Nether & Upper Red Brooks

Scrambling Nether and Upper Red Brooks under the Kinder Plateau in the High Peak. Summary verdict: Nether RB is a decent grade 1 scramble, Upper RB less so, but the approach route is well over an hour

Route in: park in one of the four lay-bys along the A57 just to the south-east of the old Snake Inn and then along the footpath that runs to and beyond Fairbrook Naze, or at the Birchin Clough car park further north on the A57 and walk through Snake Woodland and west along Snake Path then cut across country to the start points

Start points: where each brook crosses the Kinder Exclusion Fence: OS ref SK 08451 89988 for Nether Red Brook; SK 07954 89888 for Upper Red Brook

Grading: there’s a reasonable amount of grade 1 scrambling on Nether RB especially at the top; there’s a smaller amount at the top of Upper RB

Notes: if you want to scramble both there’s a vague sheep path running steeply and diagonally down the hillside to the west of the top of Nether RB; it peters out but you can keep going to the start of Upper RB

End points: where each of the brooks meets the northern Kinder Plateau path: OS ref SK 08596 89685 for Nether RB; SK 07967 89723 for Upper RB

Route out: walk east along the Kinder Plateau path, down Fairbrook Naze and back to the A57 or through Snake Woodlands if parked at Birchin Clough, or you can zig-zag from the Naze to the River Ashop and back along that to Birchin Clough

Time: around 70 mins from CP to Nether RB start point; about 50 mins to scramble Nether RB, 15 mins to walk down to the start of Upper RB, and 30 mins to scramble Upper RB; then about 80 mins to walk back to Snake Inn, 90-100 mins to get back to Birchin

Combine with: rocky gullies to the right of Nether RB; possibly River Kinder; one option for a wet-plus-dry introductory scramble would be combining the first part of Fair Brook with Nether Red Brook but it’s a one-hour walk between the two

Gear: a wetsuit wasn’t essential but useful for Nether RB’s waterfalls

Verdict: Upper Red Brook isn’t worth a visit on its own, Nether Red Brook is much more enjoyable but both are a long way from anywhere

Category: Standard

Score: 7/10 for Nether Red Brook, 5/10 for Upper Red Brook (my 6 in the video was a bit generous)

Video guide: