After a sustained period of neglect, I thought I'd update the walking blog with an outing from a couple of weeks ago. This walk was inspired by the sudden surprise burst of sunshine in early April so a massive amount of planning hadn't gone into it but this one sprung to mind as it takes in a good chunk of the Pennine Way south of Crowden which I've not seen before, plus I've never visited Hayfield or been up Kinder Scout before so it was ticking a good few boxes in one go. Getting to Hayfield was pretty straightforward with a bus from pretty much on my doorstep to Glossop to switch to the Hayfield service and all for less than a fiver.
Hayfield is thought to date back to Roman times and thanks to the bypass the village remains pleasantly tranquil. As this was going to be last bit of civilization for about 5 hours, I took the opportunity to fuel up on a top notch sandwich and cold drink at nice old school cafe before heading towards the road to Kinder Reservoir. I had not yet decided to pass to the west or east of the reservoir which lay between me and the climb to Kinder Scout but my mind was made when I came across the start of The Snake Path (as well as another future walk to be done). The path took me up a pleasant climb until I got my first sight of Kinder Scout, from behind Mill Hill.
At this point I realised that my pictures had a blue tint due to the fact my lens still had the plastic protective cover on, before following path that gave some superb views of the water below before the steep descent to William Clough which gave me an idea of the 1000 foot climb I had ahead of me.
The climb up was fairly hard work, for someone a little out of practice, and required a couple of rest breaks but the views were well worth it, particularly once up top having joined with The Pennine Way amongst the rocks.
Heading down from the top, the steep ascent is assisted by stone steps before the Pennine Way strikes out out north crossing the Snake Path and taking a gentle climb towards the A57. The walk felt very easy after the hard work of earlier and progress was speedy assisted by flagstones across the soft peat ground and Kinder behind and Bleaklow Hill ahead provided amazing scenery to enjoy.
Having crossed the A57 a long straight path takes you towards Bleaklow head before the terrain turns to gulleys and the ground becomes a lot more challenging with lots of large rocks underfoot, there was an opportunity to refill my water from the source of the River Alport before the landscape levels out to the head itself, the second peak of the day.
From here it was literally downhill all the way as the Pennine Way kinks west in order to make along the ridge at the top of Torside Clough in order to descend into the Longendale Valley and it was decision time for me as to how to end the route. My first thought had been to cross over to the A628 and follow that into Tintwistle to connect with a bus home but a walk along a rather busy road did not appeal so instead I opted for the Longendale Trail into Hadfield instead.
Once the descent had been completed I had time for a brief chat with a Shetland pony before following the valley and reservoirs west to Hadfield. The Longendale Trail is the trackbed of the former Woodhead railway line to Sheffield so there is plenty of space for walkers, cyclists and horse raiders to all enjoy the route at their own pace without getting in each others way with Hadfield Station right at the end for easy connections back into Tameside and Manchester.
A full set of photos can be seen here:- http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150215746112176.355910.533827175&l=ea20737d82
The route of the walk is available here:- http://www.mapmywalk.com/routes/view/31502880
