Kinder Scout

It’s one of only two official mountains in the misleadingly-named Peak District – and many people (myself included) would say it’s not really a mountain at all. This wild stretch of moorland between Hayfield, Edale and the Snake Pass is a high plateau made up of gritstone edges and peat bogs, and if you go there looking for a pointy summit, you’ll be disappointed.

But go looking for an otherworldly landscape with expansive views and wind-sculpted rock formations, and you’ll be more than happy. Kinder Scout offers a bleak kind of beauty. Treeless, empty and vast, it’s the perfect counterpoint to the busy Greater Manchester towns you can see in the distance.

Perhaps that’s why a group of young millworkers came here for the Kinder Mass Trespass in 1932 – an event which led to the establishment of the Peak District National Park (the UK’s first). The pull of Kinder’s wide open spaces has only increased since then and the main car parks and paths can be busy on weekends.

Advice for walking on Kinder Scout

You can climb Kinder Scout from Hayfield or Edale (and it is a climb, despite what I said earlier about it not being a proper mountain). Once you’re up, it’s a ridge walk along paths which dip and rise between rocks, peat troughs and stream beds. So although it looks flat on paper, it can be challenging, particularly in the baking heat or icy wind or deep snow.

If you’re going up there, go prepared with the right clothing and footwear, enough food and water, a plastic bag to take any litter home in, and Ordnance Survey Map OL1. It’s easy to get lost on the plateau even with a map, so unless you’re an experienced navigator, stick to the edges and give yourself plenty of time to get down before nightfall.