A Marilyn is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 or hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 or 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...

 with a relative height

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...

 of at least 150 metres (492 ft), regardless of absolute 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 ....

 or other merit. The name was coined as a punning contrast to the designation 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...

, used of a Scottish mountain with a height of more than 3000 feet (914.4 m), which is homophonous with (Marilyn) Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

.

There are 2,009 Marilyns identified: 1,216 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, 455 in Ireland

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...

 (of which 66 are in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

), 176 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, 157 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, 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, in the Black Mountains

Black Mountains, Wales

The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the national border into Herefordshire, England. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently...

, on the border between England and Wales, was formerly counted in both countries but is now treated as being in Wales only. The list of Marilyns in Britain was compiled by Alan Dawson in his book The Relative Hills of Britain, and continues to change as resurveying produces revised heights for hills and the passes

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 between them. The list was extended into Ireland by Clem Clements in a booklet, The Hewitts and Marilyns of Ireland.

Although many of the islands' largest hills including Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands, close to the town of Fort William....

, Carrantuohill, Scafell Pike

Scafell Pike

Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England at . It is located in Lake District National Park sometimes confused with the neighbouring Sca Fell, to which it is connected by the col of Mickledore...

 and Snowdon

Snowdon

Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...

 are Marilyns, many other large hills such as Cairngorm

Cairngorm

Cairngorm may refer to:* Cairngorms, mountain range in the Scottish Highlands, and so*: Cairngorms National Park, national park in Scotland*: Cairngorm Mountain Railway*: Cairngorm , a form of smoky quartz, found in the Cairngorms...

, a number of Munros, and other well-known hills such as Bowfell

Bowfell

Bowfell is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth highest mountain in the lakes and one of the most popular of the Lake District fells...

, the Langdale Pikes and Carnedd Dafydd

Carnedd Dafydd

Carnedd Dafydd is a mountain peak in the Carneddau range in Snowdonia, North Wales, and is the third highest peak in Wales, or the fourth if Crib y Ddysgl on the Snowdon ridge is counted. Situated south-west of Carnedd Llewelyn and north of Pen yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd is on the main ridge of...

, are not Marilyns because they do not have sufficient relative height. However, some lower hills such as Seatallan

Seatallan

Seatallan is a mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. It is rounded, grassy and fairly unassuming, occupying a large amount of land. However, it is classed as a Marilyn because of the low elevation of the col connecting it to Haycock, its nearest higher neighbour to the north...

 and Watch Hill

Watch Hill (Cockermouth)

Watch Hill is a small hill lying on the north-western fringe of the Lake District in England. The name Setmurthy Common is sometimes used to refer to the area including the highest point, with "Watch Hill" describing the area to the west of the summit...

 on the edges of Lakeland

Lake 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....

 and the Long Mynd

Long Mynd

The Long Mynd in Shropshire, England, is a part of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury, and has an area of over 22 square kilometres , most of which takes the form of a heathland plateau. Most of the land on the Long Mynd is owned by...

 in Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

 do qualify because of their isolation from higher hills. Not all of the Marilyns are even hills in the usual sense: one, the highest point of the Weald, lies within the East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

 town of Crowborough

Crowborough

The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...

, whilst the top of the Yorkshire Wolds

Yorkshire Wolds

The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in northeastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie....

, Bishop Wilton Wold

Bishop Wilton Wold

Bishop Wilton Wold is the highest point of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The summit, known as Garrowby Hill, lies about 5 miles north of Pocklington....

 lies alongside the A166 road. At the other extreme are Stac Lee

Stac Lee

Stac Lee is a sea stack in the St Kilda group, Scotland. An island Marilyn, it is home to part of the world's largest colony of Northern Gannet.-Geography and geology:Martin Martin called the island "Stac-Ly"; other sources call it "Stac Lii."...

 and Stac an Armin

Stac an Armin

Stac an Armin , based on the proper Scottish Gaelic spelling , is a sea stack in the St Kilda archipelago. It is 196 metres tall, qualifying it as a Marilyn...

, the two highest sea stacks

Stack (geology)

A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...

 in the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

, in the St. Kilda

St Kilda, Scotland

St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...

 archipelago, over 81 miles (130 km) west of the Scottish mainland.

Scotland

Nearly 80% of Marilyns in Great Britain are in Scotland, where they logically extend earlier Scottish lists
such as the Munros, Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds. All Corbetts and Grahams, 204 of the 283 Munros, and around half of the Donalds are also Marilyns.

Peak bagging

Some 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 climb as many Marilyns as possible as a 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...

. Some radio amateurs attempt to operate from the summit of every Marilyn. As of the end of 2009, no one had climbed all the Marilyns in Great Britain; however, three people were only two short of completing them (because of the inaccessibility of the sea stacks on St Kilda

St Kilda, Scotland

St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...

 and their protected status as part of the largest gannet

Gannet

Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

 nesting site in the world, maintained by the National Trust for Scotland). Two other people are only three short of completion

See also

• Hill lists in the British Isles
  Hill lists in the British Isles
  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...
  
  
• List of mountains of the British Isles by relative height — a list of the top 119 Marilyns by relative height.

External links

• Marilyn News Centre
• Lakes24 24 Marilyns in 24 hours in the English 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...
  
  
• Winter wanderland -- Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  travel article about the Marilyns
• Google Earth .kmz file showing all Marilyns
• List and introduction to 2,993 British "HuMPs", or hundred metre prominences.