Kinder Scout from Hayfield - Group Walk

About

This route is one of the easier Kinder Scout walks that I lead up the highest mountain in the Peak District. We set off from Bowden Bridge car park, the starting point for the famous 1932 Mass Trespass. We head up an easy track to Kinder Reservoir which provides some great views. The track gives way to a smaller path now which can be rough and somewhat muddy in places as we start to head up the main climb towards Kinder Scout.

After a climb of around 300m (1000ft), we reach a flattening from where we make a short detour to the site of a 1942 plane crash (both crew members walked away). The plane was a brand new USAF B24 Liberator which had departed from Burtonwood near Warrington. The wings and remains of engines and other parts can still be seen.

We head back now and climb another 100m (300ft) onto the plateau of Kinder and follow the edge towards the spectacular Kinder Downfall, still following the original 1932 Trespass route. After the downfall, we continue on to the strangely named Kinder Low which is actually the highest of Kinder's three trig points at 633m (2077ft). It's not quite at the very summit, which is a rather indistinct point 3m higher and about 800m away on the boggy plateau. I can guide you to it if you want to be at the very top!

It's now time to start heading back down which we do via a nice path over Kinderlow End. Before we drop down we'll pass a "Bowl Barrow", which is an early Bronze Age (~2000BC) burial mound. We continue down through the fields and back to Bowden Bridge.

The walk is mostly on a mixture of good tracks and smaller footpaths which can be rough in places and includes 1 fairly long hill. The hill up to Kinder is a steady climb of about 400m (1300ft). Just before that climb, there is a short steep stone path which tends to be a little slippy when wet. At any time of year, there are likely to be some muddy sections, especially once we start to head up towards Kinder with it's peat bogs. As we climb up onto Kinder the path becomes rougher and a little rocky in places. Either side of Kinder Downfall a little more care is needed on these rocks. There is a fairly long descent back down but the route I have chosen provides one of the more gradual descents.