Mam Tor Peak District Hill | Peak District Focus

Description

Mam Tor is a 517 m (1,696 ft) hill near Castleton in the Peak District National Park, England. Its name means “mother hill”, so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of “mini-hills” beneath it. These landslips, which are caused by unstable lower layers of shale, also give the hill its alternative name of Shivering Mountain.

The hill has evidence of occupation, crowned by a late Bronze Age and early Iron Age univallate hill fort, and two Bronze Age bowl barrows. At the base of the Tor and nearby are four show caves: Blue John Cavern, Speedwell Cavern, Peak Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern where lead, Blue John, fluorspar and other minerals were once mined.

In 1979, the continual battle to maintain the A625 road (Sheffield to Chapel en le Frith) on the crumbling eastern side of the hill was lost when the road officially closed as a through-route, with the Fox House to Castleton section of the road being re-designated as the A6187.

Mam Tor is a classic Peak District photography location.

Photography

What to shoot:

Summit
There is plenty to shoot from the summit of Mam Tor. Views of the cement works in the valley below and great views down towards Winnat’s Pass and also the winding ‘s’ shaped road to edale. One of the best times is when there is low lying mist creating a cloud inversion in the valleys below.

Mam Tor Gate
Just down Mam Tor towards the Great Ridge is a gate, this gate is the main focus here, with the path leading your eye along the ridge up to Lose Hill. To your left is the Edale Valley and to the right is the Hope Valley. Once again if you get a thick mist in the valleys below this can be a great shot to capture.

Sunrise is generally the best time to go between the autumn and spring.

Best for: