The idea for this highest cricket grounds in Yorkshire feature came after I did one on the smallest grounds that got quite a bit of attention and discussion.
Before researching to come up with a shortlist, I set some criteria to judge by. You’d think that was simple enough but there are a surprising number of nuances that soon crop up.
Laying down the rules
Is it clubs and schools? The Cricket Yorkshire shortlist is based on cricket club grounds but if there is a school outpost on top of a mountain then all power to their lofty ambitions.
Is it any cricket ground in Yorkshire? No – I am interpreting a cricket ground as somewhere that hosts the game regularly across a season. So, not a one-off game where someone rolled out a mat up Whernside.
What constitutes Yorkshire? Yikes.
Current administrative boundaries or pre-1974, local government shake-up? It’s ultimately a question of history over admin – and your personal opinion. I swithered and decided to not include a club (Austerlands) that is Oldham.
(We have dived into that previously – and a visit to Austerlands -with Where does Yorkshire and its club cricket begin and end?)
This will galvanise some perhaps but the judgement came from the fact that they list Lancashire as the home county on their own Play-Cricket website. If you think otherwise then Austerlands slot into the top five highest grounds.
What is the most reliable way to judge elevation?
After some tinkering and understanding various metrics, I’ve based this shortlist on OS Maps – the Ordnance Survey (OS) is Great Britain’s national mapping service and the definitive source. Third-party websites use data from the OS but this route allowed me to search via postcode then locate an exact place.
Have I searched every cricket ground in Yorkshire?
No. 😁 That would take a long, long time and there’s no particular need once you know the highest areas. That said, there conceivably might be an omission. If so, drop me a note and I’ll explore then update this if needs be.
How did I do the research?
You can plug in a cricket club postcode, find the right cricket ground locally and pin the exact location (yes, I did all that myself manually rather than use AI – which rapidly becomes flawed).
It was a bit of a rabbit hole though. Some cricket club grounds you think would be (literally) up there are way short. Marsden (255m) & Haworth (232m) don’t make the top ten.
There are also subtleties. You can pin a location anywhere on a cricket ground and it might vary up to 5m in height in two spots.
But, it was a lot of fun and I wonder how many cricket grounds you get right? Did you guess the top spot? (I kept thinking of ‘high’ grounds that ended up being nowhere near.)
The Top 10 highest cricket grounds in Yorkshire
Here are their rankings, with elevation and grid ref included:
1. Queensbury
Elevation: 363m or ~1,191ft
Grid ref: SE 09052 30467
2. Thornton CC
Elevation: 318m or ~1,043ft
Grid ref: SE 09015 33159
3. Cartworth Moor CC
Elevation: 313m or ~1,027ft
Grid ref: SE 13396 06720
4. Upperthong CC
Elevation: 297m
Grid Ref: SE 12512 08479
5. Denholme CC
Elevation: 289m or ~948ft
Grid ref: SE 07038 34459
Just outside the top 5:
6. Green Moor CC
Elevation: 285m or ~935ft
Grid ref: SK 28019 99140
7. Bradshaw CC
Elevation: 284m or ~932ft
Grid ref: SE 08041 30265
8. Old Town CC
Elevation: 277m or ~909ft
Grid ref: SD 99785 28483
9. Oakworth CC
Elevation: 274m or ~899ft
Grid ref: SE 02549 39237
10. Illingworth St Marys CC
Elevation: 273m or ~896ft
Grid ref: SE 07450 28757
Editor’s note
Outlane (272m or ~893ft) was in the original top 10 when this was published but has been ousted due to the addition of Upperthong which required a re-order!
Excluded: Austerlands (298 m, ~978 ft), Greater Manchester, which is ruled out but would otherwise sit 4th.
That’s right. Queensbury Cricket Club is the highest cricket ground in Yorkshire – and I was there earlier this season.
You can see other solar systems from up there as well as Stoodley Pike and Emley Moor. Plus a few cows and horses.
As it happens, I’ve been to five of the top ten (so some good ideas for future trips) and there’s a heavy presence of Halifax Cricket League outposts. Or should that be up-posts?
What’s your favourite ground from the list? Any stories of playing, officiating or spectating?
What to read more?
Thanks for reading – Check out the smallest cricket grounds in Yorkshire feature – what else would you like to read if we extend this series?
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Hi John, I’m sure Stones CC, Ripponden, HX6 4LQ in the Halifax Cricket League should be in your top 5 highest grounds if not top 2
Hey Andrew, thanks for the comment – I thought so too but no, it’s 269m so just outside the top ten. Wonderful location though.
Yes, I had Stones in mind too….. beautiful views
Sure are Keith!
i always thought Rawdon was the highest village in England
Hi Tim, I was at Rawdon earlier this year. Really enjoyed it. It’s one of the larger playing surfaces but not the highest.
Just checked for you – 202m.
Upperthong, who play in the Huddersfield League and are located the other side of the valley from Cartworth Moor play at 296m.
Hey Andy – thanks for the comment and if you look again, you’ll note that the top 10 has now been adjusted to include Upperthong.
I managed to find a square metre up at 297m! Appreciate the note and it’s partly why I wrote this to have contributions. Enjoy your cricket, JF.
Haworth West End CC would have made the top 3 I reckon, but unfortunately they no longer have a team.
Austerlands is most definitely in Yorkshire and like Saddleworth, which it is a part of, it always will be part of the white rose.
thanks John for your message and informed research, if you could do a Lancashire/Yorkshire would be good, Baxenden, Haslingden and Bacup are our 3 highest in the area, a coat is recommended to be warm when the wind arrives….Another ground l visited and watched a full game Woodhouse Grove school, Bolton Villas v Adel…
Thanks Stephen, only been to a few Lancs League grounds like Clitheroe and Todmorden and they weren’t high up. Always smart to have a coat!
On the first day of the 2017 season, April 30, I made the mistake of visiting Bacup CC’s ground. Remarking, to a local, about the inescapable chill, he replied: “Nobody in their right mind comes up here before July.” The game, in the Lancashire League, ended a tie, which made the discomfort worthwhile.
Went to Haslingden CC’s ground earlier this season, for a Lancashire League fixture. To be honest, it did not feel particularly high up.
Other than the awesome Austerlands CC, one ground I have visited in the Yorkshire-Lancashire border district, that did feel elevated, is the Greater Manchester League’s Moorside CC. It is located off the A672 Oldham-Denshaw=Ripponden road, and features eye-popping views across central Manchester.
Yet to visit Baxenden (a fellow groundhopper, sounding a warning, described it as “exposed”). Had an opportunity, at the start of this season, to go there. But a forecast for cold, wind and rain (no, really) put me off. Instead, I watched football at nearby Peel Park, former home of Accrington Stanley. And got very wet.
Good to hear from you and thanks for other suggestions. Small world. I once worked with someone who supported Bacup CC. Long before I came to Yorkshire.
My next assignment could be largest Yorkshire grounds which is tricky without a measuring stick!
I played against match at the old Queensbury ground a few years ago in a cup match. It rained and had to go there five nights. The old ground had a rugby league club next to the ground Another match on the ground our captain said it was the worst pitch he had seen and batted. Bowled out for 52 and lost the match.