Bosley Minn is one of two names – the other being Wincle Minn – given to a prominent hill in southeast Cheshire and in the southwestern corner of the

Peak District National Park Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

in northern England. The long axis of the Minn runs NNE–SSW and its broad summit, which reaches to at its highest point, slopes away to the valley of the Shell Brook in the east and towards

Bosley Reservoir Bosley Reservoir is a large reservoir created to feed the Macclesfield Canal system, specifically the twelve Bosley Lock Flight, Bosley locks. It is fed from the surrounding hills, including Bosley Cloud which rises to 1,125 feet (343 m). Histor ...

in the west. It is the western aspect of the hill, facing

Bosley Bosley is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 406.Wincle is referred to as Wincle Minn.

Geology

The hill is formed in a succession of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s and mudstones which comprise the Millstone Grit Group of rocks. In particular it is the various beds of the Carboniferous

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian ...

age "Minn Sandstone" which have withstood erosion by ice and water and resulted in the present day shape of the Minn. A spectacular

glacial meltwater channel A meltwater channel (or sometimes a glacial meltwater channel) is a channel cut into ice, bedrock or unconsolidated deposits by the flow of water derived from the melting of a glacier or ice-sheet. The channel may form on the surface of, within, ...

runs along the western side of the hill, one of several on this western margin of the Peak District up against which

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

ice was banked during the last ice age.British Geological Survey 1:50,000 scale geological map sheet no 110 ''Macclesfield'' and accompanying memoir

Access

Although there is rough grazing on the slopes of the hill, no part of it falls within the definitions of open country as set out under the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

so there is no access land across which walkers may roam. Nevertheless, access is enjoyed along the north-south crest of the ridge by means of a minor public road which is followed by the

Gritstone Trail The Gritstone Trail, or Cheshire Gritstone Trail, is a long-distance footpath in England which follows the most westerly hills of the Peak District from Disley Station to Mow Cop, and on via the Macclesfield Canal to Kidsgrove Station. Ma ...

recreational path. In addition a few steep

public footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s ascend its eastern and southern slopes from the Shell Brook and the vicinity of Bosley Reservoir respectively. It is via one of these paths that the Gritstone Trail connects with the Dane Valley to the south.

References

{{coord, 53.1974, -2.0886, type:mountain_region:GB, display=title Hills of Cheshire Mountains and hills of the Peak District