Hill lists in the British Isles
Encyclopedia
The mountains and hills of Great Britain, and to a lesser extent Ireland
, are the subject of a considerable number of lists that categorise them by height
, topographic prominence
, or other criteria. They are commonly used as a basis for peak bagging
, whereby hillwalkers
attempt to reach all the summits on a given list. The oldest and best known of these lists is that of the Munro
s, mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m); other well-known lists include the Corbetts, Wainwrights and Marilyns
.
in 1891, and is modified from time to time by the Scottish Mountaineering Club
(SMC). Unlike most other lists, the Munros do not depend on a rigid prominence
criterion for entry; instead, those that satisfy the subjective measure of being a "separate mountain" are regarded as Munros, while subsidiary summits are given the status of tops. There are 283 Munros and 227 further tops, all of them in the Scottish Highlands
.
of at least 500 feet (152.4 m). The list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke Corbett
, a Bristol-based climber and SMC member, and was published posthumously after his sister passed it to the SMC. 221 Corbetts, many of them in areas of Scotland with no Munro
s, include Moidart
, Ardgour
, the Southern Uplands
and the islands of Arran
, Jura
, Rùm
and Harris.
A list of Corbett Tops, covering every mountain in Scotland with between 2500 foot of height and between
100 foot of relative height, was published by Alan Dawson in 2001. There are currently 449 of them.
over 2000 feet (609.6 m). The list was compiled by Percy Donald, and is maintained by the SMC. Whether a hill is a Donald is determined by a complicated formula. A hill with a prominence of at least 30 metres (98.4 ft) is automatically a Donald, but one with a relative height of 15 metres (49.2 ft) may be one if it is of sufficient topographic interest. There are 140 Donalds, comprising 89 hills and 51 tops.
Dawson in 2004 published a list of Graham Tops covering Scotland down to 610 m of height and 30 m of relative height. There are 777 of them.
s and their associated tops. They comprise all the summits in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m) with a relative height of at least 30 metres (98.4 ft). There are currently 444 Murdos, compared to 283 Munros or 510 Munros plus tops. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson.
All Murdos are also Munro Tops, but many Munro Tops fail to qualify as Murdos because of insufficient relative height. Before 1997 there were seven Murdos that were not Munro Tops, some with quite substantial relative heights. All seven were included in the 1997 edition of Munro's Tables, plus two non-Murdos: Little Pap on Lochnagar and Knight's Peak on Sgurr nan Gillean. The addition of Knight's Peak, on the basis of an altimeter measurement, was controversial and it was only accepted as a Murdo in 2009, some time after being re-surveyed as 915m by the Ordnance Survey
. Little Pap has an estimated drop of only 22 metres and the reason for its re-introduction to the list, following its removal in the 1981 edition of Munro's Tables, is unclear.
.
By including hills that rise by as little as 15 metres (49.2 ft) above their surroundings, the list of Nuttalls is sometimes criticised for including too many insignificant minor tops. The Hewitts (see below) are one attempt to avoid this.
With the exception of Pillar Rock, a rocky outcrop on Pillar
in the Lake District
, the peaks of all of the Nuttalls can be reached without resort to rock climbing
. , 163 people are known to have completed the list, though this includes some who did not climb Pillar Rock, which the authors permit.
There are 527 Hewitts in total: 178 in England, 138 in Wales and 211 in Ireland. The current TACit booklets contain 525 hills, with Black Mountain being counted in both England and Wales. Since their publication in 1997, Birks Fell in England and Mynydd Graig Goch have been added and Black Mountain deemed to be in Wales only.
