As we start the ascent up Hood Hill with my son Lochy, I highlight its unique charm. Beyond the perfect symmetry, sharp peak, and breathtaking vistas, the site features fascinating medieval earthworks and ancient boulders left by long-gone glaciers.
The Enchanting Moorland Landscape
This hill anchors a dramatic moor-edge region that includes Whitestone Cliff, Lake Gormire, Roulston Scar, hidden caves, the Devil’s Stride gap, and the iconic Kilburn White Horse. These elements fuel endless tales and legends.
Chasing the Altar Stone Legend
Today, we follow a folklore account from 1852 about the distinctive Altar Stone on the summit ridge. Locals shared that druids originally used it at Roulston for sacred, often gruesome ceremonies. Early Christian missionaries arrived, prompting Satan to appear in fury. His foot scorched the stone upon landing, and as he leaped away, it flew to its current spot on Hood Hill.
This narrative surfaced over a century before archaeologists uncovered a massive Iron Age fort at Roulston. It hints at preserved memories from pre-Roman times, when the Brigantes tribe dominated the area and likely employed druids.
A Shocking 20th-Century Event
Today, the Altar Stone exists only as shattered remnants in a deep crater. On September 21, 1954, an RAF Sabre F Mk4 jet plunged straight down from a clear sky, destroying the aircraft, its pilot, and the stone in a direct impact.
Lochy, typically uninterested in ancient history, perks up at this detail. He theorizes on the crash: “The Sabres were among the first turbojet planes, so there was plenty wrong with them. Bird strikes usually meant game over.”
Layers of History on the Summit
Like the Brigantes, Romans, Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and the British Empire, the Sabre jets briefly marked this land. Yet Hood Hill’s magnetic pull weaves them all into a rich tapestry, as integral to the peak as its underlying geology.
