Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill

Chrome Hill and Parkhouse Hill stand together above the upper Dove valley near the Staffordshire border, inside the Peak District National Park, their narrow, serrated profiles earning the pair the local name the Dragon’s Back. Wikipedia’s entry for Chrome Hill, at 425m the higher of the two against Parkhouse Hill’s 360m, describes both as limestone reef knolls, the fossilised remains of atolls that grew on a tropical sea floor during the Carboniferous period; the ground carries exposures of Gigantoproductus fossils and both hills sit inside the Chrome and Parkhouse Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest, where removing rock samples is an offence. The final episode of Peaky Blinders was filmed overlooking Chrome Hill in 2022, and around the summer solstice the pair are known for a double sunset.

Roadside parking near the Methodist church at Hollinsclough, a drive from Hartington, is the usual start, climbing directly onto Chrome Hill’s crest before a scrambling descent to the col and a second, shorter climb onto Parkhouse Hill; a field path and footbridge over the River Dove link the return to the village. PeakDistrict.org, which names the route the Dragon’s Back walk, gives the alternative start as Earl Sterndale, a village on the opposite side of the hill reachable by the 442 bus from Buxton.

PeakDistrict.org puts the horseshoe at 6 to 7km with 389m of ascent, and rates it hard. It suits a confident walker who wants exposed ridge walking without a full mountain day, and it does not suit anyone uneasy on a narrow, unfenced crest or a family wanting a straightforward outing from the same hub. For that, the flat, traffic-free Tissington Trail starts at Hartington’s old station yard.