Explore the Ethels of the Peak District

A collection of 95 hills in the Peak District, named in honour of Ethel Haythornthwaite.

Over the past few years exploring the Peak District, I’ve discovered numerous trig points, cairns, burial mounds, and breathtaking viewpoints. It occurred to me that there must be an official list of hills, akin to the Wainwrights in the Lake District or the Munros in Scotland. After some research, I came across the Ethels, a collection of 95 hills in the Peak District, named in honour of Ethel Haythornthwaite, a pioneering environmentalist. Born in Sheffield in 1894, Ethel founded the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Rural Scenery in 1924, which became the Peak District and South Yorkshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) in 1927. Her tireless campaigning, including saving the Longshaw Estate from development and establishing Sheffield’s Green Belt in 1938, was instrumental in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, leading to the creation of the Peak District as Britain’s first national park in 1951. The Ethels list, devised in May 2021 by CPRE volunteer Doug Colton, includes hills mostly over 400 metres, such as Kinder Scout and Mam Tor, plus notable lower hills like Thorpe Cloud. The list was created to celebrate Ethel’s legacy and encourage exploration of the Peak District, with the Ethel Ready app providing maps and details for hill baggers.

I had already visited some of these hills, but many remained unexplored. In autumn 2024, I embarked on a quest to complete all 95 Ethels, achieving this goal by spring 2025. Fortunately, during this period, I encountered incredible conditions to capture these Ethels with my camera, resulting in some stunning photographs.

I have included an interactive map of all the Ethels, featuring my images to help identify each location. Use this as a guide for photography and walking locations in the Peak District. Below is a full gallery, and table with height and grid references to help you plan your next walk.

Breakdown of the Ethels

The Ethels are categorized by height and prominence, covering a range of landscapes from the rugged Dark Peak to the gentler White Peak, and include the six county tops of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester. Here’s the detailed composition:

  • Four Hills Over 600m (The Sixers): These are the highest peaks in the Peak District, all located in the northern Dark Peak’s Pennine Moors:

    • Kinder Scout: 636m, the highest point in the Peak District, known for its vast moorland and gritstone edges.

    • Bleaklow: 633m, a remote moorland summit with dramatic peat bogs.

    • Higher Shelf Stones: ~621m, part of the Bleaklow massif, known for its gritstone formations.

    • Grindslow Knoll: ~601m, a prominent knoll on Kinder Scout’s southern edge, offering expansive views.

  • 27 Hills Over 500m (The Fivers): These include peaks with summits at or above 500 meters but below 600 meters, such as:

    • Mam Tor (517m): Known as the “Shivering Mountain,” famous for its Bronze Age hill fort and Great Ridge views.

    • Shining Tor (559m): The highest point in Cheshire, with panoramic views over the Cheshire Plain.

    • Win Hill (462m, often included in broader counts): A prominent hill with views over Ladybower Reservoir.

    • Other examples include Axe Edge Moor, Brown Knoll, and Lose Hill. The exact list of 27 varies slightly by source, as some hills like Win Hill are debated for inclusion in the 500m+ category due to prominence or boundary definitions.

  • 37 Hills Over 400m (Part of the Sub-Fivers): These are hills with summits between 400 and 499 meters, such as:

    • Shutlingsloe (506m): Known as the “Matterhorn of Cheshire” for its distinctive shape.

    • Stanage Edge (458m): A famous gritstone escarpment popular with climbers and walkers.

    • Derwent Edge (~450m): Known for its dramatic tors and views over reservoirs. Also my favourite place for photography, Salt Cellar.

  • 27 Prominent Hills Below 400m (Part of the Sub-Fivers): These are lower hills with significant character or prominence, often iconic landmarks:

    • Thorpe Cloud (287m): A striking limestone hill at the entrance to Dovedale.

    • Parkhouse Hill (~360m): A steep, dragon-back hill in the White Peak, ideal for photography.

    • Harthill Moor (272m): The lowest Ethel, home to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. These hills were selected for their cultural, historical, or scenic significance, despite not meeting the 400m height threshold.

  • Five Marilyns: A Marilyn is a hill of any height with a topographic prominence (drop) of 150 meters or more on all sides. The Ethels include five Marilyns:

    • Kinder Scout (636m)

    • Shining Tor (559m)

    • High Wheeldon (~422m)

    • The Cloud (~343m)

    • Gun (~385m) These hills are notable for their relative isolation and prominence, making them stand out in the landscape.

  • Six County Tops: The Ethels include the highest points of the six counties within or bordering the Peak District:

    • Cheshire: Shining Tor (559m)

    • Derbyshire: Kinder Scout (636m)

    • Staffordshire: The Roaches (~505m, though some sources debate this)

    • South Yorkshire: Margery Hill (~546m)

    • West Yorkshire: Black Hill (~582m)

    • Greater Manchester: Black Chew Head (~542m)

Sourced from CPRE, please note, not all of these are on Open Access Land. Information can be found within the Ethels App.

All 95 Ethels, filtered by alphabetical order and height ascending/descending.

