Three Shires Head

Three Shires Head is the point on Axe Edge Moor where the English counties of Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire meet. It is on the River Dane, which marks the Cheshire border in this area. On the east of the river, the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire runs north-east for about a mile to Cheeks Hill, on the higher regions of Axe Edge Moor. From Cheeks Hill the border runs south then east to the head of the River Dove.

The presence of the packhorse bridge shows the importance of this route for traders from nearby Flash and Hollinsclough to Macclesfield. Silk was produced at Hollinsclough, and sent to the mills at Macclesfield.Coal was mined from about 1600 on Axe Edge