A Quick Trot on Kinder

Sunday 10 March

The plan for Sunday morning was that we were to get up and come home, as there were things to be done. Not least, Mick was rather keen to ensure that he was firmly in front of the TV by the time the England v Wales rugby match got underway.

Our plans often change, and when I snuck a peek out of the window on Sunday morning, and saw these conditions…

With a sky like that, it would have been rude not to, wouldn’t it?

…I put in a plea for a quick trot up Kinder, seeing how far we could get in an hour and a bit, then turning back. With Mick making no objection, I made haste to get us up and out as soon as possible, hoping to stretch the available time a little.

Lilo Lil (also known as Pete), who has been to the Snake Pass Inn a number of times and yet has never been up Kinder, volunteered to come along with us and soon we were all headed up Fair Brook, stripping off layers as we went. The day was clearly going to be as warm as the weather forecasters had predicted.

We made sufficiently good time that I calculated that we could make it around the edge as far as Seal Stones to make our descent, rather than having to do an out and back. It gave Lilo a good taste of what the edge has to offer, and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for it (I suppose, if I was being picky, I would ask for a bit less wind).

Tea was consumed, along with a snack, in the shelter of Seal Stones, whereafter I was to be found trotting down the hill, leaving Mick and Lilo in my wake.

We arrived back at the car park only ten minutes later than our intended departure time and we lost no time in saying farewell and heading home for that all important rugby match.

Alas, luck was not on our side, as we decided to go home via Glossop (it being about 50/50 whether we went via Glossop or via Sheffield) and found the road closed for a serious accident. After waiting around for a while (it not looking overly feasible to swing a 20’ van around on such a narrow stretch of road), news came back that the road would be closed for at least 2 hours. Manoeuvring commenced and, with me hanging out off Colin’s back window shouting ‘STOP!’ at appropriate moments, we proved that a multi-point turn was achievable. Even with the delay and diversion, we got home just in the nick of time, thanks to kick off being a touch later than Mick had thought.

The stats for the day were 4.7 miles walked with 1300’ of up.