Where is Crookstone Knoll?

Crookstone Knoll is on the Eastern Side Of Kinder Scout. It is visibleto see from Snake Pass and Hope.

What is Kinder Scout?

Kinder Scout is amoorlandplateauandnational nature reserve^[4]in theDark Peakof theDerbyshirePeak Districtin England. Part of the moor, at 636 metres (2,087ft) abovesea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and theEast Midlands;^[1]in an early text this summit was identified asthe Peak, and the whole area is often referred to locally asThe PeakorThe Peaks.^[5]In excellent weather conditions, the city ofManchesterand theGreater Manchesterconurbation can be seen from the western edges, as well asWinter HillnearBoltonand the mountains ofSnowdoniainNorth Wales.

To the north, across theSnake Pass, lie the high moors ofBleaklowandBlack Hill, which are of similar elevation.

Kinder Scout featured on the BBC television programmeSeven Natural Wonders(2005) as one of the wonders of theMidlands; however, it is considered by many to be inNorthern England, lying between the cities of Manchester andSheffield. Inchronostratigraphy, the Britishsub-stageof theCarboniferousperiod, theKinderscoutian, derives its name from Kinder Scout.

Etymology[edit]

The name "Kinder" was first recorded in theDomesday Surveyof 1086 asChendre,^[6]and is of obscure meaning.^[7]It is believed to be pre-English in origin.^[7]"Scout" is an old word for a high, overhanging rock (derived from the Norseskúte),^[8]and refers to the cliffs on the western side of the plateau.^[7]

Public access[edit]

Kinder Scout is accessible from the villages ofHayfieldandEdalein theHigh Peakof Derbyshire. It is a popularhikinglocation and thePennine Waycrosses Kinder Scout and the moors to the north. This has resulted in the erosion of the underlyingpeat, prompting work byDerbyshire County Counciland thePeak District National ParkAuthority to repair it, in conjunction with the landowner, theNational Trust.^[9]TheFour Inns Walk, a competitive hiking event crosses over Kinder Scout.

The plateau was the location of theKinder Scout Mass Trespassin 1932. From the National Park's inception, a large area of the high moorland north of Edale was designated as 'Open Country'. In 2003, the "right to roam" on uncultivated land was enshrined into law, and this area of open country has been significantly extended.

Parts of the Kinder Scout plateau (except legal rights of way) are still occasionally closed for conservation, public safety, grouse shooting or fire prevention reasons, but prior notice is generally given on the Peak District National Park Authority's website.^[10]

Landmarks[edit]Kinder Downfall[edit]Kinder Downfall in spate.

Kinder Downfallis the tallestwaterfallin the Peak District, with a 30-metre fall. It lies on theRiver Kinder, where it flows west over one of the gritstone cliffs on the plateau edge. Although usually little more than a trickle in summer, in spate conditions it is impressive. In certain wind conditions (notably when there is a strong westerly wind), the water is blown back on itself, and the resulting cloud of spray can be seen from several miles away. In cold winters the waterfall freezes providing local mountaineers with an icy challenge that can be climbed withice axes, ropes andcrampons. Below the Downfall the River Kinder flows intoKinder Reservoir.

Kinder Downfall frozen in winterThe gritstone edges[edit]

Some of Kinder's many gritstone cliffs were featured in the first rock-climbing guide to the Peak District,Some Gritstone Climbs, published in 1913 and written byJohn Laycock.

Edale Cross[edit]Edale Cross

The Edale Cross lies immediately south of Kinder Scout, under Kinder Low and on the former Hayfield to Edale road. It marks the former junction of the three wards of the Forest of Peak:GlossopandLongdendale,Hopedaleand Campagna. The first cross on the site may have been set up by the Abbots ofBasingwerk Abbeyto mark the southern boundary of their land, granted in 1157. The date of the current cross is unknown, although an adjoining plaque^[11]and its listing as a Scheduled Monument^[12]date it to the mediaeval period. At some point it fell down, and was re-erected in 1810, when the date and initials JG, WD, GH, JH and JS were carved into it. These stand for John Gee, William Drinkwater, George and Joseph Hadfield and John Shirt, local farmers of the day who raised the cross.^[13]

Mermaid's Pool[edit]

Main article:Mermaid's Pool (Peak District)

Mermaid's Pool, a small pool below Kinder Downfall, is said, according to legend, to be inhabited by a mermaid who will grant immortality upon whoever sees her on Easter Eve.^[14]

Kinder Low[edit]

Kinder Low at 633 metres (2,077ft) abovesea levelis a subsidiary summit at the south west corner of the plateau. Surmounted by atrig pointand with steep slopes to south and west it is often mistaken as the highest point. The true summit, which is 3 metres (9.8ft) higher, is an unmarked point on the flat plateau 900 metres (3,000ft) to the north east.^[15]Low is an old dialect word meaning 'hill top'.

Kinderlow bowl barrow[edit]

A bowl barrow, thought to be unexcavated and to date from theBronze Age, stands on Kinder Low, a western projection of the main massif above Hayfield.^[16]

View[edit]

Major English and Welsh peaks visible (in ideal conditions) from Kinder Scout include (clockwise from west)Winter Hill(50km, 31mi),Pendle Hill(61km, 38mi),Ingleborough(93km, 58mi),Whernside(100km, 62mi),Pen-y-ghent(90km, 56mi),Fountains Fell(87km, 54mi),Buckden Pike(92km, 57mi),Great Whernside(87km, 54mi),Bleaklow(8km, 5mi),Margery Hill(13km, 8mi), theWeaver Hills(42km, 26mi),Axe Edge(18km, 11mi),The Roaches(26km, 16mi),Shutlingsloe(21km, 13mi),Shining Tor(16km, 10mi), theLong Mynd(114km, 71mi),Stiperstones(114km, 71mi),Corndon Hill(119km, 74mi), Cilfaesty Hill (142km, 88mi),Moel y Golfa(109km, 68mi),Plynlimon(164km, 102mi),Cadair Berwyn(116km, 72mi),Beeston Castle(61km, 38mi),Alderley Edge(24km, 15mi),Arenig Fawr(135km, 84mi),Moel Famau(97km, 60mi),Snowdon(151km, 94mi),Glyder Fach(146km, 91mi),Tryfan(145km, 90mi),Y Garn(148km, 92mi),Carnedd Llewelyn(142km, 88mi) andFoel-fras(140km, 87mi).^[17]

Tone poem[edit]

The orchestral sketchKinder Scoutwas composed byPatrick Hadley, written for the Buxton Spa Orchestra and its occasional director George Cathie. It was first performed inBuxtonin September 1923. Hadley had an emotional attachment to the Derbyshire peaks, which are also celebrated in his later cantataThe Hills(1943).^[18]

See also[edit]

• Pennines
• Rambling

References[edit]

1. ^Jump up to:^abBathurst, David (2012).Walking the county high points of England. Chichester: Summersdale. pp.234–241.ISBN978-1-84-953239-6.
2. ^Nuttall, J.; Nuttall, A. (1990).The Mountains of England & Wales – Volume 2: England.Milnthorpe: Cicerone.ISBN1-85284-037-4. Retrieved23 August2009.
3. ^Kinder Scoutatwww.hill-bagging.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
4. ^Anon."Kinder Scout NNR".Natural England:Our work. Natural England. Retrieved1 August2014.
5. ^Bartholomew, John (1887)."Diagram Showing Comparative Heights of Mountains, Places, etc. in the British Isles".Gazetteer of the British Isles, statistical and topographical. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. Plate 2 after text.
6. ^Ekwall, Eilert (1947).The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p.264.
7. ^Jump up to:^abcHey, David (2011)."Kinder Scout and the legend of the Mass Trespass"(PDF).Agricultural History Review.59(2): 199.
8. ^"Scout".Oxford English Dictionary(Onlineed.).Oxford University Press.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)
9. ^Peak District National Park Authority, Landscape Strategy and Action Plan, September 2009 (section on Dark Peak)
10. ^"Access land restrictions".www.peakdistrict.gov.uk. Peak District National Park Authority. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2017. Retrieved31 January2017.
11. ^Bennet, Roger (Winter 2019)."Edale Cross".Peak & Northern Footpaths Society. Signpost 63 (Winter 2019). Retrieved16 December2019.
12. ^Historic England."Wayside and boundary cross known as Edale Cross (1008615)".National Heritage List for England. Retrieved16 December2019.
13. ^Sharpe, Neville T. (2002).Crosses of the Peak District. Landmark Collectors Library.ISBN978-1843060444.
14. ^Hope, Robert Charles (1893).The Legendary Lore of the Holy Wells of England. London: Elliot Stock.
15. ^"TP4216 - Kinder Low".Hill Explorer. Hill Explorer. Retrieved5 December2020.
16. ^Historic England."Kinderlow bowl barrow (1008068)".National Heritage List for England. Retrieved16 December2019.
17. ^de Ferranti, J. C. (1995)."View from Kinder Scout".viewfinderpanoramas.org. Retrieved10 August2016.
18. ^Foreman, Lewis. Notes to British Tone Poems, Volume 2, Chandos Records (2019