Mellor Moor

About Mellor Moor

Rising above the Goyt Valley near the village of Brookbottom, this Tump offers a classic edge-of-the-Peak experience. Its grassy, windswept summit provides a superb grandstand for watching weather systems roll across the Cheshire Plain toward the Manchester skyline, while the dark mass of Kinder Scout dominates the eastern horizon.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Mellor is likely a tautology, deriving from the Common Brittonic words 'moel' and 'bre', both meaning hill. This suggests the site has held topographical importance for speakers of different languages over thousands of years.
• •The summit is famous locally for the Mellor Cross. Originally erected in 1970 to commemorate a Christian Council of Churches event, the large wooden landmark stood for over fifty years before being destroyed by high winds in early 2023.
• •From the trig point, the view west captures the Jodrell Bank Lovell Telescope and the skyscrapers of Manchester, while looking east provides a clear profile of the gritstone edges of Lantern Pike and the Kinder Scout plateau.
• •Just below the moorland at Mellor Church, archaeological excavations have uncovered an Iron Age hillfort. The site shows evidence of continuous human activity ranging from Mesolithic flint-knapping to medieval iron-working.
• •The climb from Brookbottom follows ancient packhorse routes and passes through old gritstone quarry workings, reflecting the area's transition from a farming landscape to an industrial one during the 18th century.
• •Local walkers often use the moor as a natural rain gauge; its position on the Pennine fringe means if the Manchester skyline is invisible, it is raining, and if it is visible, it is about to rain.