Kinder Scout

It was another visit for Karen to Water Icicle Close Cavern to accompany some local cavers on a photographic trip. The weather forecast was for wind with showers in the morning but clearing later and temperatures around 2 degrees Celsius in the valleys and a few degrees colder on the tops. But also string winds.
It was my birthday and looked like another visit to Kinder!
As I drove along the road leading to the top of Winnats Pass, things didn't look very promising with low cloud covering the tops and reaching the cloud as I drove through Mam Nick.
Leaving the car at Upper Booth, I walked across to Grindsbrook Booth (Edale Village) with the low cloud I had driven through starting to clear and the sun making an appearance. As I approached the village, it became a lovely sunny day, at least for a while.

I decided to start on the ascent via Ringing Roger. The weather forecast was right about the wind though – as I was walking along the path on one side of the rocks forming Ringing Roger I was being blown around by the wind. At least there were no showers though, and the scenery was changing constantly as clouds rapidly move past the sun, covering and uncovering it repeatedly.
I was soon on the path following the edge of the plateau and here and there were traces of remaining ice just to make things interesting. It also began to get cloudy again, with the sun disappearing again. At least the cloud was high enough to keep the tops clear.

I followed the path, nowadays a lot easier going since the boggy areas have been paved with large stone slabs, and made my way past Grindsbrook Clough, the path to Grindslow Knoll, and was soon at the top of Crowden Clough.
I was getting hungry by now and as there seemed to be some sort of rain or sleet showers approaching, I found a sheltered spot by the rocks of Crowden Tower and sat there and ate my sandwich and drank my hot drink from a flask.
There was some snow falling, mainly as very small balls of ice like hailstones – I suppose they were hailstones – and this soon passed.
Afterwards I started down the steep, heather-covered hillside to join the path leading alongside Crowden Brook. At one place I was walking along the top of a low drystone wall and as I stepped off it at the end by standing on a couple of handy, but small and narrow steps, my boot shot off the higher one and I landed on my arse! That really hurt for a few minutes but luckily no damage – probably just a large bruise later.
I made my way along the path which eventually joins the road again by Upper Booth Farm and the it was just a short walk back to where I had started.
I had a mug of tea and piece if cake at the café inside “Outside” (that always sounds funny) in Hathersage, where I bumped into Jim Alder and a female companion.
I sent a text to Karen to tell her I had finished the walk and then got one from Keith saying he and Pete were heading for the café in Monyash as they had finished their underground activities for the day and Karen would soon be joining them, so I left Hathersage and stopped of at Monyash on the way home to have yet another mug of tea!