The Terret

As you enter the outskirts of the town of Buxton on the A53 having travelled from the direction of the town of Leek, and if you look to your left on the hillside you can see a peculiar round hill with windswept trees growing on it.

Due to the thin layer of top soil and the extreme weather that can often be found in this area the trees have taken on a stunted appearance and only the few sheep that graze here are all that break up the barrenness of the countryside.

A view of the A53 from the Terret

This unusual hill which may or may not be man made is named the Terret, the name seems to have derived from the brass ring which is used as part of a horses harness, it is the ring that the horses rein is attached to and which also attaches to the bit. As the hill is circular in shape, as is the Terret on a horses harness it is thought that this is how this strange shaped hill acquired its name. It has also been speculated that the horse connection goes deeper as it is thought that around the base of this hill pre-historic horse racing once took place. If you walk around the base of this hill there is still evidence of a track worn in the ground, perhaps this was formed many years ago by our ancestors holding the equivalent of our Grand National or Derby!

This photograph shows the A53 which had used to be a Roman road, so in all probability this unusual shaped hill may have had some defense significance.