Hayfield

 September 4, 2024.

HAYFIELD, BOOTH SHEEP DIP, KINDER RESERVOIR, WILLIAM CLOUGH, ASHOP HEAD, KINDER SCOUT, KINDER DOWNFALL, RED BROOK, KINDER LOW, TUNSTEAD HOUSE, BOWDEN BRIDGE, THE SPORTSMAN AT HAYFIELD

Distance: 10 miles.

Difficulty: Strenuous.

Weather: Cloudy but dry.

Walkers: Andy Blease, Mark Gibby, Alan Hart, Julian Ross.

Alternative walker: Jock Rooney with Milly.

Apologies: Peter Beal (Greek islands), Steve Brearley (hols), Alastair Cairns (in Scotland), George Dearsley (in Turkey), Mark Enright (attending meeting), Chris Owen and Dean Taylor (walked the same route recently), Jim Riley, Keith Welsh, Simon Williams (taking dogs to vet), Cliff Worthington (Greece hols)

Leaders: Hart and Ross. Diarist: Hart.

Starting point: Outside The Sportsman, Kinder Road, Hayfield.

Starting time: 9.50am. Finishing time: 2pm.

 

                      Route map                                                        Tranquil Hayfield Village

This walk involved a relentless strenuous climb which may account for the low turnout. Those who did attend were rewarded with magnificent views as we approached the Kinder escarpment and on reaching the summit the sights of the valley below.

Apart from a few spots of rain, we enjoyed a dry day. Although there was little in the way of sunshine conditions were perfect for hiking.

We also managed a brisk pace despite the absence of our usual front-runners and reached our only pub at the end of the journey ahead of schedule.

It is a testing route for any hiker, especially as one of our group approaches his 79^th birthday, but we all rose to the challenge. After a single stop for Pietime and breath around 11 o'clock we reached the peak in less than two hours.

Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and National Nature Reserve in the Dark Peak. At 2,087 feet above sea level it is the highest point in The Peak District National Park.

In good weather, you can see the mountains of Snowdonia. It is part of the Pennine Way from nearby Edale to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland.

Scout is a word for overhanging rock derived from the Norse “skute.” In 1932 Kinder Scout was the target for the mass trespass which ultimately led to free access to thousands of acres of land in the UK for hikers.

Approaching Kinder Scout from bank of Kinder Reservoir

With The Sportsman pub on our left, we headed up Kinder Road passing Booth Sheep Dip on our right, where a plaque described how sheep were washed here on their way to market in bygone days. A gate at the left side of the entrance to Kinder Reservoir brought us to a cobbled path which we climbed until the reservoir appeared on our right.

Throughout our journey, we saw a helicopter carrying rocks to the summit where they were dropped for use in creating dams to prevent erosion.

As we wound our way ever upwards, we reached a footbridge on our right and a sign on our left for William Clough. We took this path as it led us uphill, criss-crossing a stream. After stopping for Pietime (70mins) we continued to Ashop Head (90mins) and turned right for the final climb to Kinder Scout (110mins). Many hikers crossed from either direction as we walked along the escarpment with views across the valley below on our right.

The flagged path up from Ashop Head

Julian leads Andy and Mark along the plateau

Kinder Reservoir from Kinder Scout

Looking down on Kinder Reservoir (left) and Mermaid's Pool

We had crossed Kinder Downfall, a 100-feet waterfall where the falling water is sometimes blown back up the rocks in strong westerly winds (130mins), and Red Brook, a shallow stream which has a red tinge because of nearby minerals (150mins)

Kinder Downfall in winter,

After reaching Kinder Low we turned right at the start of a path leading downhill (170mins)

The path became problematical because of the creation of dams with rocks brought by the helicopter to stop erosion. Instead, we followed sheep tracks heading downhill in the general direction of Hayfield. Eventually (185mins) we dissected a path coming downhill across us. We followed this right to another T junction and a well-trodden path where we headed left (190mins)

Homeward bound

This now took us back towards Hayfield through first moorland and then grazing land through gates and wooden stiles. We reached Tunstead House (215mins) on our right and swung left downhill before turning right at a road which emerged at Bowden Bridge (224mins).

We crossed this and turned left down Kinder Road to reach The Sportsman on our right (230mins). We were soon joined by Jock and Milly for our first pints of the day.

Next week's walk will start at 9.40am from High Lane Village Hall car park off Windlehurst Road, High Lane (turn off A6 at The Horseshoe) SK6 8AB. We will be heading through Lyme Park to reach The White Horse, Buxton Old Road, Disley SK12 2BB for a livener around 12.15pm before finishing around 2.20pm with an optional finishing drink at The Bull's Head, Buxton Road, High Lane SK6 8BH.

Happy wandering !