Scottish hills are, by definition, excluded. Those that meet the criteria are published in three parts: the Murdos, the Corbett Tops, and the Graham Tops.
that have a chapter in one of Alfred Wainwright
's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 hills in the seven guides. There are no qualifications for inclusion other than an implied requirement of being at least 1000 feet (304.8 m) high, to which Castle Crag
is the sole exception. A further 116 hills were included in the supplementary guide, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland
.
of at least 150 metres (492 ft), regardless of distance, absolute height or other merit. There are currently 1,554 Marilyns in Great Britain: 1,214 in Scotland, 179 in England, 156 in Wales and 5 on the Isle of Man
. (Black Mountain is on the border between England and Wales, but counted in Wales.) There are a further 453 Marilyns in Ireland. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson. The name was coined as an ironic contrast word game
to the designation Munro, which is homophonous with (Marilyn) Monroe.
is another popular form of peak bagging
, dating back at least to the 1920s when John Rooke Corbett
was attempting to visit them all.
, and a support team. The pre-war record, set by Bob Graham
, of 42 tops, has become a standard round, which has been repeated by over 1,000 people.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, are the subject of a considerable number of lists that categorise them by height
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
, topographic prominence
Topographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
, or other criteria. They are commonly used as a basis for peak bagging
Peak bagging
Peak bagging is an activity in which hillwalkers and mountaineers attempt to reach the summit of some collection of peaks, usually those above some height in a particular region, or having a particular feature.Peak bagging can be distinguished from highpointing...
, whereby hillwalkers
Hillwalking
In the British Isles, the terms hillwalking or fellwalking are commonly used to describe the recreational outdoor activity of walking on hills and mountains, often with the intention of visiting their summits...
attempt to reach all the summits on a given list. The oldest and best known of these lists is that of the Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...
s, mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m); other well-known lists include the Corbetts, Wainwrights and Marilyns
Marilyn (hill)
A Marilyn is a mountain or hill in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Isle of Man with a relative height of at least 150 metres , regardless of absolute height or other merit...
.
Munros
The Munros are mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m). The list was originally compiled by Sir Hugh MunroHugh Munro
Sir Hugh Thomas Munro, 4th Baronet of Linderits was a Scottish mountaineer who is best known for his list of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet , known as the Munros....
in 1891, and is modified from time to time by the Scottish Mountaineering Club
Scottish Mountaineering Club
The Scottish Mountaineering Club is Scotland's second oldest mountaineering club. Founded in 1889, in Glasgow, the private club, with about 400 members, publishes guidebooks and runs a list of Munroists.-History:At the time of the club's founding there were a number of experienced Alpinists...
(SMC). Unlike most other lists, the Munros do not depend on a rigid prominence
Topographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
criterion for entry; instead, those that satisfy the subjective measure of being a "separate mountain" are regarded as Munros, while subsidiary summits are given the status of tops. There are 283 Munros and 227 further tops, all of them in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
Corbetts
The Corbetts are peaks in Scotland that are between 2500 foot,high with a relative heightTopographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
of at least 500 feet (152.4 m). The list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke Corbett
John Rooke Corbett
John Rooke Corbett , better known as J. Rooke Corbett was one of the founder-members of The Rucksack Club and their Convener of Rambles. In the 1920s Corbett compiled a list of hills between 2500 and 3000 feet with a prominence of at least 500 feet...
, a Bristol-based climber and SMC member, and was published posthumously after his sister passed it to the SMC. 221 Corbetts, many of them in areas of Scotland with no Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...
s, include Moidart
Moidart
Moidart is a district in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland.Moidart lies to the west of Fort William and is very remote. Loch Shiel cuts off the south-east boundary of the district. Moidart includes the townships of Dorlin, Mingarry, Kinlochmoidart and Glenuig. At Dorlin is located the ancient fortress...
, Ardgour
Ardgour
Ardgour is a district of Lochaber on Ardnamurchan peninisula on the western shore of Loch Linnhe, in Highland Scotland.The term Ardgour, together with Kingairloch, is applied to a large area of countryside around the village, from the Glensanda Superquarry, Kingairloch and Kilmalieu in the south...
, the Southern Uplands
Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas . The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills within this region...
and the islands of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
, Jura
Jura, Scotland
Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...
, Rùm
Rùm
Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...
and Harris.
- List of Corbetts
A list of Corbett Tops, covering every mountain in Scotland with between 2500 foot of height and between
100 foot of relative height, was published by Alan Dawson in 2001. There are currently 449 of them.
