Crook Hill
{{Short description|Hill in Derbyshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Crook Hill
| photo = Crook_Hill_and_Ladybower.JPG
| photo_caption = The twin summits of Crook Hill above Ladybower Reservoir
| elevation_m = 382
| elevation_ref =
| prominence = 34 m
| listing =
| location = Peak District, England
| range = Pennines
| coordinates = {{coord|53.3782|-1.7258|type:mountain_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| grid_ref_UK = SK182871
| topo = OS Landranger 110
| type =
| age =
| first_ascent =
| easiest_route =
}}
Image:Crook Hill from Derwent Edge.jpg, Lose Hill and Mam Tor are in the distance.]]
Crook Hill is a small hill in the Peak District National Park in the English county of Derbyshire, {{convert|5|km}} north east of Castleton.
Overview
The hill is situated above the A57 Snake Pass road between Sheffield and Manchester as it passes Ladybower Reservoir. Crook Hill is regarded as an outlier of Kinder Scout although the two are separated by the long western arm of Ladybower Reservoir. The hill has twin summits, the highest of which reaches a modest height of {{convert|382|m}} while the secondary top (sometimes referred to as Ladycrook Hill, although this name does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps) attains an altitude of {{convert|374|m}}. The actual high point of the ridge is Bridge-end Pasture, at {{convert|391|m}} above sea level, which is about 1 km north east.{{Cite web |title=Crook Hill |url=https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/hill-view/?rf=16573 |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Hill Bagging |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Bridge-end Pasture |url=https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/hill-view/?rf=16558 |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Hill Bagging |language=en-GB}}
Geologically, the hill consists of Kinder Scout Grit, a kind of sandstone.{{cite book |title=Geology Explained in the Peak District| author=Fred Wolverson Cope |page=167 | publisher=Scarthin Books |isbn=0-907758-98-3 |year=1998}} Both the hill's summits give excellent views of the surrounding countryside with Ladybower Reservoir, Derwent Edge and Win Hill being the main attractions. Between the two summits there is some evidence of an ancient megalithic standing stone circle. The circle originally consisted of five stones around a surviving mound of which only two are still upright.{{cite web |url=http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/3601/crook_hill.html |title=Crook Hill (Stone Circle) |publisher=www.themodernantiquarian.com |accessdate=10 August 2012}}{{NHLE |num=1019909 |desc=Stone circle 330m north west of Crookhill Farm |grade=scheduled |fewer-links= |access-date=13 October 2024}} There are also scheduled cairns in the vicinity.{{NHLE |num=1019907 |desc=Round cairn 430m west of Crookhill Farm |grade=scheduled |fewer-links=yes |access-date=13 October 2024}}{{NHLE |num=1019908 |desc=Round cairn and clearance cairn 770m north west of Crookhill Farm |grade=scheduled |fewer-links=yes |access-date=13 October 2024}}
Crook Hill is one of the 95 Ethels hills of the Peak District, launched by the countryside charity CPRE in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Gough |first=Julie |date=7 May 2021 |title=Our Peak District hill walking challenge: climbing the 95 'Ethels' |url=https://www.cprepdsy.org.uk/news/our-peak-district-hill-walking-challenge-walking-the-95-ethels/ |access-date=13 May 2021 |website=CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire |language=en-GB}}
Ascents
Crook Hill is normally climbed from the Derwent valley road just as it leaves the A57: a bridleway leaves the small car park at grid reference {{gbm4ibx|SK190871}} and climbs steeply and muddily up to Crookhill Farm, a working sheep farm owned by the National Trust which also offers accommodation to tourists. Once the farm is passed, a stile is climbed onto the open sheep pasture and it is then a straightforward walk to the two twin summits, which are on designated access land.{{cite map |publisher=Ordnance Survey |title=OL1 The Dark Peak |url=http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=418375&Y=386850&A=Y&Z=115 |scale=1:25000 |series=Explorer |accessdate=10 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002913/http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=418375&Y=386850&A=Y&Z=115 |archivedate=4 March 2016 }}