| Kinder Scout | |
|---|---|
 The Kinder plateau seen from the south | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 636 m (2,087 ft)[1][2] |
| Prominence | 496.6 m (1,629 ft)[3] |
| Parent peak | Cross Fell |
| Listing | Marilyn,Hewitt,Hardy,county top,Nuttall |
| Coordinates | 53°23′5″N1°52′26″W / 53.38472°N 1.87389°W /53.38472; -1.87389 |
| Naming | |
| Language of name | Old Norse |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɪndərˈskaʊt/ |
| Geography | |
  Kinder Scout Location in the Peak District Show map of the Peak District Kinder Scout Location in Derbyshire Show map of Derbyshire | |
| Location | Derbyshire, England |
| Parent range | Peak District |
| OS grid | SK084875 |
| Topo map | OSLandranger 110 |
Kinder Scout is amoorlandplateau andNational Nature Reserve[4] in theDark Peak of theDerbyshirePeak District in England. Part of the moor, at 636 metres (2,087 ft) abovesea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and theEast Midlands.[1]
Kinder Scout is part of the Dark PeakSite of Special Scientific Interest,[5] and part of the plateau was designated as a National Nature Reserve in 2009.[6] Much of the area is owned and managed by theNational Trust as part of itsHigh Peak Estate.[7] The city ofManchester and theGreater Manchester conurbation can be seen from the western edges, as canWinter Hill nearBolton and, in good weather, the mountains ofSnowdonia inNorth Wales. To the north, across theSnake Pass, lie the high moors ofBleaklow andBlack Hill, which are of similar elevation; thePennine Way long-distance footpath crosses the three hills on its route from nearbyEdale toKirk Yetholm in Scotland.
Kinder Scout featured on the BBC television programmeSeven Natural Wonders (2005) as one of the wonders of theMidlands; however, it is considered by many to be inNorthern England, lying between the cities of Manchester andSheffield. Inchronostratigraphy, the Britishsub-stage of theCarboniferous period, theKinderscoutian, derives its name from Kinder Scout. In an early text this summit was identified as "the Peak", and the whole area is often referred to locally as "The Peak" or "The Peaks".[8]
TheAetherius Society considers it to be one of its 19holy mountains.[9][10][11]
The name "Kinder" was first recorded in theDomesday Survey of 1086 asChendre,[12] and is of obscure meaning.[13] It is believed to be pre-English in origin.[13] "Scout" is an old word for a high, overhanging rock (derived from the Norseskúte),[14] and refers to the cliffs on the western side of the plateau.[13]
Kinder Scout is accessible from the villages ofHayfield andEdale in theHigh Peak of Derbyshire. It is a popularhiking location and thePennine Way crosses Kinder Scout and the moors to the north. This has resulted in the erosion of the underlyingpeat, prompting work byDerbyshire County Council and thePeak District National Park Authority to repair it, in conjunction with the landowner, theNational Trust.[15] TheFour Inns Walk, a competitive hiking event crosses over Kinder Scout.
The plateau was the location of theKinder Scout Mass Trespass in 1932. From the National Park's inception, a large area of the high moorland north of Edale was designated as "open country". In 2003, the "right to roam" on uncultivated land was enshrined into law, and this area of open country has been significantly extended.
Parts of the Kinder Scout plateau (except legal rights of way) are still occasionally closed for conservation, public safety, grouse shooting or fire prevention reasons, but prior notice is generally given on the Peak District National Park Authority's website.[16]
Kinder Downfall is the tallestwaterfall in the Peak District, with a 30-metre fall. It lies on theRiver Kinder, where it flows west over one of the gritstone cliffs on the plateau edge. Although usually little more than a trickle in summer, in spate conditions it is impressive. In certain wind conditions (notably when there is a strong westerly wind), the water is blown back on itself, and the resulting cloud of spray can be seen from several miles away. In cold winters the waterfall freezes providing local mountaineers with an icy challenge that can be climbed withice axes, ropes andcrampons. Below the Downfall the River Kinder flows intoKinder Reservoir.
