have been common land, with several footpaths. Between 1750 and 1860, the Inclosure Acts allowed the common land to be enclosed, and sold to aristocratic landowners for use as a hunting ground, denying access to all others. For decades, the working class walkers fought to be given back their access, since they could not afford the higher class entertainments. In 1932, 400-500 walkers took part in an arranged Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout, ignoring gamekeepers. They started at Bowden Bridge, walked up this valley, and onto the mountain top. This was the most significant event in the Right to Roam movement, and is a major contributing factor in the formations of National Parks in 1951, open access land, and the Countryside Rights of Way Act in 2000. We have those trespassers to thank for our current access to our own countryside.
Distant red grouse trying to hide. Hint; coming in to land while making loud calls, is not a good way to hide.
The Kinder Scout plateau seen over the Kinder Reservoir.
The dam.
Not entirely sure why, but this sheep dip is one of the attractions here. It even has a tourist sign explaining what it is, how it works, and how long it all took. It's ... a ... sheep ... dip (they call it a sheepwash, but whatever). I guess I am too used to these things, being from the country. Perhaps it's here to entertain the surrounding city dwellers - so ... that's how they live in the country, eh? Amazin'.
This one speaks for itself. Hope I don't have to explain it to city dwellers.
South Head (494 metres) and Mount Famine (473 metres), seen over the River Sett from Hill Houses.
Trees with Kinderlow Edge.
The Knott (454 metres)
Panorama of Kinder Scout. On the left is a 384 metre hill above Glossop, then The Knott and its parent Mill Hill (544 metres). After that is the long moorland plateau of Kinder Scout, with the notch of Kinder Downfall in its middle, and Kinderlow Edge on its right. The top cannot be seen from here, as it sits some distance back on the plateau.
Distant view of the Kinder Downfall - note the people above it on the left for scale. At 30 metres, this is the tallest waterfall in the Peak District, though its summer flow level is pitifully small, making it look dry.
The southern spur, with Brown Knoll (569 metres) on the left, and South Head and Mount Famine on the right. They don't look so impressive from up here. To their right is the edge of Chinley Churn (452 metres).
Edale Rocks, the first of the big gritstone outcrops. Some of these (more coming up) get really impressive. The path joining from the right here is the famous Pennine Way, which we follow for a while.
Kinder Low (633 metres), not really a summit in its own right, but the location of a trig point. The terrain is eroded peat bog with underlying sand. It looks almost like a tidal plain. In the background on the right are some peat haggs, small masses of peat standing proud of their surroundings (this term also is used to mean a place where the peat has been intentionally cut away).
Wind eroded rock outcrop at Kinder Low. Looks like a pair of ducks to me.
Looking over the Edale valley towards the back of the ridge containing Lose Hill (476 metres), Mam Tor (517 metres) and Rushup Edge (546 metres). The ridge extends from the side of Brown Knoll.
Pym Chair and the Wool Packs outcrops. Weird names, cool features.
A day at the beach. Incidentally, this picture is taken looking directly towards the spot height marked on the OS Landranger 1:25'000 map as the summit. It's out there somewhere, in that indiscernible terrain.
The plateau is a maze of deep groughs (sounds like gruffs) like these - often 4 metres deep. They are natural drainage channel features caused by rainwater washing away the peat bog, to reach the gritstone and sand below. It makes navigation exceptionally hard without a GPS - even a compass is fairly useless. Never seen anything like them in the Welsh moorlands.
There seem to have been some conservation attempts to reduce the amount of peat that is washed away. Why interfere with nature? Well, the highest solid part of Kinder Scout is Kinder Low, and that is the same height as the second tallest mountain. Wash away the peat, and then there will be competition for which one should be taller. Plus this mountain is popular because it is their highest, and lots of walkers adds to the erosion.
Cracked mud. Er ... peat. After rain, this must become a horrendous soggy bog.
