The Windgather Rocks ( a.s.l.) is a

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...

crag on the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

–

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

border in England. It is in 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 ...

and is a popular site for learning the rudiments of rock climbing. As the name suggests the area is exposed to the prevailing westerly winds. The rocks lie above Taxal Edge and are part of a north–south ridge that starts between Kettleshulme and

Whaley Bridge Whaley Bridge () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the High Peak Borough Council, High Peak district of Derbyshire, England. It is situated on the River Goyt, south-east of Manchester, north of Buxton, north-east of Mac ...

and culminates at

Shining Tor Shining Tor is the highest hill in Cheshire, England. The summit has an elevation of above sea level. It is in the Peak District, between the towns of Macclesfield in Cheshire and Buxton in Derbyshire, and is on the administrative boundary betw ...

. The crag was featured in the first guide to rock climbing in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

, '' Some Gritstone Climbs'', published in 1913 and written by

John Laycock Christopher John Laycock (1887 – 3 December 1960) was an English-born Singaporean lawyer who was the founder of one of Singapore's earliest law firms, Laycock and Ong. He was also a founder of the Singapore Progressive Party and served as Me ...

References

External links

UK Climbing databaseHigh-res photos of Windgather RocksA walk including the Windgather Rocks
* Tourist attractions in Derbyshire Tourist attractions in Cheshire Hills of Cheshire Mountains and hills of the Peak District Climbing areas of England {{England-sports-venue-stub