Well we had a very early start this week, in fact it was 05:00 am from Geoff's house, and the destination was high up on the plateau of Kinda Scout. We got to the car park in Hayfield at about 06:20am. It was boots on and set off, first up to Kinda Reservoir and a really hard slog up through William Clough. We needed several stops to get a breather and the track crossed over the brook several times. The ascent from the car park to the top of William Clough is over 1000 feet and some places we had to resort to hand scrambling.
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| Getting ready for the off |
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| This is an old Hayfield sheepwash |
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| Ike picking up a leaflet |
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| In 1899, Stockport Corporation acquired Stockport and District Waterworks Company, gaining control of the town’s water supply. They immediately investigated potential new water supplies. They decided to build a new reservoir two miles upstream of the village of Hayfield at the head of the Kinder valley. Abram Kellett of Ealing was contracted to build it. The associated standard gauge railway required two Acts of Parliament. The geological difficulties prompted a change in design from a masonry dam to a clay/earth dam. The first consulting engineer died and his son succeeded him. He then resigned. Stockport Corporation and the constructor resorted to the courts over financial issues including the Corporation unilaterally terminating the contract and proceeding with construction on its own. That aside, the project required the employment and housing locally of over 700 navvies, and transporting them from Hayfield to the construction site on the special railway. The project took over nine years to complete. |
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| Geoff |
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| Ike & Rob checking the map |
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| The start of William Clough with Kinda Reservoir in the background. |
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| Ike crossing the brook, first of many times. |
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| Looking up William Clough |
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| Rob |
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| Geoff |
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| Me |
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| Geoff scrambling over the track |
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| Rob scrambling up the hillside |
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| Me at the top of William Clough on the Pennine Way with Kinda reservoir 1000 feet below |
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| Geoff chatting to a fellow walker |
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| Some great rock formations |
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| First glimpse of Kinda Downfall |
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| Rob & Ike at the top of the pic |
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| Geoff standing at the top of Kinda Downfall |
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| Small pool at the top of Kinda Downfall |
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| What a fantastic spot for our breakfast |
Kinder Downfall is the tallest waterfall in the Peak District, with a 30-metre fall. The waterfall was formerly known as Kinder Scut, and it is from this that the plateau derives its name. 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 west wind), the water is blown back on itself, and the resulting cloud of spray can be seen from several miles away. ThePennine Way crosses the River Kinder above Kinder Downfall.
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| Me taking the pic previous |
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| Ike adding a stone to the cairn |
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| Kinda Reservoir and the Mermaids Pool |
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| I'm calling this the face of Kinda |
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| Just look at this peat coloured water. |
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| Like an alien world |
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| Geoff on Kinda Low |
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| Me at the trig point on Kinda Low (2088 feet) |
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| Rob heading down towards Edale Cross |
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| Ike & Geoff coming down from Edale Rocks |
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| An ancient monument which once marked a boundary of land ownership and one of the many guide posts on the packhorse route out of Edale |
Ike caught this Common Lizard
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| The lizard crawling over my rucksack |
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| This is a Green Hairstreak Butterfly |
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| Geoff changing into his comfy shoes. |
This was a cracking walk covering an ascent and decent of well over 1000 feet from the car park down in Hayfield to the upper reaches of Kinda Scout which is the highest mountain in Derbyshire. The 9 mile walk took us though watercourses, boulder strewn area's and past some great rock formations. It was very heavy going at times and took us almost 7 hours to complete, but hey we have a combined age of 274.
Next week i think a nice gentle stroll along somewhere flat.
Cheers
