Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group founder John Harvey muses on the delights - and pitfalls - of this iconic High Peak setting
Leaving aside the serious issues of littering, wild fire vandalism and other environmental damage, there is a lighter side to the influx of those new to fell walking since the end of the first lockdown in summer 2020.
Most of the local walkers and fell runners of Hayfield, the gateway to Kinder from the west, have tales of encounters with the visiting public.
‘Which one is Kinder?’ and ‘Is this the way to the waterfall?’ are probably the two most common questions asked.
Almost invariably the enquirer is clutching a mobile phone and failing to be enlightened by what is on their screen.
The waterfall seekers, having seen Instagram postings of Kinder Downfall, are often family groups ill equipped for a moorland adventure and setting off mid-afternoon on an outing that a seasoned walker would need a good half day to complete.
The potential for ignorance and misadventure amongst novice hikers should not be underestimated in my view.
And I speak as one who made a particular hash of my first outing onto the Kinder plateau half a century ago, so mobile phones and social media can’t be blamed.
There were about ten of us on the day in question, a loose-knit group of friends who were beginning to develop an interest in upland walking, mostly as an escape from London.
It was a Saturday morning in February when we met at Edale car park. There was a light sprinkling of snow on the higher ground, and grey clag sat on the plateau.
It never occurred to us that conditions were unfavourable. I was the instigator, and thought I knew Kinder because I’d done a couple of short walks from Edale. And now I was in possession of a new and untested compass, as well as an O.S. map.
So, I took a bearing at the top of Grindsbrook, on the southern edge of the plateau, and we set off for the Downfall, the most prominent feature situated on the west side looking towards Hayfield.
It didn’t take long for us to realise that it was going to be hard work, going up and down those groughs, and where it was possible to dodge round them, it meant you were not able to keep to the bearing.
Even without the mist, there would have been no distant landmarks on which to focus in the barren featureless terrain away from the edge paths.
Added to this rather precarious picture was the small matter that, underfoot, there was snow which had settled on top of soft peat.
But what the hell, we were in our mid-twenties and reasonably fit.
It was a crazy choice of route. Kinder is best seen and walked from the edge paths around it. Only those with local knowledge and experience should contemplate deviating from them into the interior.
Even short stretches of peat groughs are difficult. And to set off to march across miles of them on a compass bearing was a deluded enterprise, as we were soon to discover.
Some of us had proper walking equipment, but a couple of the women were in brightly coloured shiny 1970s plastic fashion coats, and wellies. We should have known better – all of us were graduates, and one a geographer who had been on field trips to the great outdoors.
What we discovered was that if you miss Kinder River and the indentation by the Downfall, the next landmark is the northern edge path. We did realise what had gone wrong, and turned left/west to eventually make our way to the Downfall.
By this time, however, it was mid-afternoon, and yet although there was only an hour or so of daylight left, we were still in good spirits.
Suddenly, two Peak Park wardens turned up, and took an interest in us. They led us into a cave near the Downfall, and were clearly carrying out an assessment, noting our condition, clothing, and morale.
They decided, quite rightly, to guide us back to the safety of Edale, the last hour of which saw us escorted in the dark.
Back at warden HQ we were given mugs of sweet tea and, rather pertinently, information leaflets about mountain safety.
We probably wouldn’t have come to any serious harm left to our own resources, but would have been out a lot longer, and we were fairly tired anyway at the end of it.
So on this occasion we got lucky, and were very grateful for it. The experience did not deter us. All of us continued with our interest in hill walking, and many of us did the Pennine Way a couple of years later.
Many years later the geographer on our trip went on to become chairman of the Peak District National Park Authority.
There will be legions of similar or worse tales to be told – ask the Mountain Rescue teams, wardens or ranger services.
Edale Mountain Rescue Team themselves have reported that the pandemic led to a record 155 callouts in 2020, ‘with last year the second busiest on record’. There have been similar reports from rescue services nationwide.
However, there will undoubtedly still be large numbers of novices – both heading out individually and in groups - who experience things going wrong without the involvement of rescue organisations.
In many cases, when faced with unforeseen but ultimately not too dangerous challenges, such mishaps can create a memorable adventure as well as a learning experience; all part of the enjoyment of taking up a new activity.
Of course, that is not to say that a little more preparation, research and guidance to newcomers venturing forth would not also be a very good thing – for mountain rescue teams as well as for visitors.
State of the art visitor centres, in my view, are often not in the right locations to reach out to those setting off for hills which can look – and are – beauty but can be equally dangerous.
Hayfield has no visitor advice resource at all since the Countryside Centre shop unit shut, some five years ago.
However, there are several voluntary groups in the village who are aspiring to remedy that situation and to improve the visitor experience for walkers of all ability levels who are drawn to this beautiful area.
These include Hayfield Civic Trust, Hayfield Walkers are Welcome, and Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group.
Navigating Kinder Scout's great beauty can be a great social outing and something magical to share with others but it always pays to be prepared - a lesson I certainly learned all those years ago.
Join our Derbyshire and Peak District Walk Facebook group where you can see photos and accounts from novices and seasoned walkers on their walks, search for 'Kinder Scout' or click on the #kinderscout hashtag
