Sharp Haw

About Sharp Haw

This distinctive gritstone peak rises as a prominent, conical landmark on the southern fringe of the Dales. Its sharp profile belies its modest height, offering a rewarding ascent and a well-defined summit. It serves as an excellent vantage point, marking the transition from the busy valleys to the wild moorland beyond.

Key Statistics

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Did You Know?

• •The name is rooted in the Old English 'scearp', meaning pointed, and 'haga', which originally denoted an enclosure but evolved in local dialect to describe a hill or mound. It perfectly captures the hill’s steep, 'sugar-loaf' appearance when viewed from the south.
• •Sharp Haw is almost always paired with its broader, flatter twin, Rough Haw. Together, these two gritstone outcrops are known locally as the Flasby Paps and form an unmistakable silhouette on the horizon for those travelling through Airedale.
• •The summit trig point offers a magnificent 360-degree panorama. To the south, the massive bulk of Pendle Hill rises across the Ribble Valley, while looking north reveals the distinctive white limestone scars of Malham Cove and the distant silhouette of Ingleborough.
• •As a classified Marilyn, the hill possesses at least 150 metres of topographical drop on all sides. This isolation ensures that, despite its elevation being well under 400 metres, the sense of exposure and the breadth of the view feel far more significant than the statistics suggest.
• •It is a hill that manages to feel like a serious mountain for exactly twenty minutes; just long enough to get your heart rate up before the summit trig point appears to reward the effort.