Spirit of Kinder comes to Sheffield

Press release from the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Comittee 

The annual Spirit of Kinder event, celebrating Kinder Scout and the 1932 Mass 

Trespass, comes to Sheffield on Saturday, April 26.

The event, which will also celebrate 10 years of the implementation of the CROW Act which gave the Right to Roam in open country, is organised by the Kinder & High Peak Advisory Committee and will be held at Sheffield Town Hall starting at 2.30pm. It is free and open to all.

 Group chairman Terry Howard said: “Sheffield’s vital role in the Mass Trespass and the fight to gain access to our mountains and moorlands is often overlooked. We aim to put that right at this event, and also to highlight to important work that Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Moors Partnership is doing to encourage access to the moors of Sheffield’s Golden Frame.”

One of the keynote speakers, John Mothersole, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, added: “We should never forget the community spirit that confronted a great sense of injustice.  That spirit does live on in our commitment to, and enjoyment of, the great asset we have both in and close to our city.  This event reminds us of that, but also needs to drive us forward”.

In addition to Mr Mothersole, the other keynote speaker will be the forthright national President of the Ramblers and General Secretary of the Open Spaces Society, Kate Ashbrook. Sheffield’s Walking Champion, Coun. Peter Price of Sheffield City Council, will be master of ceremonies.

Other speakers will include Bill Bevan, the Sheffield-based archaeologist and interpreter, who will describe the prehistory of Kinder Scout, and Annabelle Kennedy of the Sheffield Wildlife Trust, who will outline the work of the Sheffield Moors Partnership.

Young representatives of the Woodcraft Folk will describe the various Sheffield trespasses which took place during the 1930s, including the often-forgotten successful Abbey Brook Trespass on September 18, 1932.

 Among the organisations expected to attend are the Ramblers (National, Sheffield and Manchester); Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; Peak & Northern Footpaths Society; British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust;  Peak District National Park Authority; Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation; the Sheffield Moors Partnership and Friends of the Peak District (CPRE).

For more details and further information on the Spirit of Kinder Day, contact Roly Smith on 01629 812034 (roly.smith@btconnect.com) or Terry Howard on 0114 266 5438 or (tmhoward@live.co.uk).