Author Topic: How's Kinder?  (Read 5228 times)

rodd

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How's Kinder?
« on: 16:20:50, 22/01/09 »
Looking at going up kinder for the first time in a few weeks and was looking for information on the walking distance starting at Edale. We climbed Mam Tor from Edale a while ago and was wondering if Kinder was about the same difficulty wise?


Any tips on gear i might need for the time of year would be great too!

Thanks


Rodd

Ghost

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #1 on: 21:24:01, 22/01/09 »
Hi Rodd

Not sure what distance you walk, so here is a good short route to start with ( 5.5 miles ):

Follow road up through Edale village, past Nags Head pub, to a footpath on the right GR SK 12210 86122
Follow footpath over a wooden bridge and up some steps onto a paved footpath
Follow paved footpath to a stile GR SK 12070 86760
Pass stile and walk through small wood to another stile
Pass stile and bear left over a wooden bridge
Follow Grindsbrook Clough footpath, which eventually becomes very rocky
Follow footpath alongside course of clough and climb up rocks
At the top turn right onto edge footpath GR SK 10547 87230
Follow footpath around a clough GR SK 10617 87617
Follow edge footpath all the way to a cairn before Ringing Roger GR SK 12537 87565
At cairn, turn right and follow footpath down to the Nab GR SK 12497 86620
At the Nab, turn right and follow footpath and steps down to a stile
Pass stile and follow footpath back to paved footpath

Difficulty : The rocks and the climb up Grindsbrook Clough is the only hard bit, best done at a slow pace with occasional rests

For gear : boots or trail shoes, warm clothes, hat, gloves, a good waterproof, map and compass
« Last Edit: 21:34:12, 22/01/09 by Ghost »

Dazza

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #2 on: 21:28:31, 22/01/09 »
>Follow footpath alongside course of clough and climb up rocks<
Last time I was there (almost a year ago now) you couldn't do this, you had to leave the path where it was under repair and go up a rocky bit. Not a hard detour as it's obvious where you need to get to but no path as such.


Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

Ghost

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #3 on: 21:47:05, 22/01/09 »
I was up Grindsbrook Clough a couple of weeks ago and everything was O.K.  O0

dellwalker

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #4 on: 00:24:08, 23/01/09 »
I think you need a decent pair of waterproof boots and would not want to wear walking shoes going from Edale to Kinder.

It is much more arduous than going up Mam Tor and you are going into a remote area. If you are not experienced don't go up in any kind of bad visibility.

Good luck, hope you get decent weather.

rodd

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #5 on: 12:58:53, 23/01/09 »
Thanks for the great advice everyone!

We're actually visiting the lakes this weekend and hope to venture up Langdale Pikes weather permitting. So we should get some practise there.

I'm in the market for a good waterproof jacket and fleeces if anyone has any recommendations. Is it worth spending alot on a coat or are the cheaper £30+  types good enough?

I think we'd like to go the most scenic route up Kinder and take time to admire the views, than opt for the quickest path.
I've heard a few people mention Jacobs Ladder and Grins clough?, would this be a better route to take advantage of the views?

Although most of our walks are around 4 - 6 miles, i think we'd manage 8 miles ok.

I really enjoy the type of walk that you stumble up on things, such as nice bridges, waterfalls, old ruins and strange rock formations. It would be great to take in Kinder downfall too?

Sorry for all the questions ::)

Heres hoping for good weather!

Cheers guys,

« Last Edit: 13:02:43, 23/01/09 by rodd »

Dazza

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #6 on: 16:10:57, 24/01/09 »
It's good to see they repaired the path then as I'll be in that neck of the woods in the coming weeks.

Rodd,

Kinder itself is quite a lot harder than Mam Tor. The ascent is generally steeper and there aren't always well defined paths (or paths at all).

Jacobs Ladder is easy to follow but very steep, Grindsbrook Clough is much less defined towards the end and this last part is a bit of scramble. I have a couple of trip reports in this section with photos of both, so take a look.

Kinder itself has very few paved footpaths (mainly the western edge) unlike Mam Tor. The top of Kinder is essentialy a peat bog with few land marks so it can be demanding and easy to get lost. I wouldn't want to rely on just a GPS on the plateau itself and you do need decent clothing as it tends to be very windy, and pretty squelchy under foot.

As I said take a look at the reports I've done on Kinder (usually loads of photos) and it'll give an idea of what to expect and the distances involved (8-12 miles).

Edit:
I've taken a quick look and this gives you a good idea of Grindsbrook Clough

http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,794.0.html

Here from Jacobs ladder

http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,432.0.html

Whatever you decide to do have a great, safe time.
« Last Edit: 16:58:22, 24/01/09 by Dazza »
Dazza
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These boots were made for walking so that's just what I'll do. After I've re-proofed them of course...

rodd

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #7 on: 22:02:54, 25/01/09 »
Thanks Dazza, i will certainly take time and read through your reports, i just got back from a weekend in the lakes, posted a few pics here.http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,2440.0.html it was quite challenging.

