Shining Tor

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Shining Tor
The trig point and ladder stile at the summit of Shining Tor.
Elevation	559 m (1,834 ft)
Location	Peak District, England
Prominence	c. 236 m
Topo map	OS Landranger 118
OS grid reference	SJ994737
Listing	Marilyn, County Top

Shining Tor is a hill in the Peak District of England, between the towns of Buxton and Macclesfield, lying on the border between Derbyshire and Cheshire. Its summit is the highest point in Cheshire. (There is another Shining Tor, above Dovedale in Derbyshire, at grid reference SK145545). The word tor means a high rock, and comes from the Old English language.

The hill can be climbed by many routes, perhaps most commonly from the 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.

As it is the highest point around, (it is some 8m 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 south-west of the peak of Shutlingsloe above Wildboarclough is particularly notable, and in clear conditions, Winter Hill near Bolton, and much of the Cheshire Plain can be seen, including the radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the west. In very clear but not unusual conditions North Wales and even Snowdonia can be seen, see external panorama link below.