I left a little
earlier in the morning than usual and arrived at the Upper Booth car
park at around 9:45 to find the provided spaces already full except
for a single space and the two spaces reserved for disabled drivers,
which was surprising as the weather wasn't supposed to be brilliant.
It seemed to be a
large walking group had planned on a walk in the area and pretty
nearly filled up the car park.
Anyway, I got my boots
on and set off towards Upper Booth Farm and then through the farm
yard and across the fields to where the start of the Pennine Way
leaves Grindsbrook Booth and is signposted for Grindslow Knoll.
It was chilly with a
bit of a wind but with mist and clouds blowing across the Kinder
plateau as I followed the path leading up to the top of Grindslow
Knoll. There were one or two short breaks in the cloud allowing the
sun to break through as I neared the top, but these were short-lived
and it remained misty as I went across to the large worn area at the
head of Grindsbrook Clough wear the heaviest traffic occurs as most
approach the Kinder Plateau via this route.
From there I followed
the path along the edge of the plateau heading towards Crowden Tower
and as I reached the point where the Crowden Brook tumbles over the
bouldery edge to make its way down Crowden Clough, I followed the
branch of the riverbed which heads north and either walked along the
sandy and rocky bed of the river or followed a narrow path on the
peat above.
At any junctions where
other water channels joined, I check I was still heading in the right
direction by keeping an eye on my compass and when the Crowden Brook
became too narrow to follow itself, I left it and started making my
way across the featureless peat bog which makes up the area called
Crowden Head.
There were a few deep
groughs or channels worn in the peat made by water which meant a bit
of a meandering route but again I kept a very careful watch on the
compass as with the mist, it would be very easy to veer off in the
wrong direction.
My goal was to join
the River Kinder on the other side of the plateau and then follow
that to the waterfall known as Kinder Downfall. As well as having to
navigate carefully, I was mindful of the several recent Mountain
Rescue call-outs as a result of walkers becoming stuck in sections of
peat bog which was very wet due to the wet summer we have had,
I reached another
sandy-bedded stream in a deep grough heading in the right direction
with the water flowing north or north-west, which is what I wanted
and I started to follow this stream.
Soon I saw the odd
cairn which is good news and then at a large junction of a larger
stream with the one I had been following, there was a very large
cairn and I was pretty sure this larger section was the River Kinder
and I had been following one of its tributaries.
Soon a welcome sight
loomed out of the mist: the pair of large gritstone buttresses wither
side of the river which are called Kinder Gates. I was now certain
this was indeed the River Kinder and all I had to do was make my way
easily along the sandy river bed or along a path which followed along
side it.
I reached the large
Kinder Downfall where the water crashes down towards the huge rocky
amphitheatre below, unless the prevailing wind is so strong that it
actually blows the water back up in the air before it has had a
chance to land.
I sat on a boulder
which seemed to be sheltered from the cold wind and had a hot drink
and a snack,
While I was doing
this, momentarily, it got a bit brighter and I thought maybe there
might be a break in the mist but that never happened. Then it seemed
to get a bit darker.
I finished my drink
and set off again along the path following this edge of the plateau
and when I reached a wider area with no obvious path I headed towards
the rig point at Kinder Low which soon loomed out of the mist.
Meanwhile the very
fine drizzle caused by the mist began to increase in size and was
soon becoming a light rain shower.
I checked the map in
the shelter of the large boulder on which the trig point column is
mounted and found the bearing for my next location, Edale Rocks. This
was to the south and I made my way following the compass across the
boggy and heathery ground.
As expected, the large
rocky tor if Edale Rocks soon appeared out of the mist and I sat on
the leeward side making use of a large over-hanging section to
provide an excellent shelter from the wind and rain and finished off
my hot drink.
Afterwards, I followed
the paved path leading down from the Rocks towards the junction with
the old packhorse trail which rises from the far side of Kinder than
makes its way down Jacobs Ladder back to the Edale Valley.
This was my route back
to Upper Booth and as I dropped down the old bridleway, I also
dropped out of the mist which remained covering the plateau.
I was soon back at my
starting point after an excellent walk despite the not so good
weather.
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