Walking Routes: Kinder Scout Walk from Hayfield

From time to time a book arrives and it is a perfect combination of things I like to do.

The book this time was ‘Wild Pub Walks’, published by CAMRA. For me, that’s a perfect match.

A damn good walk followed by a pint or two of the local ale. This is the first of the Peak District walking routes we followed.​

Having just completed the ‘Dark Peak Challenge’ the weekend before, it was a good time to return with Penny (my wife) to try out one of the walks in the book.

The book contains 22 more challenging or interesting walks than the usual thing you find around your ‘Local’. The routes vary from a handful of miles to more demanding walks into mountains and hills which will build up a thirst for that beer at the end of the hike.

We picked a walk from Hayfield over a high point in the Peak District, Kinder Scout. The route is about 10-miles long and has enough ‘elevation’ in it to make your lungs wonder what the hell you are doing to yourself. The author of ‘Wild Pub Walks’, Daniel Nielson, says the walk should take between 4 and 6 hours.

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Kinder Scout from Hayfield GPX file

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Starting out from Hayfield

The River Sett running through Hayfield

Hayfield is a sweet town on the north-west corner of the Peak District, and not far from Manchester. Penny and I drove there from Lincolnshire in about two hours, passing Sheffield and through Glossop. We parked on a street not far from The Royal Hotel, one of the pubs recommended in the book.

The start of the route follows the southern side of the River Kinder along a side road, past a camping and caravan site (good if you want to stay over the weekend) and up towards the Kinder Reservoir.

You’re in a deep, wooded valley for the most part until you climb past the reservoir when the views open up. Ahead, you can see what you have to ascend, namely Kinder Scout. It’s a fine view on a clear day (which it was when we walked there).

Us on the route out from Hayfield

Up William Clough

The footpath next to Kinder Reservoir

Waiting with the fell runners

That name sounds like an insult, but William Clough is the steep, rocky reentrant, or valley, you climb to get onto Kinder Scout.

Before we reached the clough, in the opposite direction to us on the path was a herd of sheep being shepherded off the hills by a farmer, his family and dogs.

​As we waited for the herd to move past us, three fell runners (two blokes and a woman) came up behind and joined our queue. Compared to us, they were kitted out lightly, with trainers, running shorts and tops, with a tiny backpack each carrying water and a few energy bars, I expect. No flask and sandwiches for them. The herd soon passed and we headed on towards the clough.

This is the toughest part of the walk with the brutal ascent. Just take your time, admire the views and give your body a moment to get over the oxygen debt. It’s worth it when you get to the top.

The sheep coming in the opposite direction to us!

Above: This is the ford as you enter William Clough. I filmed Penny because the tradition is that she falls in at these points on our walks. Did she fall in this time?

Onto Kinder Scout

Before the last climb up to Kinder Scout

There’s one last climb to get onto Kinder Scout from William Clough. It’s a short, sharp climb and you join another track coming from your left. There were more hikers on this track than there had been on the clough, but it was not a quarter as busy as walking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks route.

We stopped for lunch just above some crags and looked out at the amazing view of Kinder Reservoir and Manchester way off in the distance. You’ll notice many more aeroplanes in the area, which take off and land at Manchester Airport regularly.

Along the ridge, the track is well-worn, so much so that you won’t have difficulty following it in bad weather. There are interesting rock formations along the way, including those at Sandy Hays.

Penny among some of the rock formations on Kinder Scout

Me on the Kinder Scout plateau

Kinder Downfall

The waterfall at Kinder Downfall is probably more impressive when there's been a lot of rain!

The main attraction on this part of the walk is the waterfall called Kinder Downfall. It marks the point where you turn south-west on the route, and it’s a popular spot. The waterfall was not in full flow, so it was unimpressive from that perspective.

Nevertheless, it’s a pretty spot and many walkers stop there to rest, have lunch or just sit there in couples for a romantic moment (as long as it’s not pissing down with rain, I expect!). A kind woman, who had her shoes off to dip into the icy water, offered to take our picture. We pushed on.

Us above Kinder Downfall

Towards Kinder Low

The Trig point at Kinder Low

Since joining the route at the top of William Clough, you’ve been on the Pennine Way. And, you continue along the Way towards Kinder Low, following the ridge line, until you reach the triangulation (trig) point.

It’s an easy walk along the undulating pathway towards Kinder Low with super views to your right. To your left, there’s the open moorland of Kinder Scout, the far side of which overlooks the picturesque Edale Valley.

Kinder Low is glorious spot in the right weather. Fortunately for us, the weather bright, sunny and with a gentle breeze to keep us cool that day. The trig point sits on a weather-beaten rock with other, similar rocks nearby. From here, you have magnificent views over the Peak District. It’s worth the walk just to get to this point for the views.

Edale Rocks and Swine’s Back

The path leading to Swine's Back

From Kinder Low, you join a ‘paved’ section of the walk. With the amount of walkers using this section, the park authorities have laid huge slabs of stone along the path to reduce the erosion.

The route drops towards the dramatic Edale Rocks’, which look as though someone has laid weathered paving slabs one on top of the other. They are impressive.

The track around Swine's Back

We passed Edale Rocks and around the side of a rise called ‘Swine’s Back’. It’s not an official footpath, more like a shortcut along an old wall. It was tricky and narrow. From there, you drop back onto a footpath at ‘Edale Cross’ which leads steadily down into a reentrant leading to Oaken Clough.

Here, we saw three mountain bikers flogging their way up the rocky track. One of them had a look of pain on her face and spent significant time pushing rather than riding her bike. Everyone to their own, I guess!

Fairly soon, we were into pastures and heading north-west to Tunstead Clough Farm and down into the valley which leads towards the camping and caravan site we passed on the way out. The views of the landscape across the other side of the valley are stunning. It’s  steep drop into the valley of the River Sett, and tough on weary knees.

The landscape coming off Kinder Scout and back into Hayfield

Back into Hayfield

The walk back into Hayfield is gentle and a marked contrast to the wild openness on Kinder Scout. We got back to our car, changed out of our walking boots and headed to The Royal Hotel for some refreshments!

Was is it a ‘Wild Pub Walk’?

The book promised ‘Wild Pub Walks’ and it lived up to its name, certainly for this walk from Hayfield onto Kinder Scout. It’s not far from civilisation onto the wild moorland and it’s well worth it.

The walk is challenging yet fun, wild but not overwhelming. We completed it in about 5.5 hours (including a 25 minute lunch stop) and felt as though we’d had a good walk without being shattered. We will certainly be using the book again to do some more wild walks.

You can 'Wild Pub Walks' on Amazon for around £12