Kinder Scout, the Peak District hill at the centre of one of access campaigners' most important battles
A member of the band that notoriously doused John Prescott with water will join a male voice choir at celebrations to mark a seminal event in the battle for countryside access.
Boff Whalley, a founder member of anarcho-punk-pop band Chumbawamba will perform during a day commemorating the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass.
And Chapel-en-le-Frith Male Voice Choir will reprise its rendition of The Manchester Rambler at the event at New Mills Town Hall later this month.
Mr Whalley will sing Chumbawamba’s tribute to the mass trespass, You Can, from their 2005 album A Singsong and a Scrap, accompanied by accordion player Phil Moody. The band gained notoriety when members emptied a jug of water over the then Deputy Prime Minister at the 1998 Brit Awards.
The day of celebrations follow last year’s 80th anniversary event at Edale last year. It has been organised by the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Committee.
Roly Smith, chairman of the Kinder 80 Committee, said: “Members of the KHPAC decided that the enthusiasm engendered by the 80th anniversary celebrations last year should not be allowed to wane, and that the event should become an annual one, to keep the spirit of Kinder and the trespass alive.”
The main speaker at New Mills will be Ramblers president and Open Spaces Society general secretary Kate Ashbrook.
Other speakers will be Terry Howard, chairman of the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Committee; Keith Warrender, publisher of The Battle for Kinder Scout, and Jon Stewart, manager of the National Trust’s Peak District estate, which includes Kinder Scout.
The Chapel choir was a hit when they performed at the 80th anniversary celebrations. Chairman Geoff Read said: “The whole choir is very enthusiastic about the occasion and honoured to be associated with it again.”
New Mills Town Hall, venue for the event
The event on Saturday 27 April will also see Kate Ashbrook launch the Friends of Kinder Trespass membership group, organised by the Kinder Visitor Centre Group of Hayfield, which has long-term plans for a trespass visitor centre in the village.
John Harvey, chairman of KVCG: said: “Our campaign has already been endorsed by people like Sir Chris Bonington, Lord (Roy) Hattersley and Kate Ashbrook.
“We now need the general public to join us. We hope to get support from some of the millions of keen walkers and outdoor pursuits enthusiasts who are benefitting from the legacy of increased access to mountain and moorland.”
Kate Ashbrook, main speaker at the event. Photo: Andrew McCloy
Among the organisations attending the event are the Ramblers; Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland; Peak & Northern Footpaths Society; British Mountaineering Council; the National Trust; Peak District National Park Authority; Derbyshire County Council; Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation; Moors for the Future and Friends of the Peak District.
Trains are available to New Mills from Manchester and Sheffield, and there will be a special Folk Train featuring the Chorlton Folk Club leaving Manchester at 11.45am, arriving at New Mills at 12.15pm.
More details are on the Kinder Trespass website.
