Kinder from Upper Booth

Inspired by a recent visit to Edale for the Fell race I returned for a Father's day walk up to Kinder Downfall and back round via Grindslow Knoll.

We parked in the parking area on the road to Upper Booth ("You are here" on the map) and then continued up the road on foot to pick up the Pennine way.   There's more spaces in Edale itself with toilets, cafe and pubs but this suited us nicely and we called in on Edale after we had finished.

Once on the Pennine way we pretty much followed a route as shown on the map up to Kinder Downfall back across the Peat bogs to Crowden Tower before heading across to Grindlow Knoll and back down.  Just over 8 miles in total.
Route on Endomondo

The picture on the left shows the valley up which the pennine way travels before arriving at Jacob's ladder.  There's quite a number of ways to get up onto Kinder but judging by the number of people coming up and down, this must be one of the more popular.

Bottom of Jacob's Ladder

Its then quite a steep but steady climb all the way to the top but the effort is rewarded whenever a pause is made to turn around and take in the expanding views.

Once at the top we have then continued straight on up the Pennine way to Kinder downfall before turning right to follow the river into and across the peat.  This gives us two very different aspects of Kinder.  On the way out we are amongst the rocks and boulders and have fantastic views to the left down to Kinder reservoir, and on the way back we are in the gulleys, finding Christmas trees and  hopping across the tufts with only one of us temporarily losing a leg to the marsh. 

After reaching Crowden Tower instead of taking one of the routes straight down we've turned left and headed off to take in Grindlow Knoll which was well worth it if only to have a look at the route taken by the fell race the previous week.  From there it was across the plateau on a grassy path before a steep descent back onto the Pennine Way.  Lovely days walking and lots of route choices so its easy to be flexible when you are up there.  And, the rain started just as we were walking down the lane back to the car, perfect.

Approaching Crowden Tower

Views from the top of Kinder Downfall