Always take a compass

With its highest point standing at 636m above sea level, Kinder Scout is the highest point in the Peak District, the highest point in Derbyshire and the highest point in the East Midlands as well as being the site for the Mass Trespass in 1932 - it's also a place I've never visited or walked in and so we decided to take a "quick" trip up to the village of Edale in the Peak District and see Kinder Scout for ourselves. So after a very early start we arrived in the small hamlet of Upper Booth, just west of Edale, which was to be our starting point for the walk. Donna had planned out a 10mile loop from, and returning to, Upper Booth with a short "there and back" leg that took us to Kinder Downfall - a place that both of us were keen to see. Although the drive up, all 3.5 hours of it, as well as the week leading up to the walk had been pretty much solid rain we were pleasantly surprised to find that, although fairly breezy, it was dry and the sky didn&#

A day of training had been pencilled in my diary and it was going to be different types of training for everyone involved.  For me it was the first real chance to lead a group of people that I didn't have any prior knowledge of over 2 days, on 2 routes that I planned out; for Donna it was a chance to test the fitness that she'd been building up in prep for the Samsung 3 Peaks Walk on May 11th and for Anna it was her first real taste of "the mountains" - again in preparation for the 3 Peaks.  Colin had just come along for the ride really (or walk) and to support Anna! The Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains had been selected as the place to walk and the route for Day 1 was a fairly standard yomp around the Pen-y-Fan horseshoe (Crybin - Pen-y-Fan - Corn Du) and then I'd planned out a 9mile circular route for Day 2 which took in the peak of Waun Fach (811m). 2 walks, over 2 days and I'd planned as thoroughly as possible - the only thing I couldn't p

I gave myself a day of rest (well it was more unpacking, washing and re-packing!) after my Mountain Leader training course before we set off on the 3hr drive to Postbridge which was to be the start of our 2 day walk, and wild camp, on Dartmoor. (Detail from my Garmin Edge 605 - via Garmin Connect) Day 1 After arriving at Postbridge and sorting our kit we headed off on North Westerly path that follows the East Dart River before heading up onto Broad Down.  Our aim was to head on a NW course across Dartmoor until we reached the area around High Willhays which would be our campsite for the night. The first hour or so was fairly good going, with fairly decent weather and solid ground underfoot, but this soon changed when we crossed into the Okehampton range area towards Flat Tor.  The ground became increasingly boggy and although it wasn't raining (yet) walking over this slowed us down to around 1mph! By the time we'd made our way up onto Cut Hill (604m) the weather h