Below Kinder Scout: A Circular Walk Around Kinder Reservoir, High Peak

Starting at Hayfield War Memorial, this circuit sets out through Hayfield Park before climbing steadily into the western fringes of the Kinder plateau. The route passes Twenty Trees and Blackshaws as the village falls away, opening up wide views over the Sett Valley and the moorland skyline of the High Peak.

Higher up, the path traverses Upper Moor with Kinder Reservoir cradled below and the crags of Heron Crags, Kinder Bank and Elle Bank rising around you. A descent brings you alongside the River Kinder near Foxholes Clough, where the water tumbles down from the plateau above, before the track leads on to Hill Houses.

From here it is an easy return through pasture and lane back into Hayfield to finish. Although billed as a linear route, the walk loops neatly around the reservoir, offering a compact but rewarding sample of Kinder Scout's lower slopes without committing to the full plateau crossing.