Chinley Churn Explained

Chinley Churn
Elevation:457m (1,499feet)
Prominence:127m (417feet)
Location:Chinley, Derbyshire, England
Coordinates:53.3562°N -1.946°W
Grid Ref Uk:SK037844
Topo:OS Explorer OL1

Chinley Churn is a prominent gritstone hill between the villages of Chinley and Hayfield in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. The summit is 457m (1,499feet) above sea level.[1]

The hilltop ridge area is designated as open access land, following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The trig pillar at the lower secondary summit further south is on private land.[2]

Craken Edge Quarry (worked from at least 1640 until the 1900s) is designated a Regionally Important Geological Site.[3] A burial barrow (near the site of the now removed modern trig pillar) was reported in 1901 as the resting place of an ancient Celtic chieftain called Taro Trin (the Bull of Conflict), according to tradition.[4]

Chinley Churn is one of the 95 Ethels hills of the Peak District, launched by the countryside charity CPRE in 2021.[5]

The trig pillar on the hill was removed sometime after April 2024 - thought to be by the farmer. A video posted by "The Peak District Viking" is thought to be the last pictures of the trig, which show it at an angle and uprooted. A further video from "Wild Days Adventure" on the 23rd of June show the hill top with no trig pillar and the original site covered by hay.

References

  1. Web site: Chinley Churn . 4 November 2020 . Hill Bagging – Database of British and Irish Hills.
  2. Ordnance Survey. OL1 Dark Peak area. West sheet. 1:25000. Explorer.
  3. Web site: MDR491 - Cracken Edge quarry, above Chinley . 4 November 2022 . Derbyshire Historic Environment Record.
  4. Book: Turner, William M . Romances of the Peak . Simpkin and Marshall . 1901 . 159–160.
  5. Web site: Gough . Julie . 7 May 2021 . Our Peak District hill walking challenge: climbing the 95 'Ethels' . 13 May 2021 . CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire . en-GB.