Kinder Scout is a high plateau of wild moorland between Manchester and Sheffield. Its western slopes, accessed through the small village of Hayfield, were the scene in 1932 of the Hayfield Kinder Scout Mass Trespass. This was an event in which hundreds of young men and women, mainly from Salford and Manchester, marched onto private land despite the efforts of police and gamekeepers to stop them. Five of the leaders were arrested and sentenced to hard labour in prison for up to six months, simply for walking on the moors, which led to a huge outcry in liberal circles in the UK – and played a key role in the creation of the first National Park in 1948 (opened in 1951). This shot looks towards the dark slopes of Kinder and hopefully captures the sheer exhilaration of the freedom of access to our countryside.
