The first of a couple of hikes in the Kinder Scout Nature Reserve in the Peak District National Park, this loop via Jacobs Ladder up to Kinder Low starts at Barber Booth, a small hamlet in Edale (Derbyshire). The Kinder Scout area has been described as the most impressive place to walk in the Peak District – and this loop offers some great views and cool rock formations.
As with many English hikes, the route starts along a country lane which ascends gently past farmland. A distinctive red phone booth is not what it seems… the charity Community HeartBeat Trust has transformed more than 160 decommissioned phone boxes into defibrillator stations. I suppose you might be in for a shock if you’re drunk and try to call for a taxi…
The route passes a few old stone building where it meet the historic Pennine Way, a 268-mile National Trail in England that starts here in (Edale) in the Peak District and continues north to Kirk Yetholm near the Scottish border.
The Pennine Way climbs gently the Vale of Edale, past green rolling hills. The scenery looks a little like the classic Windows XP desktop wallpaper – maybe someone from Microsoft will read my blog and offer me $100,000 to use my photo…
The trail follows the River Noe, a tributary of the River Derwent, upstream before eventually reaching a 17th century stone packhorse bridge (a designated Grade II listed structure, whatever that means).
This is the start of Jacobs Ladder, a set of stone steps that lead from the Vale of Edale to the Kinder Plateau and is one of the main routes to the Kinder Scout peak. Jacob’s Ladder is thought to have been named after a local farmer (Jacob Marshall) who farmed here in the 18th century.
From the top of the “ladder” the Pennine Way continues to ascend, with the trail getting a bit rougher. On the opposite side of the valley (The Cloughs ) is Pym Chair & Crowden Tower, which is along the return half of this loop hike.
As you’d expect, there are some great views back down over the Vale of Edale and surrounding hills as the trail gains elevation.
The Pennine Way flattens out as it reaches the Kinder plateau. There’s a number of trails that traverse the plateau, and many different options you can take from here.
I continue along the Pennine Way, passing Swine’s Back (596m) and Edale Rocks, a small, rocky outcrop.
I’m heading to Kinder Low (638m, a trig point on the main summit of Kinder, which offers 360-degree views over the Kinder plateau.
The Pennine Way continues northwards from Kinder Low; I veer to the east across the plateau towards Crowden Tower past the distinctive Noe Stool rock formation.
It’s a fairly good track which traverses the plateau, and I only see a handful of other hikers. On the left of the trail is the Pym Chair rock formation.
To the south – on the other side of The Cloughs – is the Pennine Way and Jacobs Ladder.
The trail passes through the Woolpacks, a collection of weathered gritstone outcrops described as a “natural sculpture park”.
The trail passes a few more interesting rock formations, with nice views over the valley to the south.
There is also a great view back towards Kinder Low.
There’s another unusual rock formation as the trail approaches Crowden Tower.
Directly ahead is Grindslow Knoll (601m), a hill in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park and the high point at the western side of Grindsbrook Clough.
There are sweeping views from the top of Grindslow Knoll over a large portion of the southern Peak District, from the gentle slopes of the Vale of Edale to the west to the steeper Grindsbrook Clough to the east.
From Grindslow Knoll I start descending, taking a trail to the south-east off the Kinder plateau.
The rocky trail descends fairly steeply through farmlanf, before veering to the south.
Near the bottom of the valley the trail meets the Pennine Way. This the start of the Pennine Way – a few hundred metres to the east is the Old Nags Head pub and the official starting gate fo the trail (this would be an alternate start point for this hike).
The Pennine Way undulates along the bottom of Broadlee-bank Tor, above Shaw Wood.
It descends slightly as it reaches Upper Booth Farm and Barber Booth, to complete the loop.
The loop has taken about three hours; you could easily extend it, but this route takes in some of the best bits of the Peak District National Park.
Getting to Kinder Low via Jacobs Ladder
There are a few places where you can start this loop; I parked at Barber Booth which is off Edale Road in Edale, and has a large parking area. A parking fee is payable by card or cash. Alternatively, you could start from the Old Nags Head pub on Marys Lane, which is also the trailhead for the Pennine Way. Both trailheads are about 30 miles (one hour drive) from Manchester or 20 miles (45min) from Sheffield. Regular train services run to Edale from Sheffield in the east and Manchester in the west, with a 10min walk from the Old Nags Head and Pennine Way trailhead.
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