Blackden Brook

Today's walk was a mooch around on Kinder Scout's plateau with an ascent and descent by Blackden Brook. Every couple of years I do this walk. It feels a bit like going to the dentist; something that has to be done for the greater good. Don't get me wrong; the views along this walk are outstanding. It includes pretty waterfalls and cascades, amazing stone formations and wonderful plateau edge walking. It is just the ascent and descent, to and from the plateau, along Blackden Brook that is the problem. It is an awkward path that is muddy, slippery, crumbling, wet, boulder strewn, scrambly, steep, heathery and at one or two points, slightly dangerous. The lower reaches of the clough are just awkward, with the path continually crossing the fast flowing brook. Finding a place to cross the brook is just an annoyance at this point, rather than any real difficulty.  The real fun starts about halfway up the clough where the brook falls down quite a high waterfall. The muddy, crumbly path goes up above the waterfall and has an almost sheer drop down to its base. Give me Striding Edge with its solid rock and firm handholds any day. After the waterfall, the path is a little like scrambling up a steep gorge. It is awkward and not very pleasant. I was relieved when I got to the top, although my happiness was curtailed by the knowledge that I'd have to return down this clough later in the day.

Madwoman's Stones

I followed Kinder's plateau edge eastwards. Despite the sun, there was a chill in the light breeze. As I walked along the edge I looked down along the length of Blackden Brook, but couldn't see anybody else coming up. It isn't one of the most popular paths up to the plateau. I could see traffic queuing on the Snake Road. I'd driven through several sets of traffic lights along there, to get to the parking spot this morning. Pretty much like the path along Blackden Brook, the Snake Road seems to be crumbling away towards the River Ashop. It has been like it for months, and the stretches of traffic cones just seem to get more numerous. I've an idea that the road workers have just given up on it.

Before reaching the end of the eastern side of the plateau, I diverted off the perimeter path on to the vaguest of tracks to Madwoman's Stones. Rather frustratingly nobody seems to know how this collection of large boulders got their name. My guess is that a mad woman must have been involved at some point. I couldn't see any about today though. In fact I'd not seen any other walkers at all so far. I could just see Kinder's eastern trig on the horizon. That was my next objective and I started heading in its direction.

I couldn't find a track to the trig and so I forged my own. The mini dam builders had been busy on this stretch of the plateau and I had to do a bit of meandering to avoid the boggiest bits. I was surprised to find a large area around the trig had been paved with slabs.  A plaque had been placed on the trig by the (former) Viking Venture Scout Unit members for their late founder, Peter John Mitchell MBE (1947-2017).  I could just see the southern edge of the plateau from the trig and so I set off over yet more trackless moor towards it.

Where Am I?

'Could you help me with my location.' The request had come from a young lad whom I'd caught up on the southern perimeter path. 'Where are you heading?' I asked him. 'I don't know. I'm going to camp on Kinder Scout tonight. I did think about going to the Dales, but I decided on Kinder Scout instead.' I got my map out and showed him his location. He didn't seem that interested in the map. Before I caught him up, I'd seen that he'd been looking at what I'd presumed to be a gps. I wasn't sure how I could help somebody who didn't know where they wanted to go and wasn't that interested where they were actually located. I told him that he might consider following the perimeter of the plateau around to Kinder Downfall since there were some nice potential camping spots around there. I asked him about his camping equipment. He'd just bought his tent and he didn't know whether his sleeping bag was down or synthetic. I didn't ask whether he'd got a sleeping mat or not. I left him to ponder over the Kinder Downfall option that I'd given him. He followed me for a while along the perimeter path, but by the time I reached the head of Grindsbrook Clough, he seemed to have disappeared. He told me he'd joined the cadets. I guess they'll teach him navigation skills, although I wondered whether that would be based around using a gps or a map and compass.

Kinder Plateau

As usual, the top of Grindsbrook Clough was busy with people. My next objective was to traverse the plateau back to the northern edge. I wasn't following any track as such; I just meandered in a generally northerly direction. Visibility was good today and for most of the traverse I was able to see reference points to hills either side of the plateau. If visibility had been poor I would have carried out the traverse on a direct bearing. I didn't see anybody else on the plateau while I was doing the traverse. I finally reached the northern side of the plateau at Seal Edge. About 10 years ago I had a sad experience here. I came across over a dozen sheep that were dead. There was no apparent sign of injury on them. I presumed it was a case of sheep worrying.

I continued along the edge and dropped down to the head of the clough to Blackden Brook. Now for the bitter bit. Going down the clough is far worse than coming up it. If you thought climbing up the clough was awkward, you can double it and add a bit more, in terms of awkwardness going down.

The Return

The first part of the clough seemed impossibly steep. I made my way slowly and carefully down. I found it tough on my knees. In terms of finding the best path, I think going down was probably better since it gave me a view of potential tracks from above. Once I had gingerly shuffled to the other side of the waterfall I knew that the worst was over and I relaxed a little. A couple of minutes later I came across a dead sheep on the other side of the stream. It was at the bottom of a near vertical crag into the clough. Her head was laying back from her body as though her neck was broken. She hadn't been there this morning and so must have fallen off while I was up on the plateau. This focussed my mind somewhat and I took extra care during the multiple crossings of the brook further down the clough.

My joints were aching a bit by the time I got back to the car. The route along Blackden Brook up to the Kinder Plateau is hard work, but the views are really rather good. It isn't a walk I'd like to do every month, but every 2 years is probably just about right.

As a postscript...when I took my left walking sock off I found that my foot wasn't actually in my inner sock liner. The inner liner had effectively just been stuffed inside my walking sock. I've no idea why I hadn't found this uncomfortable or got any blisters, especially given the difficulty of today's terrain. Quite a mystery and lucky too.