Black Hill, Peak District National Park
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Black Hill summit
"Nothing can grow in this acid waste. There is no root-hold in this sea of ooze. In the flutings and ripplings of the surface of the dunes caused by the action of rain and wind, a certain strange beauty, a patterned sculpturing beyond the skill of man, must, however, be conceded. But it is a frightening place in bad weather, a dangerous place after heavy rain. It is not a place to visit unaccompanied."
These words were written by the famous guidebook author, Alfred Wainwright, in his Pennine Way Companion, 1968. He was talking about Black Hill (582m), usually tackled on the second day of a south to north attempt of the Pennine Way.
Black Hill, a notorious reputation
Back in the 1990’s, I decided to walk the first week of The Pennine Way with friends. Our plan was to start in Edale and finish six days later with a stay at my parents’ house in Malham.
Armed with our Pennine Way guidebook, we researched the routes and campsites for each day. But the warnings of Black Hill on the second day freaked me out. It was described as a place with deep, black peat bogs where walkers often became stuck.
The advice was to avoid the summit trig at all costs in bad weather. I planned to do exactly that, regardless of conditions! I’ve since read reports of the path around Black Hill summit in those days extending to 70-100ft wide as people attempted to walk around the bogs.
Our first day of the Pennine Way took us over Kinder Scout, Featherbed Moss, and Bleaklow. All are high moorland areas, and were riddled with peat bogs. I’m talking about a time well before the path was improved with stone flags.
I distinctly remember the peat groughs on Featherbed Moss with their energy sapping ups and downs. I walked around the worst of the bogs but one caught me, pulling me into thigh-high foul smelling water. My companions had to rescue me, laughing as I panicked, remembering stories of walkers meeting their death in deep peat bogs.
We walked 18 miles that first day and, carrying heavy packs laden with camping gear, realised we’d bitten off more than we could chew. It was with some relief that our attempt ended before I had to tackle the notorious bogs of Black Hill.
About Black Hill
Black Hill is in the far north of the Peak District National Park. It’s the third highest hill in the National Park (Kinder Scout and Bleaklow are higher), and the highest point in West Yorkshire. That said, it actually fell within Cheshire before the local government reforms in 1974.
The summit is one of the Peak District Ethels and classed as a Marilyn (a hill in Great Britain or Ireland with a relative height of at least 150m)
Black Hill summit is also known as Soldier’s Lump, a reference to the 18th century Royal Engineer surveyors who used it as a triangulation point. It’s said that the support timbers for the theodolite used in the original Ordnance Survey could still be see there many years later.
The trig pillar now sits on an elevated platform built from stone. I’ve read one account that talks about how it allowed for the depth of the peat bogs around it, another about how the peat has worn away over the years. Maybe both, or neither are true 🤷♀️
150 years of air-borne industrial pollution and wild fires ate away at the moorland vegetation on Black Hill, leaving bare, black peat. Heavy rain washed away the peat, and droughts dried it to dust, the wind blowing it off the fell.
But, in 2003, conservation work began, regenerating the moorland.
Black Hill in 2003 and 2011
Walking to Black Hill summit
In February 2018, I was finally persuaded to walk up Black Hill for the first time.
It was a cold, icy, snowy day so I figured any bare peat would be frozen solid. In hindsight, there was no need to worry because the regeneration work had transformed it into Green Hill 😂
But it’s fearsome reputation, built up all those years ago, still lingered. So it was with a little trepidation that I set off from Snoopy’s Snack van on the A635 to follow the Pennine Way on a flagged stone path.
Far from being a black quagmire, we walked on a hard-packed surface. As we approached the summit, the weather became foggier but we continued following well-worn tracks along the snowy path.
Then, the trig point came into view. I’d finally made it to Black Hill summit and, in the process, fallen in love with the notorious hill.
First time on Black Hill summit
Black Hill is now one of my favourite Peak District summits
Since that day, I’ve been back to Black Hill summit countless times. In the depths of winter. The height of summer. At sunset. And from every official direction.
The two most obvious routes to the summit are on the flagged Pennine Way path (walking from either the south or north).
There’s also the old Pennine Way route from the summit to the A635. It’s not one I’d recommend unless you’re an experienced navigator and happy to cross desolate boggy peat moorland.
From Crowden, I’ve walked a circular route to the summit. Climbing up via Westend Moss and White Low, then returning on the Pennine Way, passing Laddow Rocks and near to Black Chew Head summit.
Recently, we ticked off the last direction, parking at Holme Moss summit and walking on a circular route across the moors.
Map of main paths on Black Hill summit
If you’re interested in walking to Black Hill summit, this link from Komoot gives you a starting point for some of the routes people take. You can also find many more via a quick Google search.
Why I love Black Hill so much
A friend, one of the original group of Pennine Way walkers back in the 90’s, knew how much I feared Black Hill and recently asked why I now love it so much.
I struggled to articulate my answer.
⛰️ Maybe it’s because of it’s once fearsome and notorious reputation, now lush with green vegetation.
⛰️ Perhaps it’s because one summer, I finally learned to appreciate the high moorland of the Dark Peak while researching and updating walks for AA 50 Walks in the Peak District >> See on Amazon *
⛰️ It could even be related to the pandemic, when we spent weeks exploring the desolate moorland on our doorstep, and I realised there was more to it than meets the eye.
⛰️ A walk up Black Hill also has stunning views and, whilst popular, it’s far enough away from the honeypots of the Peak District towns and villages to be a little quieter.
But sshhh 🤫 don’t tell everyone.
You may also be interested in reading:
Walk: Wessenden and Black Hill on the old and new Pennine Way routes
Important note: This is a challenging walk across open moorland, and only recommended for experienced walkers. Even in good visibility, it needs careful navigation skills with a map and compass.
Walk: Wessenden and West Nab from Snoopy’s snack van
What are the Peak District Ethels?
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