The Cloud (Peak District)
| The Cloud | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 343 m (1,125 ft) |
| Prominence | 174 m (571 ft) |
| Listing | Marilyn |
| Coordinates | 53°10′12″N 2°08′40″W / 53.17000°N 2.14444°WCoordinates: 53°10′12″N 2°08′40″W / 53.17000°N 2.14444°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Cheshire, Staffordshire, England |
| Parent range | Peak District |
| OS grid | SJ904636 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 118 |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | 9 |
The Cloud or Bosley Cloud is a prominent hill on the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire a couple of miles west of the Peak District National Park boundary.
At 343 metres (1,125 ft) in height, it is one of the highest hills in the area. Its heather-covered summit plateau is crowned by a trig point from which extensive views over Congleton, Biddulph, Macclesfield, Holmes Chapel, and the Greater Manchester area can be enjoyed. The Cloud sits at the northern apex of a triangle formed by the broken ridge which runs along the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire and the hills stretching south through Biddulph Moor into Staffordshire. To its north, the River Dane wraps around its lower slopes whilst the A523 road runs to its east through the village of Bosley in Southeast Cheshire.
The summit and upper slopes are formed from the coarse and pebbly Chatsworth Grit, a thick sandstone which forms a part of the Millstone Grit and which dates from the Namurian stage of the Carboniferous period. The lower slopes are formed from mudstones which are not generally exposed. The hill owes its shape in part to the passage of ice around its flanks in successive ice ages.
The summit and adjacent slopes of the hill are owned by the National Trust and so have been available for public access over many years, a situation reinforced by the additional pedestrian access measures provided by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Several public footpaths cross the hill and provide links with the network of minor roads which run around its lower slopes. The shared route of the Staffordshire Way and the Gritstone Trail recreational paths runs up to the summit from Timbersbrook en route for the Dane Valley.
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Wikipedia