Kinder Scout is the high area of moorland lying in the triangle between the town of Glossop, the village of Hayfield, and Ladybower reservoir to the east. The mountain is formed of a high plateau of peat layered upon underlying gritstone. At its edges, the plateau falls away into the surrounding landscape in a series of dramatic rock cliffs and waterfalls. Most striking is the Kinder Downfall, on the west of the mountain, where the spectacular waterfall is often blown upwards by high winds.
Now popular with walkers and climbers all year round, in April 1932 the mountain was the scene of a mass trespass by 400 ramblers from Manchester, who defied the local gamekeepers, and faced arrest and imprisonment in their quest to obtain access for all to this wild area. This event is credited with starting the movement to create Britain’s National Parks.
Declared a National Nature Reserve in 2009, Kinder’s 700 hectares of important upland habitat is home to several species of birds of prey, as well as golden plover, curlew and ring ouzel. An exciting sight in winter is the mountain hare, which changes the colour of its coat from brown to white.
