Dramatic edges, steep cloughs and peaty bog: the Peak District has an alluring beauty that makes up for the frequently awful weather! With a range of outdoor pursuits on offer, from rambling through to trad climbing, it is an ideal spot for a weekend getaway. Kinder Scout is the highest point in the Peak District, at 636m (2,087ft). Its extensive moorland plateau offers charming walks for all abilities.

Weekend Adventure

After spending a month overlanding in the Australian Outback, it was a shock to the system to land back in busy, bustling Britain. Whilst living in a real house (with showers and toilets!) started off as a luxurious novelty, I quickly grew bored of it and was hankering to be back in our roof tent home. I had to escape into some semblance of wilderness.

We decided to head up to the Peak District for a long weekend. This was a good opportunity to add some Quality Mountain Days to our log for our upcoming Mountain Leader award. We were supposed to spend one day hiking up Kinder Scout, and the following two days scrambling/rock climbing. However, our ‘long weekend’ was cut short by heavy, unrelenting rain…

Camping

Unfortunately, setting up camp wherever you feel like it is frowned upon on England. To get as close to the experience of wild camping as possible, we opted to stay in a farmer’s sheep field instead of a campsite. The site, Highfield Farm, was perfectly situated – just a short walk away from the start of our route up Kinder Scout. We were the only ones staying in the field, apart from an interesting man who had decided to give up his day job and set up camp in the farmer’s field!

Climbing Kinder Scout

The route we took started at Barber Booth and came down from the summit plateau to Edale, where we wandered back to camp along the Pennine Way. We opted for this route as it gave us the opportunity to go ‘off path’ and practice our navigation skills. The walk was supposed to take 7 hours in total (we only managed to drag it out to 6 hours with plenty of detours and extensions!). 

It was a misty, dull and overcast morning. As depressing as this description sounds, it was actually beautifully atmospheric. It felt reassuringly authentic to experience the good old English weather as opposed to the blue sky days we were used to in Australia and the Alps.

As we rambled past the dry stone walls and rolling peaty hills, I realised something. Even in England –  in this overdeveloped, overpopulated country – there are still places that people haven’t ruined. There’s still wilderness.

Jacob’s Ladder

We reached Jacob’s ladder – a set of rocky steps that ascend up the Pennine Way. The only other person we encountered was an audacious man who was running up and down Jacob’s ladder repeatedly with a military rucksack that looked like it was filled with rocks! We stopped briefly at the cairn to observe the silence, and to watch the thick clouds of fog descending into the valley.

We pressed on towards the summit, walking deeper into the enveloping mist. I tend to forget how much I enjoy ‘just walking’. I always think that mountaineering and rock climbing are the best things ever (and they can be!), but they can also be painful and horrible. With hiking, there’s no suffering – just pleasure. I’m not too cold/tired/scared, but we’re out in the middle of nowhere with no-one around.

Off the Beaten Track

Eventually we happened upon the rock formations of Kinder Low, with its deceiving trig point (many hikers mistake this for the summit of Kinder Scout!). From here, we checked our maps, set our bearings and strolled off into the mist. We left the path to meander through the moorland in pursuit of the elusive ‘true summit’. 

Walking through the boggy heath, it is easy to forget that you are  approaching the highest point in Derbyshire. Surrounded by gently rolling baby hillocks, it just feels like Dartmoor! The mist adds to this illusion, as you can’t see further than 100m.

Summit

As we were approaching the ‘summit’ of Kinder Scout, we spotted a lone Christmas tree amongst the otherwise barren landscape. It looked like a big Tom sized tree, but as we approached we realised that it was in fact a little gnome sized Christmas tree! After wandering around on the summit plateau for a while, we eventually found the true summit. Honestly, it was pretty much indistinguishable from the other mounds!

We made our way along the edge of plateau, stopping off at the amazing rock formations along the way. We realised that we were going to be finishing the walk too quickly (it must be at least 6 hours long to count as a QMD!) so we added in as many detours and extensions as we could! At Crowden Tower, the cloud suddenly lifted and we were rewarded with views across the valley.

Back to Camp

Upon reaching Ringing Rodger, we descended into Edale. My ankle was beginning to hurt (from my injury in Australia), so I was glad to be heading down. We had planned to stop off at the pub in Edale for a pint of the local ale, but I realised that neither of us had brought any money! It had started to rain, so we made our way back to camp along the Pennine Way at full speed.

Back at camp, Tom cooked up a gourmet dinner of packet pasta and chorizo. We were inordinately glad to have our awning – gone are the days of cooking in the rain!

  

Future Plans

We will be heading back to the Peak District soon to do the scrambles that we were supposed to do. I am also very excited to check out the climbing at the famous Stanage Edge. Check back later to hear about these!