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For this outing, the weather gurus did a fabulous job, a touch of snow around the eastern edge of Kinder and 13 happy souls were ready for adventure at Blackden.
We set off from the Blackden layby on the A57 at 11am. Encouraged by a gentle breeze, sunshine and blue skies we followed Blackden Brook. At the start it is fairly gentle but the valley becomes steeper and deeper with the path switching from either side of the brook. On drier days the crossings are not too bad but today we had to help one another to cross. At the first, main little waterfall, one of the party insisted that a tea break was required, it was the tea break time. Actually this was such a pleasant spot for enjoying the day.
After the river crossings the valley is steeper, narrower and rockier. This final section of the route requires effort, care and concentration. There are plenty of rocks to scramble over and with a modicum of climbing confidence these can be passed. Our friend Charles would be proud of our efforts and we had certainly deserved another tea break at the top.
The walk on Blackden’s southern boundary was nice and easy, a well defined path with occasional rock hopping, it was not without its muddy sections. With a look left to the gentle initial spur of Dean hill and after counting some stream crossings we selected a point to head south west and venture onto the Kinder plateau to visit the fine patio which is the Blackden triangulation pillar. The next point was the wreck of the Halifax, given the visibility it was not too challenging to locate this. Its possible to get to this point via vague trods but even then watch out for holes where your leg disappears! One of the clubs aircraft wreck enthusiasts provided good information about the history of this aircraft and its crew. The next point was the distinctive Druids stone, to approach this, we took the shortest line between the wreck and the path which traverses the southern edge of the Kinder Plateau.
Having regained the path we enjoyed the remainder of the route with views of Grindslow Knoll, Lose Hill, Mam Tor and the Great Ridge. At the junction with the top end of Jaggers clough we found a well defined path which heads back towards the Blackden edge and going near the Madwomans stones. Locating the line of grouse butts heading north east to Blackley Hey we found a little path and arrived at the shooting cabin for a bonus tea break…. hooray.
The group in high spirits proceeded down towards the boundary of open country and a little path. After a couple of easy river crossings we returned to the slopes of Deanhill and our cars at the Blackden layby. Thank you every one for a great day out.
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