View source for Shining Tor

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{short description|Highest point in Cheshire, England}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Shining Tor
| photo = Shining_Tor.jpg
| photo_caption = The [[trig point]] and former ladder [[stile]] at the summit of Shining Tor.
| elevation_m = 559
| elevation_ref = <ref name=Bathurst_2012>{{cite book |last= Bathurst |first= David |year= 2012 |title= Walking the county high points of England |location= Chichester |publisher= Summersdale |isbn= 978-1-84-953239-6 |pages= 202-207}}</ref>
| prominence = 236 m
| prominence_ref = <ref name=hb>[http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=2812 ''Shining Tor''] at www.hill-bagging.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2016.</ref>
| parent_peak = [[Kinder Scout]]
| listing = [[Marilyn (hill)|Marilyn]], [[List of English counties by highest point|County Top]], [[Dewey (hill)|Dewey]]
| location = [[Cheshire]], [[England]]
| range = [[Peak District]]
| map = United Kingdom Peak District#United Kingdom Cheshire
| map_caption = Location in Peak District##Location in Cheshire
| map_size = 200
| label_position = Left
| coordinates = {{coord|53.260670|N|2.009331|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| grid_ref_UK = SJ994737
| topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 118
| type = 
| age = 
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route = 
}}

'''Shining Tor''' is the highest hill in [[Cheshire]], England. The summit has an elevation of {{convert|559|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref name=Bathurst_2012/> It is in the [[Peak District]], between the towns of [[Macclesfield]] in Cheshire and [[Buxton]] in [[Derbyshire]], and is on the administrative boundary between Derbyshire and [[Cheshire East]]. The hill is at the south end of a north-south moorland ridge, which also includes [[Cats Tor]], {{convert|519|metre}} high. There is also another hill named Shining Tor, above [[Dovedale]] in Derbyshire, at [[grid reference]] {{gbmappingsmall|SK145545}}.

== Ascent ==
The hill offers many walking routes to the top, perhaps most commonly from the [[Upper Goyt Valley]] by [[Errwood reservoir]], perhaps combined with a walk along the ridge north from Shining Tor over Cats Tor. It can also be gained with less climbing from the [[Cat and Fiddle Inn]].

== Views ==
As it is the highest point around (it is some {{convert|8|m|ft}} higher than the summit of [[Axe Edge Moor]] above Buxton), the views are pleasant, though the relatively flat uplands mean they are not extensive in all directions: the view to the southwest of the peak of [[Shutlingsloe]] above Wildboarclough is particularly notable, and in clear conditions [[Winter Hill (North West England)|Winter Hill]] near [[Bolton]], the city of [[Manchester]] and much of the Cheshire Plain can be seen, including the radio telescopes at [[Jodrell Bank]] {{convert|20|km|mi}} to the west. In very clear but not unusual conditions North Wales and even [[Snowdonia]] can be seen.<ref name="panorama">{{cite web |url=http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/Shiningtor.gif |title=Shining Tor |publisher=viewfinderpanoramas.org |accessdate=10 August 2012}}</ref> The hill is used by [[amateur radio]] operators for [[Summits On The Air]] activations (G/SP-004, 2 points).<ref>[https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/G/SP-004 Summits on the Air - Shining Tor - G/SP-004]</ref>

[[File: Cat and Fiddle road from Shining Tor.jpg|thumb|[[Cat and Fiddle Road|Cat and Fiddle road]] from Shining Tor.]]

== Geology ==
The north–south ridge of Shining Tor including the summit itself is formed from the Chatsworth Grit, a thick sandstone of [[Namurian]] age which occurs widely across the Peak District. The beds dip moderately steeply to the east into a north–south-aligned [[syncline]] known as the Goyt Trough.  Shining Tor is thought to have stood above the ice sheet during the last ice age and so is free from glacial deposits. The eastern dipslope and shallower parts of its western flanks are covered by [[peat]] up to several metres deep.<ref>British Geological Survey map sheet 111 'Buxton' & accompanying memoir</ref>

==References==
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
{{reflist}}

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{{Peaks of the Peak District}}

[[Category:Marilyns of England]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of the Peak District]]
[[Category:Hills of Cheshire]]
[[Category:Mountains and hills of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Highest points of English counties]]