Wharmton

About Wharmton

Overlooking the villages of Saddleworth, this broad, grassy Tump is most easily identified by the tall telecommunications mast crowning its summit. Rising steeply from Grasscroft, the ascent provides an excellent vantage point across the Tame Valley toward the gritstone edges of Pots and Pans and the Chew Valley skyline.

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Did You Know?

• •The name likely derives from the Old English 'hwearf-tun', suggesting a farmstead near a bend or turning, referring to the hill's position where the Tame Valley twists toward Greenfield.
• •The summit is dominated by the Wharmton transmitting station, a vital piece of infrastructure built to relay signals into the deep 'shadow' valleys of Saddleworth that cannot receive direct broadcasts from larger regional masts.
• •The height offers a specific bird’s-eye perspective of the Uppermill viaduct and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, contrasted against the gritstone plateau of Kinder Scout visible on the southern horizon.
• •Historically, this hill marked part of the ancient border between the West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire; even today, many locals consider the summit a symbolic gatekeeper to the Peak District.
• •While the ascent is short, the incline from the canal side is steep enough to make you wonder if the transmitter at the top is actually a giant magnet pulling you upwards against your will.