Black Hill is a typical Pennine moorland mountain, with a very flat and extensive plateau (but steeper sides).

Black Hill is crossed by the Pennine Way whose now-paved surface allows walkers to reach the top dry-shod even in the wettest of weather.

Under the local government reforms which were enacted in 1974, Black Hill was placed for administrative purposes on the border between the boroughs of Kirklees in West Yorkshire and High Peak in Derbyshire.

Black Hill can also be reached easily from Holme Moss via access land, but this route requires the use of map and compass, as although the ground is level, it becomes trackless and confusing in places.

According to Wainwright[2] the support timbers for the Ramsden theodolite, used by the Royal Engineers in the original Ordnance Survey which began in 1784, were still to be found here many years later.