Get Lost Mountaineering

Kinder Reservoir, William Clough, Kinder NW Trig Point, Kinder Low & Edale Cross

from Bowden Bridge near Hayfield

Start/Finish

Hayfield campsite or Bowden Bridge car park. If coming from the south or east, take the A619 from Chesterfield to Baslow before picking up the A623 signed for Manchester. Those approaching from Buxton, on the A6, will meet this route at a roundabout just before Chapel-en-le-Frith. Soon after, take the A624 signed for Glossop. Continue on this road until the right turn into Hayfield village is reached. Turn in then go left and pass the church before crossing the river then follow the road on the N side of the river until past the Sportsman pub. Soon after there is a right turn, over a bridge, for the campsite. There are public toilets just across this bridge. The Bowden Bridge car park is a little further along the road after this turning. Those approaching from Glossop should fork left on the one way street into the village until the above route is joined. There are a few signs in the village for the campsite which may help.

Distance/Time

13 km     About 5 hours

Peaks

Kinder NW Trig Point, 624 m, SK 077 894.

Kinder Low, 633 m, SK 079 870. OS Outdoor Leisure 1: Dark Peak. OS 110 (1:50 000).

Introduction

This is a pleasant ridge walk which takes in Kinder Reservoir, all of the western edge of Kinder including the NW Trig Point, Kinder Downfall (which often blows back in a strong westerly!), and Kinder Low. For this part of the Peak District, most paths are good and fairly easy to follow. There are many unusual rock formations on the edge of Kinder which also provide good shelter, if needed, for lunch. Most height is gained during the ascent of William Clough before using the engineered Pennine Way to ascend on to the edge of the Kinder Plateau where the route takes in not just Kinder Downfall and its cliffs but also the smaller Red Brook gully. The path then continues, along the western edge, to Kinder Low before a descent is made to Edale Cross followed by a straightforward descent down a track then road to the start. Kinder, in mist, is no place for the inexperienced navigator though. It can be very easy to get lost even on the edge. However, the route up to the NW corner of Kinder and the descent from Edale Cross are both easy to navigate, even in mist.

Route

(1) From Bowden Bridge car park, continue up the road (do not cross the bridge by the car park). Soon the private road going up to Kinder Reservoir is reached. This usually has locked gates across it so turn right, cross the bridge then follow the footpath on the right of the river. This leads up to a footbridge which is crossed to gain the top of the private road by another gate. A small footpath gate is on the left of the large gate with a sign saying White Brow. Take this footpath, which is quite steep and cobbled. When it levels out, follow it along the wall on the W side of the reservoir and up the side of the N spur of the reservoir to reach a footbridge which should not be crossed. Just beyond the bridge is a sign saying William Clough. Follow the path up William Clough which can be boggy and eroded in places but is relatively straight forward. The path crosses the stream a few times. When the stream forks, the path follows the right fork. Its top section is engineered and finishes at a cairn where the path splits. The path going right is slabbed and should be followed. It leads up, steeply in places, on to the NW corner of Kinder. The steepness ends at a large cairn. Follow the obvious path, along the edge, generally S to SE. If the weather is bad, there are some useful rocks to shelter behind and, on the right of the path, there is a rocky groove which offers the best shelter. Continue on the path, gradually ascending. Kinder NW Trig Point lies off this edge path and is on the Kinder Plateau. Follow the edge path to a “summit” by an outcrop after which the path descends. A fence, visible much of the way from the NW corner should be seen to the left. In clear weather, the trig point itself may be seen. If not walk to the fence and follow it shadowing the edge. There are a few stiles but one is about 40 m from the trig point which is slightly to the right. This is actually labelled as Stile 8 and has its grid reference on it. Note that Kinder NW Trig Point, 624 m is not the highest point in this area. In thick weather, the fence may not be seen from the path “summit” so, if you are sure you are in the right place (!), walk at 1 o'clock from the “summit” to meet the fence then follow it to Stile 8. If you cannot see the Trig Point – it is white and does not stand out in mist – from Stile 8 then also walk at about 1 o' clock for about 40 m. An even surer way to reach Stile 8, although slightly longer, is to stay on the edge path until a fence crosses it then follow this fence to Stile 8.

(2) From the trig point return to the stile then follow the fence the other way. It turns at right angles then meets the edge path soon after and this can be followed to the downfall. In just over 2 km from the NW corner, the edge path cuts into the plateau to reach Kinder Downfall with cliffs either side. Cross the River Kinder easily and follow the edge path again, this time S, for about 1 km, to reach Red Brook which is a smaller version of Kinder Downfall. Continue along the edge, still on a fairly distinctive path which gradually starts to gain height. Kinder Low is about 1 km S of Red Brook. As one approaches, cairns appear. When a very large cairn is reached (massive compared to the others), the trig point will be obvious in clear weather as it is only about 60 m away. In thick weather, walk on a bearing of about 70 degrees and soon reach Kinder Low, 633 m. The Trig Point sits on a low rocky outcrop. Some people describe the landscape here as lunar.

(3) Retrace to the very large cairn and follow the edge path S then SW heading for the Kinder Low End spur. The path has well spaced smaller cairns, easily seen in clear weather but too far apart in mist. The path leads to a slabbed path. When on this slabbed path, turn off left on another slabbed path, leaving the Kinder Low End path, and follow this to the right of a grassy mound with rocks below. The slabs end about here but the path continues, with a wall on its right, and descends to a main path at a gate. Turn right here and look right into a recessed section of wall because that is where the medieval Edale Cross sits, with a notice next to it. Many people walk past without knowing the cross is there.

(4) Turn right, W, at Edale Cross and follow the obvious track down. Ignore all other paths. The tracks leads down to the tarmac road in Coldwell Clough. Turn right and follow the road down. Navigation is easy but at the crossroads go left and soon reach the start.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 9^th January, 2014.