Peak District – Wild Camping – Grindslow Knoll on Kinder Scout

It’s the school holiday’s, the weather is getting better, so that means only one thing…. Convince my daughter that the best way to spend an evening is up a mountain somewhere. As it’s Peak Routes, that somewhere is naturally the Peak District, The Glorious Peak District. Let me tell you folks, the UK’s First National Park certainly lived up to the title of Glorious once again on this overnight trip.

My daughter trying to hide from the camera while walking in the Vale of Edale

The Vale of Edale from Grindslow Knoll

It took us around an hour to get up to the top of Grindslow Knoll, I didn’t want to walk too quickly as this was the first steep walk I’ve taken my daughter on in a while. She did Snowdon when she was 8 years old but I’m always conscious not to walk too quickly, so she doesn’t get put off for life by the ordeal :-).

“Let the Time Lapsing commence” – Recording a Time Lapse with my GoPro Hero 3

We had both the tents pitched in no time at all so it was time to sit back and enjoy the views… oh yes, while time lapsing them with the GoPro too. I had taken my improvised GoPole with me again this time, so I used it as a monopod by driving the end of the walking pole in to the ground, it worked very well indeed and the footage I recorded was nice and smooth.

Mam Tor in the distance and the tarns above Broadlee-Bank Tor in the foreground

The “2 year old but never used” Karrimor X Lite in the foreground and my trusty Wild Country Zephyros 1 in the background

Gritstone rocks on Grindslow Knoll

The Karrimor X Lite in the foreground and my trusty Wild Country Zephyros 1 in the background

I honestly can’t put in to words how stunning the sunset was, the colours were absolutely amazing and I guess i’ll just have to let the pictures and video footage do the talking.

The GoPro Hero 3 shooting a sunset Time Lapse

At the going down of the sun…

Red Sky over the Kinder Plateau

listen to ‘Peak District – Kinder Scout – Wild Camp & Sunset’ on Audioboo

After enjoying a great evening it was time to retire to the tents and get some sleep, I managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep and woke up a few times and checked out the views as we had a full moon tonight. The temperature dropped to around zero degrees during the night as when I woke up just before dawn I discovered that the tents had a layer of frost on the western side. I got some water boiling using the Caldera Keg stove and then proceeded to set up the GoPro once again to time lapse the sunrise.

Early morning light in the Vale of Edale just before sunrise

Camp Selfie… in every sense of the word

Early morning light in the Vale of Edale just before sunrise

Brew time with the Caldera Keg

A touch of frost on the western side of the tents

Once again, I think i’ll let the images and the video do the talking here as my limited vocabulary really won’t do the views justice. The light was superb down in the Vale of Edale as the sun rose and I sat there with a very strong coffee soaking up all that lay in front of me. It was yet another one of those “Wow” moments that makes me feel so lucky to live within a close proximity to such a spectacular place.

Sunrise over the Vale of Edale

GoPro Hero 3 recording a time lapse of the sunrise over the eastern flanks of Kinder Scout

Sunrise over the Vale of Edale

Once the sun had risen and we had both eaten some breakfast it was time to pack away and head back down to the car. We had lots to do during the day so sadly we couldn’t make the most of the sunshine by going on a longer walk, I let the tents thaw out in the sun for a moment before rolling them both up and leaving no trace of our visit at our camp location.

Looking down towards Grindsbrook Clough from Grindslow Knoll

During the morning I had been watching the smoke rise from a fire down in the Vale of Edale, the wind had slowly begun to blow the smoke to the west, then to the east and it had swung back to the west once again by the time we were descending down in to the valley. It didn’t take us very long at all to reach the bottom of the track which eventually proceeds along the fields back towards Edale, my daughter informed me she much prefers the descent to the ascent…. fair enough. I’m the opposite way around personally, I much prefer ascending as I get in to a rhythm and it is less harsh on my knees 🙂

listen to ‘Peak District – Kinder Scout – Wild Camp & Sunrise’ on Audioboo

Edale was very quite this morning, we only saw a couple of walkers and the postman doing his deliveries. It really was a shame to have to head home but duty calls and there will always be another day. The trip had been a great success in many ways, the weather had been great, the views had been stunning and most important of all my daughter had enjoyed it. As always, thanks for reading, listening, watching and taking the time to share and comment if you chose to do so. Fingers crossed opportunities will arise again very soon to get out for another Wild Camp, I’m walking Hadrian’s Wall in a months time so at least i’ll get my camping/outdoor fix then 🙂

Advertisement