Kinder Scout

After an early morning alarm call at 03.30, our plan for the day had been to walk to Kinder Scout from Edale. We drove to Faversham, caught the 04.55 to St. Pancras, and then the 06.32 to Sheffield. A local train took us to Edale, arriving there at 10.00.

There had been a substantial snowfall before our visit, and we were met with a white landscape on our arrival. We were going to walk to Kinder Downfall via Jacob’s Ladder to see if it had frozen, but then we decided to walk via Grindsbrook Clough, which was classed as a grade 2 scramble. This route follows a stream up to the plateau of Kinder Scout, and while we were approaching the top of the plateau, we could see low clouds with snow falling, and the visibility became increasingly poor the higher we walked. Our progress slowed as we encountered many boulders, and it became increasingly slippery underfoot. However, we persevered and soon arrived on the top of Edale Moor.

The plan at this point had been to walk across the Moor to Kinder Downfall, but we soon found the snow up here to be very deep – waist deep in places – and realised that this route was not practical in those conditions. By this time, we were in the falling snow, visibility was significantly reduced, and even though we had GPS, we had no real visual references we could use to plot a route. We discussed the situation and agreed to retrace our steps and try the longer but better-established course of Kinder Scout.

We began our new route, but this attempt was soon frustrated by the weather conditions and the genuine possibility that the length of the walk, which would mean the Woolpack rocks, Swines Back and then to Jacob’s Ladder, could not be achieved in the amount of daylight left. In addition, we had to consider the real prospect that the weather could worsen further. At this point, the decision was taken to abandon the hike to Kinder Scout altogether.

For a second time, we turned around and tried to follow our own footsteps back to Grindsbrook Clough. It was soon clear to us that we had made a good decision, as our footsteps were already disappearing in the falling snow. We had to take care of the descent; a severe injury is much more likely to happen in conditions like these. As we descend, the visibility improves, and our footsteps are surer. We return to the woods in good time and to Edale for a very welcome rest and warm-up in the local pub!

We did not manage to walk our intended route due to the conditions on that day. It really reinforced the importance of excellent preparation, and if we had not made those decisions, despite our experience, there could easily have been a serious incident.