Cheshire, Derbyshire, Gtr Manchester, Lancashire, W Yorkshire
161 km / 100 miles
(click to enlarge)
This is a 100-mile walk from the Croker Hill/Sutton Moor BT Tower in Cheshire to the Winter Hill Transmitter in Lancashire with just under 17000 ft (5000m) of ascent.
Do you live in a place with a distant beckoning horizon of hills and wondered if you could trace this horizon on foot? Well LDWA member Martin Greenwood did and this route is the result. From his window of his home in central Manchester he could see a horizon that traces a large portion of the western edges of the Peak District, before moving through the South Pennines onto the West Pennine Moors, and he decided to see if he could walk along it. Working out exactly what hills and ridges constituted this horizon was not a simple task and involved him using Google Earth to project lines to distant ridges. Looking for landmarks such as chimneys, he could cross check with elevation profiles from OS mapping that the landmark was actually going to be visible on a line of sight. The route website explains how he did it, with some helpful video.
With the horizon line determined, the next challenge was to actually walk along it. By linking footpaths and existing trails official and unofficial, he put together a route which took it all in. He then walked it with his tent and some judiciously placed food caches. His online blog describes his experiences and there are useful downloads of trackfiles to help repeat his walk that was over seven walking days.
The anti-clockwise route from Croker Hill includes many familiar landmarks and locations and some spectacular scenery:
Day 1: Croker Hill, Shuttlingsloe, Shining Tor, Cat?s Tor, Combs Moss. 19 Miles. Day 2 Combs Valley Camp Site, Eccles Pike, Chinley Churn, Mount Famine, South Head, Brown Knoll, Kinder Low. 13.5 miles. Day 3 Kinder Scout, Mill Hill, Higher Shelf Stones, Bleaklow Head, Robinson?s Moss, Windgate Edge, Alphin Pike. 19 Miles. Day 4 Alderman?s Hill, Broadstone Hill, Hollin Brown Knoll, Standedge, White Hill, Blackstone Edge. 16 Miles. Day 5 Blackstone Edge, Warland Reservoir, Crook Hill, Rough Hill, Freeholds Top, Whitworth Higher End Moor, Britannia Quarries. 12 Miles, Day 6 Top o? Leach, Hailstorm Hill, Tottington Higher End Moor, Whittle Hill, Peel Monument, Bull Hill, Wayoh Reservoir. 13 miles. Day 7 Wayoh Reservoir, Turton Heights, Longworth Moor, Belmont, Winter Hill. 8 Miles.
In parts the route coincides with the Pennine Way, the Gritstone Trail and the Rochdale Way but is otherwise mostly independent of established trails.
Details:
| Path Type: |
Other Paths |
| Attributes: |
Challenging
Moorland
|
| Start: |
SJ934676 -
Croker Hill, south of Macclesfield, Cheshire
|
| Finish: |
SD660144 -
TV Station on Winter Hill, near Horwich, Lancashire
|
| Open Date: |
2020 |
| Web Sites: |
Manchester Horizon
|