Donalds
The Donalds are hills in the Scottish LowlandsScottish Lowlands
The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....
over 2000 feet (609.6 m). The list was compiled by Percy Donald, and is maintained by the SMC. Whether a hill is a Donald is determined by a complicated formula. A hill with a prominence of at least 30 metres (98.4 ft) is automatically a Donald, but one with a relative height of 15 metres (49.2 ft) may be one if it is of sufficient topographic interest. There are 140 Donalds, comprising 89 hills and 51 tops.
Grahams
The Grahams are hills in Scotland between 2000 foot, with a drop of at least 150 metres (492.1 ft). The list of hills fitting these criteria was first published by Alan Dawson in The Relative Hills of Britain as the Elsies (LCs, short for Lesser Corbetts). They were later named Grahams after the late Fiona Torbet (née Graham) who had compiled a similar list around the same time. Dawson continues to maintain the list, which contains 224 hills distributed as follows: Highlands south of the Great Glen 92, Highlands north of the Great Glen 84, Central and Southern Scotland 23, Skye 10, Mull 7, Harris 3, Jura 2, Arran 1, Rum 1, South Uist 1.- List of Grahams
Dawson in 2004 published a list of Graham Tops covering Scotland down to 610 m of height and 30 m of relative height. There are 777 of them.
Murdos
The Murdos are an attempt to apply objective criteria to the MunroMunro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...
s and their associated tops. They comprise all the summits in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m) with a relative height of at least 30 metres (98.4 ft). There are currently 444 Murdos, compared to 283 Munros or 510 Munros plus tops. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson.
All Murdos are also Munro Tops, but many Munro Tops fail to qualify as Murdos because of insufficient relative height. Before 1997 there were seven Murdos that were not Munro Tops, some with quite substantial relative heights. All seven were included in the 1997 edition of Munro's Tables, plus two non-Murdos: Little Pap on Lochnagar and Knight's Peak on Sgurr nan Gillean. The addition of Knight's Peak, on the basis of an altimeter measurement, was controversial and it was only accepted as a Murdo in 2009, some time after being re-surveyed as 915m by the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
. Little Pap has an estimated drop of only 22 metres and the reason for its re-introduction to the list, following its removal in the 1981 edition of Munro's Tables, is unclear.
- TACit Tables: The Murdos — original published list of Murdos by region
- Database of British Hills — updated data on the current list
Furths
The Furths are mountains in Great Britain and Ireland which, but for their ill luck in being situated "furth" of Scotland, would be Munros. The SMC will record the claims of those Munroists who go on to complete the Furths.Nuttalls
The Nuttalls are hills in England and Wales over 2000 feet (610 m) with a relative height of at least 15 metres (49.2 ft). There are 443 Nuttalls in total (253 in England and 190 in Wales). The list was compiled by John and Anne Nuttall and published in two volumes, The Mountains of England & Wales.
By including hills that rise by as little as 15 metres (49.2 ft) above their surroundings, the list of Nuttalls is sometimes criticised for including too many insignificant minor tops. The Hewitts (see below) are one attempt to avoid this.
With the exception of Pillar Rock, a rocky outcrop on Pillar
Pillar (Lake District)
Pillar is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. Situated between the valleys of Ennerdale to the north and Wasdale to the south, it is the highest point of the Pillar group . At 892 metres it is the eighth highest mountain in the Lake District...
in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, the peaks of all of the Nuttalls can be reached without resort to rock climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
. , 163 people are known to have completed the list, though this includes some who did not climb Pillar Rock, which the authors permit.
Hewitts
The Hewitts are Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over Two Thousand feet (609.6 m), with a relative height of at least 30 metres (98.4 ft). The English and Welsh lists were compiled and are maintained by Alan Dawson; the Irish list is by Clem Clements. The list addresses one of the criticisms of the Nuttalls by requiring hills to have a relative height of 30 metres (98.4 ft), thus excluding the 125 least prominent Nuttalls from the list.There are 527 Hewitts in total: 178 in England, 138 in Wales and 211 in Ireland. The current TACit booklets contain 525 hills, with Black Mountain being counted in both England and Wales. Since their publication in 1997, Birks Fell in England and Mynydd Graig Goch have been added and Black Mountain deemed to be in Wales only.
