Captain's Log

Hayfield

Today would be the start of my first Mini Venture of the year. I was late starting this year and late starting on today’s walk too. It was 11:00 when I parked up at the roadside on Kinder Road, east of Hayfield. Given the nice weather, there were plenty of cars already there, but there was no problems finding a space. I’d decided on a late start so that I didn’t get to my wildcamp spot too early. The Mini Venture would be over two days, with each walk being around eleven miles.   

Today’s walk would head up on to Kinder Scout and explore the central area of its massive plateau, before following its southern edge to its eastern tip. I’d then head back on its northern edge and find a wildcamp spot somewhere above Blackden Moor. There were also four Dark Peak aircraft crash sites on today’s route and I was hoping to tick these off on my related Dark Peak Aircraft Crash Site Venture. This turned out to be a bit of a failure in the end, but more of that later.    

I escaped the cool valley trees and branched away from the road to head up to Tunstead Clough Farm. It was sunny and warm, but at least there was a bit of a breeze to keep the heat manageable. 

Kinder West

Field hopping took me away from the farm and towards the dramatic western ramparts of Kinder Scout. It was a gradual ascent and an easy start. The pack felt heavy with all the camping equipment. I’d also packed 2.5 litres of water since I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to find water sources on the plateau given the recent dry weather. I reached open access land and paused before attempting Kinderlow End. This last part of the ascent was a lot steeper than it looked on the OS map, but my efforts were assisted by stone steps. At the top I stopped for a break at some large stones. Looking westwards I could see layer upon layer of hills disappearing into the haze.   

After the rest I continued on a more gradual ascent and came across a mound surrounded by a wire fence. This was Bowl Barrow and is a Bronze Age burial mound. There was a post that had supported an information board at some time, but whatever it had said had long since disappeared. Rather than head straight up to the plateau’s edge I chose another path that followed parallel to the edge, but a little lower down. As I walked along I suddenly became aware of something near me. I looked up and not 10 metres above me, a Red Kite looked down on me. I stopped in astonishment. I’d never been so close to a bird of prey before. Time seemed to stand still until the raptor broke the spell and started soaring northwards using the plateau's updraft. I grabbed my camera to get a photo, but it was too late, it had drifted too far away. Stunning. 

My lower level path intersected the plateau’s western edge path near to Kinder Low. Just beyond, I should have come across the aircraft crash site of Hampden AE381. Unfortunately, I’d not associated an icon with the waypoint in my Plotaroute app and so it didn't appear on the navigation part of the software. This meant I was unable to position myself at the exact crash site. How frustrating! This would be the same for all the other aircraft crash sites on this walk. I’d just have to revisit them on future walks. 

I climbed up to some large rocks above Red Brook. There was a good wildcamping pitch there, but the place was littered with camping rubbish. I just don’t understand how anybody would make the effort of coming all the way up here, enjoy this incredible environment for the night, and yet then leave the place littered like this. I continued along the plateau’s edge. I could see a couple of people wild swimming in the Mermaid’s Pool below me. At least I think they were people and not mermaids. As usual, Kinder Downfall was busy with people. A couple had even brought camping chairs up there to thoroughly enjoy the experience. It was a bit too busy for me though, and like Kurtz in Heart Of Darkness, I headed off into the wilderness of the Kinder Scout’s plateau interior. 

Kinder Central

I followed the stagnant pools of the River Kinder eastwards into the plateau. After a few minutes I came across Kinder Gates, with its massive boulders standing sentinel on either side of the riverbed. Passing these felt like leaving civilisation behind. The riverbed turned southwards. Following this path to its conclusion would have taken me to the southern part of the plateau near Crowden Tower. Instead, I branched away eastwards on a vague track in the direction of Crowden Head. It had been a long time since I’d visited this location. The first time was when I did the Pennine Way in the late 1970s. In those days, climbing up Grindsbrook from Edale and then heading to Crowden Head was a popular option for the long distance national trail. Nowadays, walkers tend to take the easier option of climbing Jacob’s Ladder and following the western edge of the Kinder Scout plateau. Given the lack of paths and the navigational difficulties on the plateau, I can see why the Jacob’s Ladder route has become the default. By some miracle, I remember that we did actually find Crowden Head back in the 70s. There wasn’t much there then, and there isn’t a lot there now. A small stick and a tiny cairn marks the spot. Looking around, the immensity of the Kinder Plateau becomes apparent. On the OS map, a small tarn is shown near to the top, but this has dried up and become overgrown. 

There was a slight depression in the land over to the east and I skirted around its top before heading south. It was difficult going with plenty of groughs to negotiate. There were a couple of Dark Peak aircraft crash sites up here (Dragon Rapide G-ALBC and Anson N9853), but without being able to pinpoint their exact location they would have been impossible to find. I therefore followed one of the groughs southwards. About three hundred metres before meeting the plateau’s edge I found a carrier bag of rubbish and drink bottles dumped into the stream. After the restricted views of the interior of the plateau the extensive and wonderful views down Grindsbrook Clough were quite welcome. 

Kinder South

I started heading east along the edge of the plateau. I think this is probably my favourite part of Kinder Scout, possibly because it is so familiar. There are some incredible rock formations that line the edge of the plateau. There is also that marvellous view over the Edale valley to the ridge connecting Lose Hill and Mam Tor. I plodded on and the ascending ridgeline of Ringing Roger came into view. The further I walked away from Grindsbrook, the fewer people I passed, until by Rowland Cote Moor I felt that I had Kinder Scout to myself. I hadn’t of course, and when I reached the eastern tip of Kinder Scout I met two other walkers who were admiring the view as well. It was an amazing scene too, with a panorama looking over Crookstone Hill towards Win Hill. The Ladybower Reservoir was just visible on the eastern side of the ridge. I’d now traversed Kinder Scout from west to east. After the huge expanse of the plateau it was hard to believe that its most easterly point culminated in this small location. Time was progressing and I now needed to follow the plateau’s northern edge and find a camping spot before sundown. 

Kinder North

I saw a man running up the hill from the shooting cabin on Blackley Hey. He had a couple of trekking poles that he used on steeper sections. He intersected the plateau’s edge path and continued running across the plateau. I was surprised to see him again, jogging back down as I approached the point of intersection of the two paths. He flew by me with a quick ‘hello’ as he bounded past. I diverted away from the plateau’s edge path to pay a visit the Madwoman’s stones. They looked quite nice in the warm evening light. I didn’t fancy camping near any mad women though and so I waded my way back through the heather to the plateau’s edge path again. The northern edge of the plateau has a more remote feel than the southern edge. There was the Snake Road running in the valley below, but it seemed far away. The sun was inching towards the horizon as I made my way towards Blackden Moor. I found the perfect camping spot, only to find a dead sheep just around the next boulder. There was quite a strong breeze now, but I was able to find a pitch on the leeward side of another large boulder. Tent pitched, I stood a moment to admire a faint, pink glow to the sky before the sun disappeared and I did too into my tent.     

It was a very enjoyable walk today. The weather was kind, offering a sunny day with a cooling breeze. It was a shame that I was unable to locate the Dark Peak aircraft wrecks, but this just provided me with a good excuse to come up here at a future date. It was nice to visit Crowden Head again, the remote location giving an appreciation of this wilderness area.