Part 2: The Mancunian Way (kinda), getting wet and getting lostSo partly refreshed, and very chilly we got up and headed north up the Pennine Way yet again. I knew that from here you can see Manchester so we frequently went near the edge to see what we could see. Admittedly the weather didn't give the best visibility, but yes we had Manchester!
After taking sometime to absorb the view we carried on towards our turn off point, Kinder Downfall. The approach to the downfall is much more defined and obvious than elsewhere on Kinder Scout, so this was fairly easy going. Of course you can see the valley where the downfall is well before you can actually see it. Here we saw one of the few walkers we'd encountered so far.
The something startling happened. I bought a round, no even more astounding than that. The Sun came out. A golden patch illuminating Kinder Reservoir, so naturally out came the camera if not to record a fine view, then to prove we had seen the sun at some stage!
Turning back to the job in hand revealed something unusual. Previously I mentioned it was a tad on the gusty side, well that's true. The gusts were so strong that before we even reached the downfall we knew we would get wet. Mainly because the wind was blowing the water over the top! Hmm. A quick stowing of electronic gear (GPS, mobiles, microwave **) we headed for the fall itself (SK 08288 88917).
Well considering the rain we've had I was expecting more of the waterfall to be honest, but then the lack of water did have one bonus. Half the water was falling as you'd expect but the wind was bringing the other half back up so it looked like a waterfall in reverse. I sidled near the edge (I don't like heights you see, well actually it's depths I have a problem with) and took a rather shaky picture. After getting home I realised I'd have to go back and take it again, oh well, shame it means going up there again
It's at this point we got some indication of how busy the rest of the walk would be. As we took our lives in our hands and headed onto the moor proper a walking group passed by the Downfall. Obscuring what would surely have been an award winning picture.
The GPS indicated we follow the stream, so we did, occasionally we faced a decision, left or right. We stayed right. In retrospect that could have been a mistake.
Following (but not crossing) the streams we ended up in an increasingly narrow path, 12 foot of peat on each side, walking on bedrock flowing with water. Eventually we ended up on a path no more than 5" wide (think trench rather than path). At this point we decided to get up top as it were.
Wandering around we found a suitable place and scrambled to the top. This was up 6ft of peat wall, which crumbled away and was very difficult to climb. Still we made it and spotted a 2 foot high exit not 20 yards away! Still I now knew my boots were water proof, having been submerged for a few minutes, plus I had enough peaty soil attached to my boots and trousers to make Alan Titchmarsh a very happy man. Or I could sell it to gardeners and get rich! Sadly the soil fell off.
However that was a minor problem compared what we saw. GPS was saying where we were, but looking out didn't fill us with confidence. We knew GPS sometimes got it wrong as the resolution isn't always great. We checked we had our maps, two compasses and ventured out....
..into a featureless landscape with no land marks and no end.
Coming in Part 3...
Why you can trust a compass and eventually GPS
Hmm hasn't it got busy
Whipsnade
The fast march home
Dying in the car
** May be an exaggeration