The 506m/1,660ft summit of Shutlingsloe has been dubbed “the Matterhorn of the Peak.” This shapely hill which pokes its craggy, crooked summit above the conifers of Macclesfield Forest, is one of the few real peaks worthy of the name in the Peak District...
Shutlingsloe: the Matterhorn of Cheshire
The 506m/1,660ft summit of Shutlingsloe has been dubbed “the Matterhorn of the Peak.” Although this may be something of an exaggeration, this shapely hill which pokes its craggy, crooked summit above the conifers of Macclesfield Forest is one of the few real peaks worthy of the name in the Peak District. This pleasant walk also takes in the charming village of Wildboarclough.
Trentabank Reservoir
The log cabin-style ranger briefing centre at Trentabank Reservoir in the heart of the conifers of Macclesfield Forest gives more than a hint of “Rose Marie” to the start of this walk. Trentabank Reservoir was constructed in 1929 to supply clear Pennine water to Macclesfield and district, and is now managed by United Utilities. The water company and the National Park have constructed an excellent nature trail suitable for disabled people down to the reservoir.
Unlike many reservoirs, Trentabank has a variety of wildlife interest, most important of which is the large heronry, visible from the roadside, which is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Goldeneye, red-breasted mergansers and great crested grebe also frequent the secluded waters of the reservoir.
Turn right from the visitor centre on a path which runs alongside the road before turning into a track which ascends steeply in places through the conifers of Macclesfield Forest to emerge on the open moor.
Once out of the forest, the track becomes paved as it crosses High Moor, with our objective of Shutlingsloe looking increasingly inviting ahead. The paving was laid by
Cheshire County Council and the National Park to overcome severe erosion problems on the path as it crosses the soft ground of High Moor.
The path follows a wall to a ladder stile just beneath the last, steep climb up the northern face of Shutlingsloe, through a staircase of outcropping sandstone crags to the ridgetop summit.
Shutlingsloe
The 506m/1,660ft summit of Shutlingsloe is one of the finest in the Peak, with spectacular views eastwards across the wooded valley of Wildboarclough to Axe Edge and Oliver Hill, and north towards Shining Tor and distant Kinder Scout. To the south, the rocky escarpments of the Roaches and Ramshaw Rocks are prominent, while the broad Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield in the foreground, fills the western view. On a clear day, the dish of the Joddrell Bank Radio Telescope can be seen.
The unusual name of Shutlingsloe is thought to mean “Scyttel’s Hill,” and its craggy summit provides the exciting denouement to local man Alan Garner’s classic children’s fantasy, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. There is a memorial toposcope on the craggy summit.
A waymark on the summit points the way down towards the next objective, the village of Wildboarclough. After a steep little scramble, the path emerges at a stile above Shutlingsloe Farm, which is bypassed. The farm drive is then joined and followed down to the lane which leads right to drop down to the road into Wildboarclough.
Wildboarclough
The old name of the scattered hamlet of Wildboarclough was Crag, and this name is recalled in the name of the Crag Inn, a popular hostelry passed on the route.
Wildboarclough’s other claim to fame, other than the mineral water now produced in its name, is its former Post Office, which must have been one of the largest and most grandiose in the country. Crag Mill, now used for residential accommodation, is a splendid 18th century Georgian-style building which started life as the manager’s house and administration block for Crag Mill, which spun silk for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The little church of St. Saviour dates from the early years of the century.
From the Crag Inn car park, take a stile on your right and follow this lovely path which contours around the gorse-dotted slopes of aptly-named Mount Pleasant between Higher Nabbs (to the right) and Lower Nabbs Farm (below to the left) to reach the road again just below Greenway Bridge.
Before reaching the bridge, turn right at a stile and follow the bank of Oaken Clough to cross a slab bridge. At a ruined hut, a concessionary path avoids Oakenclough House through new plantations to join the house drive. Go right to meet a stile which leads left across High Moor, with views back to Shutlingsloe behind.
Follow this path to the corner of the moor and a stile which leads down on a walled path to emerge onto the road at the Hanging Gate public house.
Turn right and keep right at a sharp hairpin in the main road on this minor road past Brownlow Farm, Higher Hardings Farm and the delightfully-named Thickwithers (all on the right). There are extensive views ahead over the conifers of Macclesfield Forest towards the prominent neb of Tegg’s Nose.
Macclesfield Forest
The original Forest of Macclesfield was a hunting ground for the Earls of Chester during the Middle Ages, and today’s regimented conifers are still the home of fox, badger, tawny owls, woodpeckers and Britain’s tiniest bird, the goldcrest.
As the road descends back into the trees, keep right at a sharp bend and drop down steeply, ignoring the left turn to Ridgegate Reservoir, back towards Trentabank and your starting point at the car park.
Factfile
Start/Finish: United Utilities Trentabank car park, on the minor road to Macclesfield Forest east of Langley
Distance: 10 km/6 miles
Approximate time: Allow 3-4 hours
Highest point: Shutlingsloe, 506m/1,660ft
Map: OS Explorer Sheet 24, The White Peak
Refreshments: Occasionally at Trentabank, pub in Wildboarclough
Terrain: A steep, but paved, hill climb, then field and moorland paths which can be wet
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