Peak District
Whins Brow
476M
1562FT
About Whins Brow
Rising above the famous Trough of Bowland near Hareden, this 476-metre Tump offers a quintessential gritstone moorland experience. Its broad, peat-drenched plateau requires careful navigation, rewarding the effort with a commanding perspective over the winding pass below and the sprawling, heather-clad fells of the Forest of Bowland.
Key Statistics
Rank
68th Highest in Peak District
Parent Range
The Peak District
Prominence
?
135
Nearest Town
Hareden
Geology
You are walking across layers of gritty sandstone and fine mudstone. These stacked rocks form the solid foundation of Whins Brow.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SD636532
Latitude
53.9736°N
Longitude
2.5564°W
Did You Know?
- •The name 'Whins' stems from a Northern English dialect term for gorse (Ulex europaeus), the prickly yellow-flowered shrub that populates the lower slopes, while 'Brow' refers to the hill’s prominent western edge.
- •The summit provides an exceptional bird's-eye view of the Trough of Bowland pass, where the road can be seen snaking between the steep flanks of Sykes Fell and the neighbouring mass of Totridge.
- •Walkers often combine this hill with the nearby 'Grey Stone of Trough', a historic boundary marker that traditionally separated the West Riding of Yorkshire from Lancashire.
- •The high ground between the summit and Totridge is notorious for its complex peat hags and 'mosses', which can make navigation a slow and damp process in low cloud.
- •Reaching the highest point is often less of a mountain ascent and more of a tactical exercise in bog-hopping, where the most successful walkers are those who can accurately judge the firmness of a patch of sphagnum moss at twenty paces.