Peak District
Mow Cop - Trig Point
335M
1100FT
About Mow Cop - Trig Point
Rising abruptly above the Cheshire Plain, this gritstone edge marks a dramatic transition between industrial heartlands and the Peak District. The summit is famous for its rocky quarry workings and a distinctive sham castle. From the trig point, you are rewarded with clear views of the Jodrell Bank telescope and the gritstone ridge of The Roaches.
Key Statistics
Rank
363rd Highest in Peak District
Parent Range
Peak District
Prominence
?
11
Nearest Town
Cheshire East
Geology
You are walking on a foundation of tough sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. These rocks form the rugged Millstone Grit landscape that defines this ridge.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SJ858575
Latitude
53.1149°N
Longitude
2.2130°W
Did You Know?
- •The name is a curious tautology, combining the Old English 'muga' (meaning a heap or mound) with 'copp' (meaning a top or summit), effectively naming it 'Hill Hill'.
- •The iconic 'castle' at the summit is actually a sham ruin built in 1754 by Randle Wilbraham of Rode Hall; its purpose was purely aesthetic, designed to provide a romantic focal point when viewed from his dining room windows several miles away.
- •In 1807, the hill became the birthplace of Primitive Methodism when a massive outdoor 'camp meeting' was held here, lasting fourteen hours and drawing thousands of worshippers to the windswept slopes.
- •Long before the folly was built, the hill was a vital industrial site for millstone grit; 'Mow Cop Quern-stones' were highly prized for grinding corn and have been found at archaeological sites dating back to the Iron Age.
- •Just north of the main summit sits the Old Man of Mow, a distinctive 60-foot pillar of rock that survived centuries of quarrying simply because the stone was deemed too poor in quality to be worth the effort of removing.