Combs Moss
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{short description|Hill in the Derbyshire Peak District}}
{{Infobox mountain|name=Combs Moss|photo=Combs Moss from Thorny Lee - geograph.org.uk - 109122.jpg|photo_caption=Combs Moss from Thorny Lee|elevation={{Convert|503|m|0}}|prominence=|listing=|location=Peak District, England|range=|coordinates=|grid_ref_UK=SK0476|topo=OS Explorer OL24|type=|age=|first_ascent=|easiest_route=}}Combs Moss is a plateau-topped hill between Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit, Combs Head, is {{convert|503|m}} above sea level.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=3646|title=Combs Head|last=|first=|date=|website=Hill Bagging – Database of British and Irish Hills|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810084502/http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=3646 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |access-date=22 March 2020}} At its northern tip is a prehistoric promontory fort called Castle Naze.{{NHLE |num=1009294 |desc=Promontory fort on Combs Edge |grade=scheduled |fewer-links= |access-date=6 December 2023}}
The moorland plateau is flanked by Combs Edge and the Goyt Valley to the west, the village of Combs to the north, Black Edge and Dove Holes to the east and Buxton to the south. The Midshires Way long-distance footpath follows a Roman Road across the southwestern end of Combs Moss.{{cite map|publisher=Ordnance Survey|title=OL24 White Peak area|at=West sheet|url=|scale=1:25000|series=Explorer}}
Much of Combs Moss is a privately owned grouse moor, with a shooting hut and grouse butts. Following the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, this area became "Open Access" land for the public.{{Cite web|url=http://www.openaccess.naturalengland.org.uk/wps/portal/oasys/maps/MapSearch/|title=CRoW and Coastal Access Maps|last=|first=|date=|website=Natural England|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904181025/http://www.openaccess.naturalengland.org.uk:80/wps/portal/oasys/maps/MapSearch |archive-date=4 September 2009 |access-date=23 March 2020}}
Castle Naze<span class="anchor" id="Castle Naze"></span>
Castle Naze is the site of a prehistoric hillfort at the northwest edge of Combs Moss, overlooking Combs Reservoir (a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest). The fort is over {{convert|2|acre}} in extent with a triangular layout. There is a substantial defensive double rampant on the southeast side and protective rock edges on the other sides. The is a clear causeway up the hillside to the former entrance to the fort. In 1873 a Roman coin of Emperor Constantine the Great and Romano-British pottery were found. Nottingham University students conducted a survey of the site in 1957 and concluded that the fort had been built during the Iron Age period and was reconstructed in Medieval times.{{Cite web|url=https://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=5483|title=Castle Naze|last=|first=|date=|website=The Megalithic Portal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030702122640/http://www.megalithic.co.uk:80/article.php?sid=5483 |archive-date=2 July 2003 |access-date=22 March 2020}} Buried remains were uncovered of pits, hearths, workshops and the postholes and foundations of buildings. Castle Naze hillfort is a protected Scheduled Monument. The place-name "Naze" derives from Old English næss "ness, promontory, headland".{{Cite web|title=naze - Wiktionary|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/naze|access-date=2020-09-04|website=en.wiktionary.org}}
The gritstone escarpment at Castle Naze is a popular location for crag climbers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/rad/view.aspx?id=750|title=Castle Naze|last=|first=|date=|website=British Mountaineering Club|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=22 March 2020}}
References
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{{Peaks of the Peak District}}{{coord|53.2819|-1.9314|type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SK1066)|display=title|format=dms}}
Category:Mountains and hills of the Peak District
Category:Mountains and hills of Derbyshire
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