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Ethel Bagging
Ethel Bagging
In 2021 a list of 95 hills in and around the Peak District National Park were announced called Ethel's, named after Ethel Haythornthwaite. They are made up some of the highest hills within or near to the park and hills with prominence or character. Six of the the Ethels are the county tops of Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. An app was also release to supplement the fun of bagging the 95 hills. All our walks have the number of Ethel's summited and we also have some Ethel specific walks for the more hard to reach places. If you wanted an Ethel specific walk not shown on the website then please contact us.
Countryside Pioneer
Countryside Pioneer
Ethel Haythornthwaite was an environmental activist and instrumental in the creation of The Peak District National Park and Sheffield's Green Belt. After the death of her first husband in WWI she found herself drawn to the healing countryside surrounding Sheffield and realised it was in danger of development. In 1928 she was at the forefront of a movement to raise money and buy the 747 acre Longshaw estate after which was then donated it to The National Trust in 1931. In 1932 she raised the funds to buy the 448 acres of Blacka Moor and in 1938 this became the country's first Green Belt. In 1951 the Peak District National Park was established, the first of its kind within the UK, which, without Ethel, may not existed as it does today. Until recently her name has largely been forgotten but with creation of The Ethels her hard work, determination and kind soul will hopefully be remembered once more.
Photo credit CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire
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