Winter arrived with a dramatic snow day towards the end of November so my sister drove over from the East Coast to spend a few hours on Kinder Scout together. The snow wasn’t very deep other than a few drifts, but the landscape looked magnificent and became progressively icy up on the plateau. We huddled up at the top of Grindsbrook Clough to eat our sandwiches and share hot chocolate. My sister took a couple of tumbles, the first one was funny but the second one not so much. We admired the big icicles hanging from The Pagoda and the pink light glowing on Mam Tor at sunset as we walked home. Eventually, like many great adventures on Kinder Scout, we landed at The Rambler Inn to warm ourselves next to the fire with plates of hot food. It was a fantastic day and start of winter!
Martin Porter says that the 1932 Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout is two stories that cross over. One is the story about how we regained access to the land, and the other one is the story of British communism. In this interview he sets the wider historical context, shares his interpretation of the event, and describes some of the people involved.
Martin lives in Glossop and is the grandson of Claude Porter who was part of the Kinder Trespass in 1932. He has been an environmental activist for more than 20 years and helps to run the Manchester Greenpeace Group.
“It was a wild day on the plateau but one I'll never forget.”
Watch this fantastic YouTube video by Alex Cripps as he follows route 13 from my book: Mountain Walks Kinder Scout. You’ll see the remains of Four Jacks Cabin which has been recently restored, an aircraft wreck, and beautiful footage from the Kinder Scout Plateau and Edale valley.
Alex has many excellent videos on his channel which include walks and wildcamping trips. Subscribe to his channel here and follow him on Instagram.
Jacob’s Ladder and The Woolpacks is a classic route on Kinder Scout. This walk is full of intriguing rock formations, relics of packhorse routes and awe-inspiring views in good weather. The trick is to go on a sunny day when the wind isn’t too strong.
There are many highlights on this walk, including these top 3:
Walking towards The Pagoda and entering the impressive and curious field of boulders known as The Woolpacks - it’s very boggy here but there is restoration work taking place and in winter it can be frozen underfoot which makes walking a bit easier.
The bridge at the foot of Jacob’s Ladder is a lovely place to sit with a flask of coffee while you imagine its former days as a packhorse route.
Enjoying the lovely village of Edale at the beginning and end of this route with its cafes and pubs. The Penny Pot cafe has the fire going in winter, as do the two pubs.
Get the full description for route 10, the map and gpx file by getting a copy of my book Mountain Walks Kinder Scout - now back in stock at Vertebrate Publishing. Let me know if you’d like me to sign it for you.
Staying with the topic of the Mass Trespass, filmmaker Stephen Reid recently returned to the Peak District to tell the story of how Right To Roam in the UK was ultimately won because of the actions of a group of communists in 1932. The video was part-sponsored by Vertebrate Publishing and features my book along with another one from the Mountain Walks series.
This is another fantastic film by Stephen documenting an important historical event in the very place that it happened. I’ve been following his YouTube channel for a few years and really enjoy his film footage, sense of humour, and the wide variety of topics that he covers. Subscribe to his channel here and follow him on Instagram.
Gift a bespoke guided walk with a voucher to print at home or send online. You can personalise it with your own message and choose how much you spend.
My gift vouchers are valid for one year and bookings can be made at short notice with plenty of flexibility. Email sarah@sarahventurer.com for more information.
If you’d like to contribute a blog post on my website or to be interviewed on my podcast then please get in touch. My next guest on Wild About Kinder podcast will be Sarah who shares some of her wildcamps on YouTube.
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