The High Moors of Bleaklow
A clough on the northwestern edges of Bleaklow, above Longdendale. The path in the foreground is the Pennine way.
Two photos showing the slopes of Bleaklow, which are as deserted as anywhere in the peak district and have a unique feel. Win Hill, where the high heather moorlands reach their southern limit, can be made out in the distance of each. The Derwent valley is hidden way down on the left.
When I see a picture like this I really want to be there, 2000 ft above sea level, with a wild and empty landscape spread out before me... Admittedly, at the time I really DIDN'T want to be there. Traversing terrain as barren and treacherous as this is very tiring!
There are actually a good many mangled aircraft wrecks over the high moors of Bleaklow, which presumably predate the development of accurate altimeters: pilots descended through the blanketing mist and hit the ground without even seeing it rising to meet them.
The loneliness of Bleaklow Hill is perhaps its chief asset for hikers like me. 'Bleak' is certainly an appropriate name for much of the time, although in good weather there are beautiful views to be enjoyed. The terrain up on these high moors is something special – steep channels in the peat up to 10 feet deep (groughs) are carved by water, and separated by ‘hags’. Hard to describe; you’ll have to see for yourself.
Here we look past the rocky buttresses of Grinah Stones (in the middle distance) towards the high skyline of the eastern moorland. The particular area that we see in the distance here actually towers above Howden reservoir, and remains one of my favourite places. The hills are steep and the landscapes wide and empty (well, by English standards…). The cloughs (valleys) cutting into the flanks of the moors are rocky and wild and beautiful.