Peak District
Cribden Hill
401M
1316FT
About Cribden Hill
Rising steeply above Rawtenstall, this prominent Tump offers a gritstone-edged perspective on the Rossendale Valley’s industrial heart. Its slopes are a mix of rough pasture and old quarry workings, providing a swift but satisfying ascent to a summit with clear sightlines towards the high moors of the South Pennines.
Key Statistics
Rank
186th Highest in Peak District
Parent Range
The Peak District
Prominence
?
60
Nearest Town
Rawtenstall
Geology
You are walking on a foundation of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. These layered rocks form the solid slopes and ridges of Cribden Hill.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD799240
Latitude
53.7120°N
Longitude
2.3060°W
Did You Know?
- •The name likely derives from the Brythonic or Old English for 'hill of the crag' or 'steep hill', a fitting description for a peak that rises nearly 250 metres directly from the valley floor.
- •The hill’s lower slopes are scarred by 19th-century quarrying, which provided the durable gritstone used to build the textile mills and terraced houses that define the character of the town below.
- •From the summit, you can look across the valley to the distinctively flat-topped Musbury Heights and identify the Peel Tower standing on the horizon of Holcombe Hill to the south.
- •Despite its modest height, the hill’s western flank is steep enough to ensure that anyone attempting a direct line from the town centre will arrive at the top having felt the full effort of every one of its 1,316 feet.