Jacob's Ladder is abridleway between the Kinder Scout plateau and the hamlet of Upper Booth in theVale of Edale.[17] In the 18th century, Jacob Marshall farmed the land at Edale Head, at the top of what became known as Jacob's Ladder. He cut steps into this steep section of the route up to the Kinder plateau.[18] The name is a reference to theladder to heaven thatJacob dreamt about (in theBook of Genesis).[19]
TheRiver Noe (a tributary to theRiver Derwent) flows alongside the path from its source at Edale Head down the clough (steep valley). At the foot of Jacob's Ladder the Noe is crossed by a Grade II listed gritstone packhorse bridge, with a single span.[20] The bridge is on an importantmedieval packhorse route over thePennine moorland between Hayfield and Edale. Salt and cheese fromCheshire and cotton from theLancashire mills were transported to the east, while coal and lead were carried to the west.[18]
The Pennine Way ascends Jacob's Ladder just 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from its start at Edale. The original route of the Pennine Way went up to the Kinder plateau via Grindsbrook Clough. In 1987 theManpower Services Commission built a stone paved staircase along the path of Jacob's Ladder.[21] The Jacob's Ladder footpath runs across land that is owned and managed by theNational Trust. Access to the foot of Jacob's Ladder can be made along the Pennine Way trail fromEdale railway station or from the public car park atBarber Booth.[17]
Some of Kinder's many gritstone cliffs were featured in the first rock-climbing guide to the Peak District,Some Gritstone Climbs, published in 1913 and written byJohn Laycock.
The Edale Cross lies immediately south of Kinder Scout, under Kinder Low and on the former Hayfield to Edale road. It marks the former junction of the three wards of the Forest of Peak:Glossop andLongdendale,Hopedale and Campagna. The first cross on the site may have been set up by the Abbots ofBasingwerk Abbey to mark the southern boundary of their land, granted in 1157. The date of the current cross is unknown, although an adjoining plaque[22] and its listing as a Scheduled Monument[23] date it to the medieval period. At some point it fell down, and was re-erected in 1810, when the date and initials JG, WD, GH, JH and JS were carved into it. These stand for John Gee, William Drinkwater, George and Joseph Hadfield and John Shirt, local farmers of the day who raised the cross.[24]
Mermaid's Pool, a small pool below Kinder Downfall, is said, according to legend, to be inhabited by a mermaid who will grant immortality upon whoever sees her on Easter Eve.[25]
Kinder Low at 633 metres (2,077 ft) abovesea level is a subsidiary summit at the south west corner of the plateau. Surmounted by atrig point and with steep slopes to south and west it is often mistaken as the highest point. The true summit, which is 3 metres (9.8 ft) higher, is an unmarked point on the flat plateau 900 metres (3,000 ft) to the north east.[26] "Low" is an old dialect word meaning "hill top".
Abowl barrow, thought to be unexcavated and to date from theBronze Age, stands on Kinder Low, a western projection of the main massif above Hayfield.[27]
Major English and Welsh peaks visible (in ideal conditions) from Kinder Scout include (clockwise from west)Winter Hill (50 km, 31 mi),Pendle Hill (61 km, 38 mi),Ingleborough (93 km, 58 mi),Whernside (100 km, 62 mi),Pen-y-ghent (90 km, 56 mi),Fountains Fell (87 km, 54 mi),Buckden Pike (92 km, 57 mi),Great Whernside (87 km, 54 mi),Bleaklow (8 km, 5 mi),Margery Hill (13 km, 8 mi), theWeaver Hills (42 km, 26 mi),Axe Edge (18 km, 11 mi),The Roaches (26 km, 16 mi),Shutlingsloe (21 km, 13 mi),Shining Tor (16 km, 10 mi), theLong Mynd (114 km, 71 mi),Stiperstones (114 km, 71 mi),Corndon Hill (119 km, 74 mi), Cilfaesty Hill (142 km, 88 mi),Moel y Golfa (109 km, 68 mi),Plynlimon (164 km, 102 mi),Cadair Berwyn (116 km, 72 mi),Beeston Castle (61 km, 38 mi),Alderley Edge (24 km, 15 mi),Arenig Fawr (135 km, 84 mi),Moel Famau (97 km, 60 mi),Snowdon (151 km, 94 mi),Glyder Fach (146 km, 91 mi),Tryfan (145 km, 90 mi),Y Garn (148 km, 92 mi),Carnedd Llewelyn (142 km, 88 mi) andFoel-fras (140 km, 87 mi).[28]
The orchestral sketchKinder Scout was composed byPatrick Hadley, written for the Buxton Spa Orchestra and its occasional director George Cathie. It was first performed inBuxton in September 1923. Hadley had an emotional attachment to the Derbyshire peaks, which are also celebrated in his later cantataThe Hills (1943).[29]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
