Barry & Mike's Coast to Coast: October 2009

Last weekend we did our first practice walk: a 23 mile hike in the Kinder Scout area; the highest point in the Peak District. The day started with an early wake up at 5AM, a 2 hour journey to Hope Valley (the start of our walk), then a start at around 8:30AM. We were not really sure how long it was going to take us travelling in an unfamiliar area so we decided to maximise the amount of daylight we could get on the hike. For those who don't know, Kinder Scout is a very large plateau, where walkers typically climb on top then walk around it (see map below):

The walk up onto the plateau (to Grinsdale Knoll) was a little bit 'knackering' to say the least, however the views once we got to the top were spectacular. We should mention that we were particularly lucky with the weather (the entire day was sunny with a light breeze). Due to most of the route consisting of walking around the edge of the mostly flat but quite rocky/muddy plateau, our orienteering skills were not significantly tested. Due to the fast approaching darkness towards the end of the hike a few detours were required i.e. instead of coming down from the plateau using the same route as for the ascent, we decided to descend using Jacobs ladder in order to ensure that we got off the 'mountain' before it got dark. We managed to do the walk in about 10 hours at a fairly leisurely pace including a number of stops on the way.

Here are some photos of the walk:

The intrepid adventurers begin their journey..