Somewhere near the point marked with the spot height is the top, 636 metres. The spot height itself appears to fall within a grough, according to our GPS. Nearby (about 30 metres away) is this cairn, presumably marking what someone thought was the top. The grassy patches are a little higher, but at least it's a focal point, and can be considered near enough to the top. Bizzarely, this summit is also known as The Peak. There is absolutely no sense of accomplishment. Beyond this is Crowden Head, which is 4 metres lower, and appears to be a top, but it's also not.
We tried to cut off a corner, and head for Kinder Downfall (right side of the picture), but got caught by too many groughs. They are just too deep and frequent to keep crossing them, and their sides are slippery enough that they sap too much energy.
Add to that the fact that they meander, branch and rejoin, and they become a real navigation problem. This is a surreal terrain that makes for some great fun. Now ... which way?
Eventually, they collect and form small streams. They're like wadis though, and would be exceptionally dangerous in wet weather, when they could easily flood pulse, with their sides making it hard to get out in time. Admire, and treat with respect.
Once back at the Pennine Way, it didn't take long to reach Kinder Downfall. The tiny stream barely manages to exist in summer. In winter flood though, it is a full-blown river thundering off the edge, fed by the groughs.
The waterfall is situated in a nicely funneled gully, and the strong winds cause the waterfall to be blown back up onto the top, after falling less than 0.5 metres. It even manages to do this when in spectacular flood, with the waterfall seeming like it will never make it to the bottom, being blown far back over the moor.
Today, it is barely worthy.
Stream cascade.
Looking down the cliff-sided gully of the River Kinder. In the distance is the Kinder Reservoir, with the tiny perched Mermaid's Pool tarn in front of it.
Posing sheep.
Scarp of the southwest flank of the moor.
More weatherworn rocks. This either looks like a fox head, or a grinning old farmer with a flat cap.
Looking over the upper River Kinder.
Rocks with a mushroom-shaped hoodoo.
Eroded and striped rocks.
Ribbed rock in a wind-blown slot canyon.
Slot canyon.
Turtle-head rock (not an official name).
Lone mushroom hoodoo.
View from near Sandy Heys (seems to be part of the scarp), showing Kinder Reservoir on the left, The Knott in the middle, and the final point of the Kinder Scout plateau on the right.
View from the point, showing The Knott and Mill Hill on the left. On the right is Bleaklow Hill, with Black Hill (582 metres) in the distance behind it on the left. Bleaklow contains the other two mountain summits at Bleaklow Head (633 metres) and Higher Shelf Stones (621 metres), both of which are in line with a black smudge near the top.
The top of William Clough (that last word seems to mean valley).
Froglet on the path - compare to the size of the blade of grass.
Cascades on the stream. The tallest on the stream is only about 2 metres, but at least there's a bigger stream than the Kinder River.
History; Before 1750, all of this would have been common land, with several footpaths. Between 1750 and 1860, the Inclosure Acts allowed the common land to be enclosed, and sold to aristocratic landowners for use as a hunting ground, denying access to all others. For decades, the working class walkers fought to be given back their access, since they could not afford the higher class entertainments. In 1932, 400-500 walkers took part in an arranged Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout, ignoring gamekeepers. They started at Bowden Bridge, walked up this valley, and onto the mountain top. This was the most significant event in the Right to Roam movement, and is a major contributing factor in the formations of National Parks in 1951, open access land, and the Countryside Rights of Way Act in 2000. We have those trespassers to thank for our current access to our own countryside.
Distant red grouse trying to hide. Hint; coming in to land while making loud calls, is not a good way to hide.
The Kinder Scout plateau seen over the Kinder Reservoir.
The dam.
Not entirely sure why, but this sheep dip is one of the attractions here. It even has a tourist sign explaining what it is, how it works, and how long it all took. It's ... a ... sheep ... dip (they call it a sheepwash, but whatever). I guess I am too used to these things, being from the country. Perhaps it's here to entertain the surrounding city dwellers - so ... that's how they live in the country, eh? Amazin'.
This one speaks for itself. Hope I don't have to explain it to city dwellers.