Back To Nature
I used to go on walks with Mat all the time, but somewhere along the line, life got in the way and we just stopped finding the time for it. I’ve gone through a bit of a ‘life overhaul’ recently, which has seen me cooking fresh food more, making the effort to exercise and generally just doing more of the things I love. So I added walking to my list and we decided to go on a big one last weekend to make up for lost time!
Kinder Scout in Derbyshire is the highest gritstone peak in the Peak District, standing at over 600m above sea level. The village of Edale, where you start off, is only about 45-60mins drive from our house in Stockport, so it seemed like the perfect choice to help us get back to nature.
We’re definitely not walking/hiking experts, but I thought I’d share some tips for tackling Kinder Scout and walking in general. I think people are often put off by feeling like they don’t have all the gear, when in reality, you don’t need as much as you think!
My Top Tips for Hiking Kinder Scout
Plan your route. I found the National Trust’s website really useful for planning our route up to Kinder Scout and back down again. We decided on the Kinder Moorland Walk. If you click ‘Printer-friendly version’ you can download it as a PDF for reference on your phone, although the signal can be surprisingly good up there!
Bring water. Mat & I totally forgot to do this because we’re idiots, but it’s thirsty work so bring at least one bottle in your backpack. We did bring a flask of tea though, which is also a great shout because who doesn’t love a cuppa at the top? Oh and flapjacks and crisps too “for energy”!
Check the weather. Even though the weather was showing sunshine/cloud, it ended up being very varied while we were up there and even rained a little at certain points. Be prepared for all eventualities with the Great British weather.
Invest in comfy boots. Walking boots are the one bit of kit I really recommend investing in. Mat got a cheap(ish) pair from Wynsors and I got mine last year from Decathlon. The terrain was rocky and muddy most of the time, so they were much needed and helped support our ankles too.
Wear light layers. I stressed about what to wear (standard) but in the end I went for gym leggings from Adanola (dry fit, comfy & thick!), technical long sleeve top from Roxy (similar here, but Primark do cheap versions too) and a thin waterproof jacket from Decathlon (similar here). When I got too hot, I tied my jacket around my waist, but most of the time I was perfectly fine and the jacket helped keep any wind chill off.
Climb the rocks. There’s lots of big rock formations and sculptures at the top and we had fun climbing on top of them. Plus the views, once the cloud cleared, were amazing.
Overall, we had an amazing day and spent around 4 hours walking. Some parts are quite bleak but the terrain is really varied around Kinder Scout, so you get a well-rounded experience and there are some incredible views down into the valley.
If you want to see more, please do have a watch of my vlog of our day above. You can also find more of my videos over on my YouTube channel, so subscribe if you haven’t already!
Have you hiked up to Kinder Scout before? Where should we go for our next walking adventure? Find more travel inspiration on my blog here.
