My Peak Experience

[Click image to zoom in]

Saddleworth used to be part of West Yorkshire, until the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the Urban District of Saddleworth and created the new Metropolitan Borough of Oldham on 1st April 1974. This has lead to much confusion as technically, Saddleworth is still in West Yorkshire, but is administered by Oldham. The new council went so far as to erase any reference to Yorkshire from the old boundary stones. Saddleworth had been a part of West Yorkshire since at least the Norman invasion and was a part of the Honour of Pontefract. This was just the latest in a long history of bitterly fought Pennine boarder disputes that has left centuries of bloodshed ingrained in the landscape by means of place names and folklore. Two great hills stand at the entrance to the Upper Tame Valley, Alphin Pike and Alderman's Hill. These were said to be the homes of two giants, Alphin and Alder who fought for the hand of Rimmon, a water nymph who lived in Chew Brook in the valley below. Rimmon preferred Alphin and the two giants fought by casting boulders at each other, until Alphin was struck and killed. Rimmon cast herself from an outcrop in grief and joined Alphin in death. While this legend on the surface appears to be nothing more than a fairytale, it could well have it's roots in the ancient boarder conflicts of the area between Celts and advancing Germanic invaders. It certainly seems that place names such as Alderman (Elder Man) and Kinder (Children) have their roots in Germanic languages, while Alphin is possibly of Celtic origin (Al - cliff or rock). It doesn't take a huge leap of imagination to supplant the two giants for armies based on the opposing hills and Rimmon being the land that they fought over. This is strikingly similar to the tale of the battle of Win and Lose Hill in Derbyshire fought in 626AD, when the Northumbrians camped on Win Hill rolled boulders onto the opposing forces. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, thirteen kingdoms arose in the north. Elmet covered much of what is West Yorkshire today. Rheged extending to the west, covering much of modern Cumbia and Lancashire. Both were largely inhabited by Bythronic Celts. It is possible that Elmet existed before the Roman occupation and was part of the Brigantine confederacy, re-emerging following the collapse of Roman administration. Close to Alphin and Alderman are three groupings of rocks bearing the name Raven. Raven Stones above Greenfield Brook, Ravenstone Rocks above Diggle Beck and Raven Rocks close to West Nab. In Celtic mythology, the Raven is highly symbolic with a number of meanings and was used as an identity symbol on Dark Age banners. It is also suggested that the Raven may have been used as a frontier marker, supported by surviving place names in Cumbria, which seem to mark the boarders of Northern Rheged. Even before the withdrawal of Roman forces, Britain was subject to invasion from Germanic peoples such as Saxons and Angles. Following the collapse of Elmet to Anglian ruled Northumbria in the early part of the 7th Century, the southern section of Rheged would have come under increasing pressure as Celtic Britain was slowly pushed westwards. The Raven place names possibly indicating visible frontier markers and places where movements across this section of the Pennines could be observed. Rheged itself succumbed to Northumbria at some time before 730AD. The boarder between Yorkshire and Lancashire has been in a state of flux for many centuries. Maybe Saddleworth will yet one day, return to West Yorkshire.

How to get there: Saddleworth Moor straddles the boarder between Kirklees and Oldham and is reached via the A635 Greenfield/Holmfirth Road. It includes the Dovestones Reservoir, Alderman's Hill and Pots and Pans.