Bleaklow Head

About Bleaklow Head

Rising above the town of Glossop, this sprawling gritstone plateau is the second-highest point in Derbyshire. It is a wild landscape of peat hags and navigation-testing "groughs." The summit cairn sits on the Pennine Way, offering a stark, atmospheric contrast to the green valleys and the dark profile of neighbouring Kinder Scout.

Key Statistics

Find It

Did You Know?

• •The name derives from the Old English 'blāc', meaning pale or shining, combined with 'hlāw', meaning a hill or mound. While modern hikers might associate the name with its often-harsh weather, it likely originally referred to the way the gritstone or pale grasses caught the light.
• •The Pennine Way cuts directly across the summit. Historically, this section was notorious for its waist-deep peat bogs and disorienting erosion channels, making it one of the most challenging navigational tests on the entire 268-mile route before modern flagstoning was introduced.
• •On a clear day, the summit provides a panoramic view of the Peak District's industrial fringe and natural wildness; the massive northern edge of Kinder Scout dominates the southern horizon, while the Holme Moss transmitter mast is a clear landmark to the north.
• •The eastern slopes of the Bleaklow massif, specifically at Swains Greave, mark the official source of the River Derwent. This water eventually flows south through the heart of the Peak District to feed the Ladybower, Derwent, and Howden reservoirs.
• •A short detour south to the subsidiary top of Higher Shelf Stones leads to the wreckage of 'Overexposed,' a US Air Force Boeing RB-29A Superfortress that crashed in 1948. Much of the silver airframe remains at the site today, preserved by the acidic peat.
• •In thick mist, the plateau’s featureless peat hags are so indistinguishable that walkers have been known to pace out a full circle and arrive back at the same bog they started in, having gained nothing but heavier boots.