Scottish hills are, by definition, excluded. Those that meet the criteria are published in three parts: the Murdos, the Corbett Tops, and the Graham Tops.
- List of Hewitts and Nuttalls in England
- List of Hewitts and Nuttalls in Wales
- List of Hewitts in Ireland
- List of Hewitts in Northern Ireland
Wainwrights
The Wainwrights are hills (locally known as fells) in the English Lake District National ParkLake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Parks and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District....
that have a chapter in one of Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...
's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 hills in the seven guides. There are no qualifications for inclusion other than an implied requirement of being at least 1000 feet (304.8 m) high, to which Castle Crag
Castle Crag
Castle Crag is a hill in the North Western Fells of the English Lake District. It is the smallest hill included in Alfred Wainwright's influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, the only Wainwright below 1,000 ft....
is the sole exception. A further 116 hills were included in the supplementary guide, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland is a book written by Alfred Wainwright, dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's Pictorial Guides in that it describes a series of walks, some of them taking in several summits, rather than devoting a chapter to each...
.
- List of Wainwrights
- The Outlying Fells of LakelandThe Outlying Fells of LakelandThe Outlying Fells of Lakeland is a book written by Alfred Wainwright, dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's Pictorial Guides in that it describes a series of walks, some of them taking in several summits, rather than devoting a chapter to each...
Marilyns
The Marilyns are hills in the British Isles that have a relative heightTopographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
of at least 150 metres (492 ft), regardless of distance, absolute height or other merit. There are currently 1,554 Marilyns in Great Britain: 1,214 in Scotland, 179 in England, 156 in Wales and 5 on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. (Black Mountain is on the border between England and Wales, but counted in Wales.) There are a further 453 Marilyns in Ireland. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson. The name was coined as an ironic contrast word game
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
to the designation Munro, which is homophonous with (Marilyn) Monroe.
Hardys
The Hardys are the high points of the United Kingdom's hill ranges, islands over 1,000 acres (404.7 hectares) and top-tier administrative areas (including County Tops). There are 342 Hardys: of 61 hill ranges, 91 islands and 190 administrative areas (where the high point is not a cross-referenced hill range or island). 178 are in England, 31 in Wales, 107 in Scotland and 26 in Northern Ireland. The list was first compiled in the 1990s and is maintained by Ian Hardy.County tops
Climbing in the highest point of each British countyCounties of the United Kingdom
The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century all...
is another popular form of peak bagging
Peak bagging
Peak bagging is an activity in which hillwalkers and mountaineers attempt to reach the summit of some collection of peaks, usually those above some height in a particular region, or having a particular feature.Peak bagging can be distinguished from highpointing...
, dating back at least to the 1920s when John Rooke Corbett
John Rooke Corbett
John Rooke Corbett , better known as J. Rooke Corbett was one of the founder-members of The Rucksack Club and their Convener of Rambles. In the 1920s Corbett compiled a list of hills between 2500 and 3000 feet with a prominence of at least 500 feet...
was attempting to visit them all.
- List of counties of England and Wales in 1964 by highest point
- List of English counties by highest point
- List of Welsh principal areas by highest point
- List of Scottish counties by highest point
- List of Scottish council areas by highest point
Peak bagging culture
In the Lake District especially, there is a tradition of finding the maximum number of tops, including all the major summits, which can be visited in a 24 hour period - see Lakeland 24 hour record. This usually requires fell runningFell running
Fell running, also known as mountain running and hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty...
, and a support team. The pre-war record, set by Bob Graham
Bob Graham Round
The Bob Graham Round is a circuit of 42 fells in the English Lake District, including the peaks of Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Scafell and Scafell Pike...
, of 42 tops, has become a standard round, which has been repeated by over 1,000 people.
See also
- List of mountains and hills of the British Isles by height
- List of mountains of the British Isles by relative height
- List of mountains in Ireland
- List of mountains and hills of the United Kingdom
- Tor