If you liked Dumgoyne, you’ll love this collection of mighty mini-mountains that deserve some love…
Crook Hill, Peak District
It’s easy to feel a little sorry for Crook Hill. Once a core component of the High Peak massif north of Bamford, it was effectively severed from the party by the creation of Ladybower Reservoir. It now sits on an isolated peninsula formed by the two arms of the reservoir, overlooked by popular hillscapes like Win Hill, Derwent Edge and Bamford Edge but completely disconnected from them. And for a long time it had no public access at all, only opening up as Access Land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act in 2000.
It should also be plural, as it consists of two peaks. The taller (at 1253ft) is the true Crook Hill, while the slightly lower one (1227ft) is sometimes known as Ladycrook Hill, though not on OS maps. But there are many reasons to rejoice for Crook Hill, too. Both its peaks are uncommonly beautiful to look at – shapely, like clay pots caught mid-spin – and most importantly, the view of everything around them is just stunning.
WALK HERE: From the Derwent Valley road, ascend the track to Crookhill Farm (OS grid ref SK186868). Pass through the farmyard and continue uphill on a rough, usually muddy path onto the open hillside and up to the twin peaks.
Gog Magog Hills, Cambridgeshire
Hitting a high at 246 feet, these chalk hills are teeny but when Daniel Defoe visited in the 18th century he referred to them as mountains. Of course, if all around you are low-lying levels, it doesn’t take much altitude to gain dizzying views. ‘We see a rich and pleasant vale westward,’ Defoe wrote, ‘covered with corn-fields, gentlemen’s seats, villages, and at a distance, to crown all the rest, that ancient and truly famous town and university of Cambridge.’ Telegraph Clump is the tallest top, but the three-foot shorter Wandlebury Hill is the most striking, ringed by the ditch of an Iron Age hill fort. The names Gog and Magog appear in numerous ancient tales, but these bumps are said to be the prone form of a solo giant called Gogmagog, who lay down after being rejected by the river-nymph Granta, aka the River Cam. The name was first recorded for these hills in 1574, in a decree banning students from visiting them. Today, they’re a favourite of writer and university professor Robert Macfarlane, who fondly calls them the Alps of Cambridgeshire.
WALK HERE: Download a free Wandlebury Hill route at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
