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Peak District, Kinder Scout and Bleaklow

Peak District, Kinder Scout and Bleaklow


Postby Rodhumphreys » Mon Dec 06, 2021 1:32 pm

Hewitts included on this walk: Bleaklow Head, Kinder Scout

Date walked: 25/11/2021

Time taken: 5

Distance: 28 km

Ascent: 930m

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This was the start of my journey over all of the English Hewitts. My initial target was to complete 100 within 12 months.
Parking in the centre of Glossop this initial walk was planned as a linear journey ending in Hayfield. The day had dawned bright and clear which reflected my plans for the 178-peak challenge. My intention was to choose days, in the main, where I was likely to be able to spot the route ahead, admire the views off the hills, and avoid strong headwinds. If you are going to embark on a journey like this, there is a lot of sense in working with the weather forecast and choosing the days when the conditions are likely to fun rather than a trudge through rain and low-lying cloud. Rather than carrying a map and haversack I was using ordnance survey maps on my phone and carrying a bum-bag with an energy drink and two protein bars. There was one useful piece of equipment missing, but we’ll come to that shortly.

The walk up to Bleaklow from Old Glossop initially passes a mill and soon branches left to ascend the contours of the hill ahead. The path ahead was quite dry and I was accompanied by a hare which stayed just ahead of me for 5 minutes. Bleaklow Head is always going to be more attractive on a sunny day, and view along the ridge to the south clearly showed the Kinder plateau rising away from the A57. I needed to work with the map descending from Bleaklow to ensure I picked up the line of the Pennine Way, but this soon becomes obvious and the route across the Snake Pass and on to Kinder then becomes a pleasant and fast journey across to Kinder. The views off the hills to the west are excellent.

The Pennine Way takes you to Kinder Low which is a really nice point to claim the second peak. Unfortunately, the actual top of Kinder Scout is 1km away across the top of the moor. Interesting geography here with the water flows which create the peat groughs all starting from this short and quite flat walk. Once the top had been reached, I retraced my steps back to Kinder Low, continued south for a km and then dropped down the wide track through Oaken Clogh, Coldwell Clough and into Hayfield.

Really pleased the number 61 bus turned up to take me back to Glossop. Just over 5 hours on mostly excellent paths. It was a good start but, 28 kilometres on and just two tops, indicates the size of the challenge ahead.

One important lesson learned on this first 5-hour walk. At the time of writing my iPhone was 4 years old and the battery life was beginning to become a challenge. So, if using a mobile device to follow the route on the OS map App and battery technology hasn’t developed that much, my advice is to switch to low power mode. Don’t take too many photographs, and I’m asking for a slim-line battery charger for Christmas!
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Rodhumphreys
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 30
Hewitts:154
Wainwrights:95   
Joined: Nov 26, 2021
Location: Rossendale

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