Black Chew Head

Black Chew Head in Saddleworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is the highest point or county top of Greater Manchester in northern England. It stands on moorland on the edge of the Peak District at a height of 542 m (1,778 ft) above sea level, close to the border with the High Peak district of Derbyshire. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire (along with the rest of Saddleworth), it became a county top in 1974 on the creation of Greater Manchester following the Local Government Act 1972.

1. Location and access

Black Chew Head is an outlying part of Black Hill, meaning Kinder Scout is its parent peak. It overlooks the Chew Valley, which leads eastwards and northwards to Dovestones Reservoir, and the valley of Crowden Great Brook leading south to Longdendale. The hill is accessible by many routes: the most used and most obvious is from Dovestones Reservoir in Greenfield via the Chew Reservoir access road. The hill is also accessible from Crowden in Derbyshire and from the A635 to the north. The Pennine Way runs just to the east of the summit on its way from Crowden to Black Hill. The summit lies a short distance east of the June 2018 wildfire on Saddleworth Moor, but was not within the burned area.

1. References


1. External links

Black Chew Head, England. Peakbagger.com. Black Chew Head. Fen Running and Fell Walking. Black Chew Head. My Pennines.

Nearby Places View Menu

Featherbed Moss

Featherbed Moss is a flat-topped hill, 541 metres (1,775 ft) high, in the Peak District in the county of Derbyshire in England. It is sometimes mistakenly thought to be a joint county top.

Hiking Landmark

Chew Reservoir

Chew Reservoir is a reservoir at the head of the Chew Valley in the Peak District National Park in Greater Manchester, England. The reservoir scheme in the Greenfield and Chew Valleys by the Ashton Stalybridge and Dukinfield Waterworks Joint Committee commenced in 1870. Chew Reservoir was built to hold 200 million gallons of water. Intended to be a compensation reservoir, it also had a filtration plant so that it could be used for drinking water in times of drought. Completed in 1912, the reservoir was the highest constructed in England, at 1,600 feet (488 m) above sea level, until the Cow Green Reservoir in the North Pennines in Teesside was completed in 1971. The reservoir is connected to the larger Dovestone Reservoir further down the Chew Valley by the Chew Brook.

Hiking Landmark

Chew Valley, Greater Manchester

Chew Valley in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester, England, follows the course of Chew Brook on the western slopes of Black Chew Head to where it joins the River Tame at Greenfield, east of Manchester. Part of the higher fringes of the valley towards the peak of Black Chew Head lie across the boundary in Derbyshire. The eastern part of the valley including the reservoirs of Dovestone and Chew are within the north western extremity of the Peak District National Park. Chew Reservoir was completed in 1912. At 1,600 feet (490 m) above sea level, it was the highest reservoir constructed in England. A tram-road was laid in Chew Valley to transport 42,318 cubic yards (32,354 m3) of clay to make an inner core for its dam to make it watertight. The tram and railway are gone but the route forms the Oldham Way long-distance footpath; reconstructed bridge hosts a sign with information, pictures, and a map. In 1949, a BEA Douglas DC3 crashed into the hill at Wimberry Rocks killing 24 passengers and crew and leaving 8 survivors.

Landmark National Park

Crowden, Derbyshire

Crowden (also known as Crowden-in-Longdendale) is a hamlet in the High Peak borough of Derbyshire, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, Crowden was incorporated into Derbyshire for administrative and ceremonial purposes in 1974 and is now Derbyshire's most northerly settlement. It lies in the Longdendale valley, 5.8 miles (9.3 km) north-east of Glossop and 5.7 miles (9.2 km) south-west of Holme in West Yorkshire. It lies on the trans-Pennine A628 road connecting Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire. It also lies very close to the Pennine Way long distance footpath, on which it is traditionally the first-night stop after Edale. A youth hostel, previously operated under a joint management agreement by the Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales) and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, was transferred to the sole management of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and closed (except for use by large groups) in 2014. The Torside Reservoir is to the south of Crowden. An army rifle range was situated at Crowden in the 1950s and 1960s. The hamlet was previously served by Crowden railway station on the Woodhead Line between the cities of Manchester and Sheffield, but the station closed on 4 February 1957.

Campground Hiking