Length:
26.8 km (16.7 mi) [shorter or longer walk possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent:
969 m
Net
Walking Time: ca. 7–9 hours
Toughness:
9 out of 10
If you find this walk too hard on the day, try SWC 303 instead, which also has
shorter options:
Edale
Circular via Kinder Scout and Mam Tor.
Take the 09.14 Manchester Piccadilly train from
Sheffield (stopping service down the Hope Valley via Dore,
Grindleford, Hathersage etc), arrives Edale 09.46.
From London, due to track works,
participation in this walk is not realistic w/o a car.
Return trains down the
Hope Valley to Sheffield: xx.29 to 20.29, then 21.27, 22.54.
The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass on 24/04/1932 was neither the first nor even the largest mass trespass in the early
decades of the 20th Century, and it wasn’t even supported at the
time by the established representatives of the Ramblers movement, as its
driving force were organised left-wing urban activists from the large
conurbations to the west and east of the Peak District that were fed up with
the lack of progress in the fight for a Right to Roam on (formerly) Common
Land, especially the high mountainous areas and the upland moorlands. They were
willing to take a more direct approach against the forces holding them back
(landowners’ game keepers and hired muscle, as well as law enforcement).
It wasn’t much of a walk either, as the two groups
(Manchester folk from Hayfield, Sheffield folk from Edale) were just walking up
to the rim of the plateau at Ashop Head for a short meet and then back down
(into the waiting arms of the Derbyshire Constabulary in the case of Hayfield),
but it was certainly very well-organised and – combined with an efficient
public relations campaign – it became an important stepping stone in the (still
continuing) fight for more public access to the countryside, subsequently leading to
the establishment of National Parks and the creation of ‘Access Land’ in the
2000 Countryside Right of Way Act, finally enshrining access rights to those disputed
high mountain areas and upland moorland tracts.
For a more detailed account,
read here (Peak District National Park), here (Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group) or here (Wikipedia).
As for today’s walk:
This is a circuit of the Kinder Scout moorland
plateau in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District with minimal directions.
The route described is not a true circuit, as it
takes a different route up from Edale than it takes down from the plateau back
to Edale. Completists can either continue along the edge from Ringing Roger to
the point where the morning ascent over Grindslow Knoll joins the edge and
re-trace the route from there (adds 3.4 km), or they can ascend and descend
along the Grindsbrook Clough to/from the same point on the edge, this involves
light but prolonged scrambling and adds 5.1 km.
In the easterly part of Kinder Scout, the plateau’s width is only about 500m, so – even without a clear path – a shortcut across it is not too arduous a prospect in the right conditions and if a confident map and compass user. The only route with a clear and firm through path is shown on the route map (cuts 1.3 km).
In the easterly part of Kinder Scout, the plateau’s width is only about 500m, so – even without a clear path – a shortcut across it is not too arduous a prospect in the right conditions and if a confident map and compass user. The only route with a clear and firm through path is shown on the route map (cuts 1.3 km).
Lunch: Picnic.
2 comments:
A Mass Trespass Swim is planned in Kinder Reservoir: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/apr/23/kinder-reservoir-mass-trespass-swimpass-peak-district-wild-swimmers
13 walkers were left of the 20 on the previous day, and we got up the Grindsbrook Knoll at 600m above sea quite quickly (fastest: the walker that ran the route). The views were superb with crystal clear far ridges and mountains. That was due to the very fierce easterly wind. Walking along the edge of the clough, it was difficult to walk straight or even just stand up, ie 80 km/h winds. That prompted an early decision that - barring a drastic drop in wind speed over the next couple of hours - we'd go as far as Kinder Downfall at most and then return on a different route, rather than completing the circuit along the northerly edge, into the wind.
And so we did. Crossing Cowden Brook, we had also seen how little water ran off the moor plateau and deducted that it may be a good opportunity for a low-risk crossing of it. So that's what we did. From the downfall follow the Kinder River, then follow bearings to the high line watershed along and through the groughs, then map-and-compass across to the highest point and along the relatively dry high line back to the westerly edge just north of Kinder Low. Worked a treat. Good teamwork as well.
Back to Edale Roacks and down Jacob's Ladder and along the Pennine Way to the start in Upper Edale. It was only 15.30 hours, but most wanted either the Old Nags Head or The Fold café.
2 wanted more walking though and considered trying to catch up with the several hundreds of people we had seen snaking up the zigzag path to Ringing Roger (Kinder in Colour, celebrating the Trespass Anniversary), but they seemed too far ahead, so we opted for a Tour de Grindsbrook: up the Clough, down the Knoll.
In the clough we bumped into walker n=14. He had travelled up Saturday evening, but could not leave his accommodation in the morning, as the lock was broken (Air BnB). It took more than 2 hours to free him (!), so he just did a short walk up and down the edge.
Weather: w=sunny-with-a-strong-wind
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