Peak District
Brown Wardle Hill
401M
1316FT
About Brown Wardle Hill
Rising above the village of Shawforth, this prominent Tump marks the western edge of the South Pennine moors. Its broad, grassy plateau offers a gritty, industrial-fringe charm, providing clear views over Cowm Reservoir toward the Manchester skyline and the distinctive masts of Winter Hill on the western horizon.
Key Statistics
Rank
186th Highest in Peak District
Parent Range
The Peak District
Prominence
?
51
Nearest Town
Shawforth
Geology
Brown Wardle Hill is built from layers of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. These solid rocks form the rugged ground you are hiking across today.
Classifications
Nearby Fells
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD898186
Latitude
53.6638°N
Longitude
2.1558°W
Did You Know?
- •The name 'Wardle' likely derives from the Old English 'weard-hyll', meaning a 'watch hill', suggesting its historical importance as a lookout point over the Spodden Valley.
- •Archaeological surveys on the hill's slopes have uncovered Mesolithic and Neolithic flint tools, evidence that these heights have been frequented by humans for over 5,000 years.
- •The hill is a significant landmark for those navigating the Pennine Bridleway, which skirts the eastern flanks near the boundary between Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
- •The summit offers a surprisingly expansive vista that reaches as far as the Jodrell Bank observatory to the south and the Stoodley Pike monument to the northeast.
- •The 'brown' in the name is no marketing fluff; it accurately describes the year-round hue of the hardy bent-grass and peat that blankets the exposed summit plateau.