Peak District Walks
Oliver Hill
Date: 27th July 2013
Distance: 1 mile
Ascent: 163 feet
Time: 30 mins
With: On my own
Start Grid Ref: SK032678
Walk Summary:
Starting from near the Knight's Table pub this was a very short piece of pure peak bagging to the top of Oliver Hill.
Photos: Click on the photos below to enlarge.
Walk Detail: Although the majority of my walks usually have the aim of bagging the top of a particular hill I have never been one for taking the shortest possible route to the top and back and I've always aimed to make a proper walk of it. This walk was a notable exception. Despite being over 500m in height the top of Oliver Hill stands only 45m higher in altitude than the village of Flash and the top of the hill is almost entirely ringed by roads. In addition a lot of the surrounding countryside is given over to pasture for cows. All in all it seemed quite difficult to make Oliver Hill the object of a proper walk.
The problem with all this is that I couldn't just ignore Oliver Hill as it on the list of English Deweys that I am aiming to complete. So it was that after returning to the campsite following a long walk over Axe Edge Moor and Shininig Tor I ate my dinner and then headed off to bag Oliver Hill before the threatened storm arrived.
There is not too much to say about the walk itself. I parked by the Flash Bar Store and the Knight's Table pub and after a short section along the seemingly nameless minor road leading to Oxenstitch I headed up to the top of Oliver Hill. The summit was quickly reached and was rather oddly adorned with what seemed to be a transmitter and what first appeared to be an aerial but on closer inspection could possibly have been a farming implement on a trailer. The clouds were becoming increasingly heavy and the views were fairly dull although Shutlingsloe could clearly be seen to the west.
The top was also liberally adorned with cow pat and when I noticed a small herd of cows eyeing me up fifty metres or so away I decided to beat a hasty retreat. The return to the car was achieved quickly just as the rain finally arrived. While this was not the ideal way to approach a hill walk I have to admit that on this occasion I have no regrets and I doubt that I'll ever go back.
Follow me on ...
