Glossop is northwest of London, east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield and north of Derby. It nestles in the foothills of the Pennines, with Bleaklow to the northeast and Kinder Scout to the south. It lies on Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, in the area of peat moorland commonly known as the Dark Peak. The moors, which rise to over 1,960 ft, are cut by many deep V-shaped valleys known as cloughs, each formed by a stream known as a brook. Shelf Brook passes through Old Glossop where it joins Hurst Brook to form Glossop Brook, which passes westward through Milltown, Howard Town and Dinting to the River Etherow, which in turn runs south to join the River Goyt at Marple Bridge. Two other notable brooks are Padfield Brook and Gnat Hole Brook.