England - Peak District - Black Hill Tufty Trail

Walk Summary

Great views from the start near Holme Moss mast. Panoramic views from high moorland. Suitable for those that don't like paths and enjoy walking across difficult terrain. Could be a navigational challenge in difficult weather.

Click on the above map for an interactive map of the route.

The Trails Map (dropdown, top right) is the best free map for displaying footpaths and topography. Expand to full screen (cross arrows, top right) to see route detail. Ordnance Survey maps can be used with a small subscription to Plotaroute.

Clicking on the above map gives access to various downloads (e.g. GPX and PDF).

Date: 13/07/2022

Length: 7.069 miles

Height Gain: 359 m

Terrain: Trackless moor, deep tufty grass, boggy paths, grassy paths, stone tracks, trackless woodland, short section of A road.

Navagation: Very tricky. A lot of the route is across trackless moor. In good visibility Holme Moss mast is a good reference point. Section through trackless woodland. Map/compass and gps required.

Start: Holme Moss Car Park

Route: Holme Moss Car Park, Britland Edge Hill, Dewhill Naze, Heyden Bridge, White Low, Tooleyshaw Moss, Black Hill, Heyden Head.

Map: OL1 Dark Peak Area

Weather: Sunny and breezy

Walkers: Nun

View Google Gallery Of Photos

Gallery

View In Google Gallery

The Google Gallery may have more photos (it will be displayed in a new Tab)

Holme Moss Mast

Captain's Log

Lofty Start

I togged up at Holme Moss Car Park. It is situated on the very top of the moors and has a great view down the valley towards Holmfirth. A large number of walkers had congregated in the car park and I thought I might be in for some company on the first part of the walk. In the end they set off towards Black Hill, on the path that I would return on later in the day. Holme Moss mast loomed over us like an alien object. The mast is 228 metres high and is at a point 524 metres above sea level and so is a pretty good navigational aid when walking across the nearby moors.

My first objective of the day was Britland Edge Hill. Despite the top being an indistinct lump in the far distance it was quite easy to find; I just followed a wire fence directly from the car park and this brought me to the summit. It's more of a ridge than a summit. The OS map says there is a mound and stake at the top, but there is nothing there now. I dropped down its steep south face and headed over rough moor to Dewhill Naze. There was no path over this section and it was difficult walking over very tufty grass. Dewhill Naze gave a better vantage point to see the viaduct down on the Woodhead Reservoir. I dropped down another sleep slope on Dewhill Naze in the direction of a broken wall that headed for a tree plantation. From the top of Dewhill Naze the route looked trivial; in reality it was a bit of a nightmare. Tufty grass made each step a balancing act. Some of the grass came up to hip level and it was difficult to position my feet on each step. Even walking along the broken wall proved tricky with loose stones making footing uncertain. The compensation was a marvellous view in to Woodhead once I'd reached the trees. I dropped down into the valley at Kiln Clough and followed a farm track to the A6024.

Woodland Fun

The next part of the route involved climbing up from the road to Butterley Moss. The only problem with this is that a tree plantation needs traversing. A permissive path that looks so easy on the OS map does not exist in reality. I remember climbing through this woodland a couple of times in the past, the most recent being about 25 years ago. Nothing much seemed to have changed since I last came here. I still gained access to the woodland by a broken fence near the bridge over Heyden Brook. I made my way up the steep hill avoiding the sharp tree branches the best I could. There's no hint of a path until I approached the other side of the plantation where there seemed to have been a track leading up to the stile over the barbed fence. I say track, but it is so overgrown that it is difficult to be certain. It is important to reach the stile since it would be difficult to get over the barbed fence at any other point. I've never used a gps to get through this bit of woodland, but I've always managed to hit the fence at this stile. Maybe it's luck or maybe there is just a hint of a trail through the woods and I just don't realise it.

Heyden Brook From The Old Road Bridge

White Moss

I was hoping for some respite after the woodland climb, but the hike over Butterley Moss is far from easy. Tufty grass again, although only to knee level this time. I made my way to a wooden stake hoping that it might lead to some sort of path, but it just seemed to have been randomly placed. At least the climb wasn't too steep. Eventually it flattened out and I had to get the gps out to confirm that I was actually at White Low's summit.

From here there is a sketchy path over Tooleyshaw Moor to Black Hill. After hours of tramping across tufty grass and hacking my way through woodland, a reasonably flat path seemed like an extravagance. On Tooleyshaw Moor I met an old couple and we briefly stopped for a chat. They looked to be 70+ and seemed to be taking the terrain in their stride. They were doing a circular walk from Crowden and were returning from Black Hill. They asked what wildlife I'd seen, and I told them that I could only muster a Mountain Hare and some Pippits. They departed and I continued walking towards Black Hill.

Black Hill

I normally don't approach Black Hill Trig from this direction and I noticed that it seemed to be sloping at quite an angle. Looking back at my previous photos, it always seemed to have been tilting. There was nobody around and so I only stopped to drink some water.

Holme Moss mast is a great navigational aid when walking from Black Hill Trig to Holme Moss car park. There is also a reasonably defined path across the moor. At first it seems to be going too far left of the mast, but this is because it needs to go to Heyden Head first. If you head directly to the mast you'd end up having to climb down to Heyden Brook and then back up to the path. Three farmers were repairing a gate near the Woodhead Road. They didn't give me as much as a glance as I past them. Maybe they were just focused on their work.

The group of walkers I'd seen this morning had obviously returned earlier since the car park was now almost clear of cars. Despite being only a 7 mile walk it had been a tough, but enjoyable day.

Black Hill Trig

Home