Birchenough Hill

Sitting quietly above the hamlet of Allgreave, this Peak District Tump offers a more secluded experience than its famous neighbor, Shutlingsloe. The terrain is characterized by gritstone grazing land and drystone walls, providing a vantage point over the Dane Valley and the distant, wind-swept heights of Axe Edge Moor.

• •The name likely derives from the Old English 'beorc', meaning birch tree, and 'hoh', signifying a heel or a projecting ridge of land, pointing to its history as a wooded gritstone spur.
• •While the high point sits on private farmland, public footpaths skirt the northern flank, connecting the village of Wildboarclough with the gritstone trails leading toward the Cat and Fiddle.
• •From the nearby paths, walkers gain an excellent profile view of Shutlingsloe, often called the 'Cheshire Matterhorn', which rises distinctively to the west across the Clough Brook valley.
• •The hill sits within the historic Forest of Macclesfield, an area once used by the Earls of Chester as a royal hunting ground for deer and wild boar.
• •It is the kind of hill that locals use to hide from the crowds on the nearby Roaches; you are far more likely to encounter a stray Swaledale sheep than another hiker.