Name Height (m) Grid Reference
Aleck Low 398.0 SK 17514 59488
Alphin Pike 469.0 SE 00306 02819
Alport Moor 535.0 SK 12012 94571
Ashway Moss 497.0 SE 03346 04561
Axe Edge Moor 551.0 SK 03513 70629
Back Tor (Derwent Edge) 538.0 SK 19780 90996
Black Chew Head 542.0 SE 05641 01991
Black Edge (Combs Moss) 507.0 SK 06271 77001
Black Hill 582.0 SE 07819 04686
Black Hill (Whaley Moor) 410.0 SJ 99000 82169
Blakelow Hill (Bonsall Moor) 367.0 SK 25474 59401
Bleaklow 633.0 SK094960
Bole Hill (Burton Moor) 356.0 SK 18426 67596
Bolehill (Cromford Moor) 323.0 SK 29394 55363
Bradwell Moor 471.0 SK 13186 80144
Britland Edge Hill 523.0 SE 10649 02576
Brown Knoll 569.0 SK 08389 85129
Burbage Edge (Goyt's Moss) 500.0 SK 02976 73254
Burton Bole (Shatton Moor) 417.0 SK 19404 80771
Carder Low 380.0 SK 13026 62636
Cats Tor 518.0 SJ 99500 75901
Cheeks Hill 520.0 SK 02678 69976
Chelmorton Low 446.0 SK 11451 70644
Chinley Churn 452.0 SK 03558 83644
Chrome Hill 425.0 SK 07083 67319
Combs Head 503.0 SK 04088 75719
Corbar Hill 437.0 SK 05153 74301
Cown Edge 411.0 SK 02058 91901
Croker Hill 402.0 SJ 93335 67701
Crook Hill 382.0 SK 18209 87128
Dead Edge End 499.0 SE 12457 01724
Durham Edge (Abney Moor) 416.0 SK 18064 79418
Eccles Pike 370.0 SK 03516 81229
Ecton Hill 369.0 SK 09983 58009
Eldon Hill 470.0 SK 11581 81154
Featherbed Moss 541.0 SE 04651 01166
Featherbed Top 544.0 SK 09071 92081
Fin Cop 327.0 SK 17461 70918
Foxlow Edge 452.0 SK 00475 75644
Gautries Hill 410.0 SK 09879 80994
Grin Low 430.0 SK 05411 71736
Grindslow Knoll 601.0 SK 11004 86839
Gun 385.0 SJ 97022 61511
Harboro Rocks 379.0 SK 24276 55346
Harland Edge (Beeley Moor) 367.0 SK 29300 68761
Harthill Moor 272.0 SK 20994 62718
Hen Cloud 410.0 SK 00865 61619
Higger Tor 434.0 SK 25725 81958
High Edge 472.0 SK 06296 66859
High Neb (Stanage Edge) 458.0 SK 22832 85341
High Stones (Howden Edge) 550.0 SK 18822 94368
High Wheeldon 422.0 SK 10041 66126
Higher Shelf Stones 621.0 SK089948
Hollins Hill 451.0 SK 06041 67896
Kinder Scout 636.0 SK084875
Lantern Pike 373.0 SK 02626 88169
Lees Moor 304.0 SK 24934 67446
Longstone Moor 391.0 SK 19002 73626
Lord's Seat (Rushup Edge) 550.0 SK 11254 83469
Lose Hill 476.0 SK 15312 85381
Lost Lad 518.0 SK 19345 91223
Mam Tor 517.0 SK 12784 83609
Margery Hill 546.0 SK 18917 95693
Merryton Low 489.0 SK 04148 60999
Mill Hill 544.0 SK 06124 90419
Minning Low 372.0 SK 20949 57288
Mount Famine 473.0 SK 05641 84924
Musden Low 361.0 SK 11851 50086
Oliver Hill 513.0 SK 02708 67586
Parkhouse Hill 360.0 SK 07968 66969
Pilsbury Hill 395.0 SK 12096 63959
Ramshaw Rocks 460.0 SK 02015 62464
Revidge 400.0 SK 07758 59919
Shining Tor 559.0 SJ 99468 73754
Shuttlingsloe 506.0 SJ 97658 69574
Sir William Hill (Eyam Moor) 429.0 SK 21562 77898
Slitherstone Hill 477.0 SK 12276 81911
Snailsden Pike End 477.0 SE 13207 03311
Sough Top (Taddington Moor) 438.0 SK 13349 70904
South Head 494.0 SK 06111 84554
Sponds Hill 413.0 SJ 97015 80294
Stanedge Pole 438.0 SK 24700 84423
Stanton Moor 323.0 SK 24509 62916
The Cloud 343.0 SJ 90484 63669
The Roaches 505.0 SK 00125 63884
Thorpe Cloud 287.0 SK 15161 51039
Tissington Hill 369.0 SK 15126 52684
Wardlow Knoll 370.0 SK 17867 73971
Wetton Hill 372.0 SK 10508 56261
Whetstone Ridge 547.0 SK 00190 70906
White Low 530.0 SE 08687 02186
White Path Moss 457.0 SK 25100 83016
Win Hill 462.0 SK 18687 85093
Wolfscote Hill 388.0 SK 13716 58334
West Nab 500.0 SE 07647 08816