Shutlingsloe

Shutlingsloe, the so-called Cheshire Matterhorn, is the county's most striking summit — a sharp 506m peak that gives the best all-round view in the west of the Peak District. Park at Clough House in Wildboarclough and it is a steady climb onto open access moor where the pyramid shape makes a superb aerial subject, especially with a low sun throwing the ridgelines into relief. From the top you see across the Cheshire Plain to the Welsh hills, north over Macclesfield Forest and east into the Dark Peak. It is the classic Cheshire viewpoint the region deserves. Two cautions keep it off the fully open list. First, Macclesfield Forest and Trentabank to the north are United Utilities plantation and reservoir land, so keep your launch on the open-access summit moor and don't TOAL in the forest. Second, this is Peak District National Park land, where the authority asks pilots to fly considerately and take off only from land where you have permission — the access moor is your friend here. It is a popular hill, busy on weekends, so early starts avoid both crowds and the frequent hill fog. Manchester's zone lies ~22km north-west, so airspace is clear.