Shining Tor rises to the West of the Goyt Valley, and, if starting from the shores of Errwood Reservoir, gives a good 1000 feet of ascent — at 3¾ miles, the circuit should take about an hour at a fast walking pace. The route shown starts from the Errwood car park, and essentially circles around Shooter’s Clough, visiting the top of Shining Tor (559 metres) before returning to the reservoir.

The views from the top are superb on a clear day. Looking out over the Cheshire Plain, you’ll easily pick out the hills of the Clwydian Range in North Wales and the Wrekin in Shropshire (almost 50 miles distant), as well as numerous local landmarks, including Shutlingsloe, and the large Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank.

The route: up Shining Tor from Errwood car park in the Goyt Valley

There’s not much to choose between walking this route clockwise or anti-clockwise. If anything, clockwise has the edge (descending past Errwood Hall), with more opportunity to take in the extensive views while descending from Shining Tor.

The interactive OS map below shows the route.

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