I'm really looking forward to Kinda, i've done walks in and around Edale over the past year but haven't really geared myself up for the job until now.

Thanks for posting the links, look forward to reading through them.

Cheers

Rodd.

scenic

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #8 on: 00:13:07, 26/01/09 »
Hello Rodd.

Kinder's a fine place to go for a walk, whether from Edale or elsewhere.

The ascent alongside Grindsbrook is straightforward enough - there's just the slightest bit of difficulty near the top of the climb. Calling it 'scrambling' is exaggeration.

Navigation can be tricky for a newbie, though I would say it's a good place to learn through mistakes - yes you can go wrong, but you're unlikely to get yourself in major trouble.

I'd suggest you stick to the plateau edge first time, then maybe next time think about crossing the plateau.

Enjoy the walking, Dan.
Life without spice is like food without flavour

rodd

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #9 on: 21:00:50, 29/01/09 »
thanks for that.

I was wondering, are there any know dangers up on the plateau, like large hidden pot holes etc?

Thanks

scenic

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #10 on: 23:17:47, 29/01/09 »
Evening Rodd.

Dangers on the plateau....

If you're trying to cross the plateau I'd strongly recommend using a compass - it is (in my experience!) ever so easy to get lost if you rely on your sense of direction. When the plateau is wet you can't just stroll across the peat bogs you have to circumnavigate them. By the time you've faffed about getting from one side to the other you'll have probably lost all idea of which way north etc is.

When the plateau is wet, life can be awkward, but I'm not sure it's dangerous - I've not heard of anyone passing away from this life by sinking into a peat bog. Taking a running jump over a peat grough means trusting your judgement that the surface you're landing on will bear your weight. If it doesn't then you could be knee deep, at least, in peat.

Walking at the bottom of a peat grough.... If the peat has eroded to rock then walking at the base of a peat grough is straightforward. If not then the bottom of the grough will be peat and again you're into a 'judgement call' about how supportive the peat-y surface is. Earlier this week I was walking in the groughs and they had snow in them - I couldn't tell how deep the snow was, and I couldn't know what lay beneath the snow. Every step was an adventure, but I emerged unscathed!

Be careful where you place your feet. The plateau is scarred with small drainage channels (maybe only 6-8 inches wide and a foot deep) and entrances to burrows. The problem is that heather grows on either side of these giving the impression of a level surface. Every now-and-again you'll put your foot on heather and instead of solid ground there'll be fresh air beneath it. Not life threatening, but easy enough to badly sprain (or worse) an ankle.

Hope that helps,

Daniel.
Life without spice is like food without flavour

TreeTops

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #11 on: 20:03:52, 30/01/09 »
From the description, the plateau sounds similar, albeit very much wetter than the area around Howden Moors, Featherbed Moss, Middle Moss etc. Is this an accurate comparison?

I've never had the chance to walk up Kinder, but did spend an enjoyable hour trudging across from Howden Edge, east towards Bradfied last week.

scenic

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #12 on: 20:16:12, 01/02/09 »
I've walked along Howden Edge but haven't ventured 'off-path' to the east.

The terrain around Bleaklow Head is very similar to the terrain of the Kinder Plateau.
Life without spice is like food without flavour

TreeTops

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #13 on: 08:41:46, 02/02/09 »
Cheers for description.

We decided to give Kinder a go yesterday (Sunday), a rough sort of route from Barber Booth up Jacobs Ladder, over to Kinder Resevoir, up William Clough then a walk along the edge to Kinder Downfall and back down to Jacobs Ladder.

The weather wasn't particularly pleasant - snow flurries, extremely breezy and just a "touch" cold, so we decided against a walk across the plateau.

We'll definitately be going again in the summer, hopefully when Kinder Downfall is more than just a frozen dribble !


Steelystan

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Re: How's Kinder?
« Reply #14 on: 13:02:42, 02/02/09 »
Kinder itself is quite a lot harder than Mam Tor.
I suppose it is really, but stood at the car park in Edale looking as both aspects, I'd always go for the Kinder option.  Its very steepness and rockiness (Is he a scottish boxer?) in places makes it seem more worthwhile to me, and I'm fed up with plymsol wearing eejits on Mam Tor that don't seem to swarm on Kinder plateau so much.  My favourite route is the one up Golden Clough,(left round the slopes of ringing Roger, then meeting Kinder edge where it joins the Ringing Roger Escarpment - a bit rocky but less windy), then west along the edge all the way to the pennine way near the head of Jacobs ladder.  Jacobs ladder!  Debatable whether its worse up or down.

Wherever one goes on the Kinder plateau it feels wilder and more natural than anything further South.

SS
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