Crowden Clough to Kinder Scout Walk | 8 Miles

August 23, 2022 CIRCULAR WALKS, MEDIUM WALKS 4-9 MILES, PEAK DISTRICT WALKS, PEAK DISTRICT WALKS WITH KIDS

This Kinder Scout walk starts from Barber Booth and takes you up the Crowden Clough scramble onto the Kinder plateau before heading to Kinder Downfall, Kinder Low trig point and back down Jacob’s Ladder to Edale. This is a 7.8 mile (13km) walk with the Grade 1 Crowden Clough scramble making for a fun way to get to the top of Kinder Scout!

 

Our walk started from the small car park at Barber Booth and we headed off along the road towards the Upper Booth Farm Campsite in Edale. Past the site, we turned right into the woodland and followed the top path along the wall and into the woodland.

 

We crossed the little wooden bridge over the stream, turning right to follow the path along the top of the woodland towards Crowden Clough. We passed a National Trust sign at the gate.

 

The path runs parallel to Crowden Clough but there’s a waterfall which is worthy of a detour. It’s just down from the main path (it’s marked as a highlight on the Komoot map) and has a pool where you can have a dip.

We followed the path as it climbed up through the valley. It runs alongside Crowden Brook and there are lots of small waterfalls and pools to spot.

We crossed over a stile and the path splits. We took the right hand fork for the Crowden Clough scramble – the left hand fork is the steep path that runs up Crowden Clough.

Crowden Clough Scramble

The scramble itself is pretty straightforward, with lots of big boulders to negotiate. If you try this scramble, you’ll have to pick your own way up as everyone is different. There’s one section where there looks to be a waterfall in wetter months, so we stuck to the left of this and stayed dry.

Holly loves to scramble and we’ve done quite a few now, but as she’s 10 we always help her if she needs it. We choose dry days, after a period of dry weather, and go at her pace. Building her confidence this way has worked really well for her – often she wants to go off in front now!

 

Once up at the top, we headed right and then followed the faint paths across the top of the Kinder Scout plateau to the River Kinder and on to the Kinder Downfall. As ever, it was misty when we got there (I’ve never seen this waterfall flowing! It’s always either misty or dry AF). We then followed the main path around the edge of the plateau, with amazing views down over Kinder Reservoir when the mist began to clear. We could also see the Mermaids Pool, although it’s more a Mermaids Puddle after all this hot weather we’ve had!

We re-bagged the Kinder Low trig point, and then headed down the famous Jacob’s Ladder path back to the car, passing the beautiful old packhorse bridge on the way.

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This was another brilliant scramble, and if you want to try scrambling in the Peak District you should definitely read the book Scrambles in the Dark Peak by Tom Corker and Terry Sleaford which is full of amazing scrambles to do. They’re graded from 1 to 3 depending on difficulty and they take you all over the Dark Peak.

 

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Here’s the route map for this Kinder Scout walk.

Crowden Clough Scramble Walk Map:

 

Walk Map (Opens in OS Maps): Crowden Clough to Kinder Scout Hike

Parking: Barber Booth, Edale Rd High Peak S33 7ZL. W3W:// version.plod.secures Pay and Display: £4.75 for the day

Facilities: None

Walk Time: 3-4 hours depending on speed and fitness

Difficulty: ▲▲▲

Distance: 7.7 miles (13 km)

Trig Points Bagged: Kinder Low

Peak District Peaks Bagged: None

Peak District Ethels Bagged: Kinder Scout

 

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For more Peak District scrambles, you might like:

Kinder Downfall Walk via Nether Red Brook Scramble

Higher Shelf Stones via Ashton Clough Scramble

How to Find The Trinnacle at Dove Stones

Edale to Grindslow Knoll Circular Walk

 

For more walks near Edale, you could try:

Mam Tor and Rushup Edge Circular Walk

Castleton, Mam Tor and The Great Ridge Walk

Mini Edale Skyline Circular Walk