Quick intros to Britain's favourite hills: this week Kinder Scout, the high point of the Peak District and the symbolic crucible of public access to the countryside. It may be sandwiched between two major cities, but this Pennine favourite retains its wild edge.

Height: 636m

Personality: Conflicted. Kinder Scout's vast summit plateau is as bleak and peaty as anywhere in the Pennines (that is to say, very). But on all flanks this barren table is hedged around with dramatic rocky edges, and it's these that give it a mountain feel.

What's in a name? Kinder Scout is thought to derive from Kinder Scut, the former name of the famous waterfall of Kinder Downfall.

Who does it? With an estimated 20 million people living within an hour's drive of the Peak District you can expect to bump into more or less anyone on the highest hill in the National Park.

Why climb it? Take the train to Edale and make the short, steep ascent of the southern flank; in just a couple of hours from downtown Manchester or Sheffield you can be up with the skylarks on the Peak District's only genuine mountain. On a clear day you can see Snowdonia. And Manchester.

Unusual feature: Dropping 30m from the plateau rim, Kinder Downfall is the Peak District's highest waterfall - and one of the highest in altitude. Depending on conditions the flow varies between a trickle and a torrent, and it's at its most impressive when the wind blows the stream back uphill in a plume of spray. In a rare cold winter the fall freezes enough to be climbable - a popular classic, if short lived. Whether Kinder Downfall is 'in' is a long-running joke on the UKC forums; the answer is almost invariably no.

Pub quiz trivia: The celebrated Kinder Mass Trespass of 1932 saw scores of ramblers from nearby industrial towns take to the moor to protest at draconian access laws. This landmark event in the long fight for public access to the countryside had long repercussions. The Kinder Trespass arguably influenced the establishment of the Peak District National Park, Britain's first, in 1951, and the Pennine Way in the mid 1960s. The campaign of the 1930s eventually resulted, around seventy years later, in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Under CRoW legislation the public now have a right to roam across all open access land, including Kinder Scout.

Unlikely story: A mermaid is said to inhabit an eponymous pool near Kinder Downfall. Anyone who sees her on Easter eve will be granted immortality.

What's the best route? Got time and energy to spare? Taking in the scenic southern edge of Kinder Scout, along with the Great Ridge, the circuit of Edale's skyline is a classic challenge that gives a full flavour of the Dark Peak's barren moors, gritstone edges and pretty dales. See a recent article on the route by Alex Roddie here

Where to stay? YHA Edale is well placed for budget beds in easy striking distance of Kinder Scout.

And afterwards? The Old Nag's Head, Edale. With its draught ale and traditional grub this quaint 16th Century watering hole is everything you'd want from a country pub. And it couldn't be better located, right at the foot of the hill: 01433 670291

Photo Gallery

View all photos Upload your photos