Scafell Pike in the Lake District in Cumbria. Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England, the 257th-highest mountain in the British Isles on the Simms classification, the 138th-highest mountain on the Marilyn classification, and the 46th-highest mountain on the P600 classification. Scafell Pike has the 13th-greatest "relative height" (or prominence) in the British Isles. It is also classed as a HuMP, a Furth, a Hewitt, a Nuttall, a Wainwright, a Birkett, and a County Top.[1]
The mountains and hills of the British Isles are categorised into various lists based on different combinations of elevation, prominence, and other criteria such as isolation. These lists are used for peak bagging, whereby hillwalkers attempt to reach all the summits on a given list, the oldest being the 282 Munros in Scotland, created in 1891.
A height above 2,000 ft, or more latterly 610 m, is considered necessary to be classified as a mountain – as opposed to a hill – in the British Isles. With the exception of Munros, all the lists require a prominence above 15 metres (49.21 ft). A prominence of between 15 and 30 metres (49.21 and 98.43 ft) (e.g. some Nuttalls and Vandeleur-Lynams), does not meet the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) definition of an "independent peak", which is a threshold over 30 metres (98 ft). Most lists consider a prominence between 30 and 150 metres (98.43 and 492.1 ft) as a "top" (e.g. many Hewitts and Simms). Marilyns, meanwhile, have a prominence above 150 metres (492.1 ft), with no additional height threshold. They range from small 150-metre (490 ft) hills to the largest mountains. Prominences above 600 metres (1,969 ft), meet the P600 (the "Majors") classification, which is the UIAA international classification of a "major" mountain.
General concepts
Elevation
Elevation and prominence criteria used in the classification of mountains and hills in the British Isles.[2]
There is no worldwide consensus on the definition of mountain versus a hill, but in Great Britain and Ireland it is usually taken to be any summit with an elevation of at least 2,000 feet (or 610 metres).[3][4][5][6] The UK government legally defines mountain land as that over 600 metres (1,969 ft) for the purposes of freedom of access.[7] When Calf Top in Cumbria was re-surveyed in 2016 and confirmed to be 6 millimetres above the 609.6 m threshold for a 2,000 ft peak, the Ordnance Survey described Calf Top as England's "last mountain".[8]
Regardless of the technical definition of a mountain, cultural norms also feature, with mountains in Scotland being frequently referred to as hills irrespective of their height; examples being the Cuillin Hills and the Torridon Hills.[5][9]
Prominence
All British Isles-wide mountain classifications, and most country-specific classifications, include an explicit minimum topographical prominence threshold (also called relative height, or drop, or re-ascent, between neighbouring peaks), which is typically 30–600 m (98–1,969 ft).[6][9]
The lowest prominence threshold is 15 metres (49.21 ft) (e.g. Nuttalls, and Vandeleur-Lynams), but most classifications have a prominence threshold above 30 metres (98.43 ft). Many classifications use the term "Tops" for peaks with prominence between 30–150 metres (98.43–492.1 ft) (e.g. Donald Tops), while other classifications ignore height and just focus purely on prominence (e.g. P600s, Marilyns, and HuMPs).[9]
Prominence requirements feature in International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) classifications of Himalayan mountains.[10][11] In 1994, the UIAA stated that for a "peak" to be independent (and not a sub-peak), it needed a prominence over 30 metres (98 ft), and a "mountain" had to have a prominence above 300 metres (980 ft).[12]
Unlike the single measurement of elevation, prominence requires the measurement of all contours around the peak and is therefore subject to greater revision over time, and thus classification lists based on prominence are subject to change.[13] Some definitions use an imperial measurement for height, but a metric measurement for the topological prominence (e.g. Murdos, Hewitts, and Nuttalls.[9]
Isolation
No British Isles classification uses a quantitative metric of topographic isolation (such as the distance to the next point of equal height). However, the concept is embedded in the qualitative definition of a Scottish Munro, and the Scottish Mountaineering Club requirement of "sufficient separation".[14]
Database of British and Irish Hills
The Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH) was created in 2001 "with the intention of providing a comprehensive, up-to-date resource for British hillwalkers".[15][16][17] It is maintained by a team of seven editors, and is described by the Long Distance Walkers Association as "now the most reliable online source for all Registers" (i.e. all lists of summits attained).[18] The DoBIH has been used as a source by books, hillwalking websites and smartphone apps, including Mark Jackson's 2010 book on the HuMPS, titled More Relative Hills of Britain.[19]
The P600s are mountains in the British Isles that have a topographical prominence of at least 600 metres (1,969 feet), regardless of absolute height or other merits.[23] The list initially used a 2,000 ft metric (or 609.6 m, the P610s) but this was subsequently reduced to 600 m and the list became known as the "Majors". The list is authored by Mark Trengove. The definitive version is published on his Europeak website[24] and in the Database of British and Irish Hills.[25] It is one of the shortest of the classification lists of mountains in the British Isles as it has testing threshold criteria.
In 2006, 93 P600s were identified in Great Britain: 82 in Scotland, four in England and seven in Wales. These, together with one in Northern Ireland, one on the Isle of Man, and 24 in the Republic of Ireland, brought the total number of P600 mountains in the British Isles to 119.[24][25] Later, the Welsh peak Moel Siabod's prominence was remapped at 600 metres (2,000 ft) and the list of P600s expanded to 120. In 2018 a GNSS survey gave a prominence of 599.9m.[26] Although the margin of error means the result is not conclusive, it was accepted by Mark Trengove, who was present on the survey, bringing the total back to 119. More recently available LIDAR data for the col would give a prominence of 599.7m. In February 2020 a GNSS survey of Beinn Odhar Bheag in conjunction with OS trig point data for Rois-Bheinn found the former to be 1 metre higher.[27] Accordingly, Beinn Odhar Bheag has replaced Rois-bheinn in the P600 list.[24]
The British Isles' P600s contain 54 of the 282 Scottish Munros, and 10 of the 34 Non-Scottish Munros called § Furths; these 64 British Isles' mountains meet the designation of being above 3,000 feet (914 metres) in height, and 600 metres (1,969 feet) in prominence.[25]
P600 is an international mountain classification criterion, along with P1500 (or Ultras), for a prominence above 1,500 metres (4,921 feet).[28][29] The online version of The Database of British and Irish Hills also offers a P500 mountain classification: summits with a prominence above 500 metres (1,640 feet).[30]
The Marilyns are mountains and hills in the British Isles that have a topographical prominence above 150 metres (490 feet), regardless of absolute height or other merits.[31][9] As of April 2020,[update] there were 1,552 Marilyns in Great Britain: 1,219 in Scotland, 175 in England, and 158 in Wales (Black Mountain, on the England–Wales border, is counted as being in Wales).[31] There are 454 Marilyns in Ireland (389 in the Republic of Ireland and 66 in Northern Ireland), and five on the Isle of Man, bringing the total for the British Isles to 2,011.[31]
The list was first compiled in 1992 by Alan Dawson.[9][28] The name was coined as a humorous contrast to the designation Munro, which is homophonous with [Marilyn] Monroe.[9] The Marilyns are one of the most popular lists for peak baggers, and because of the lack of any height threshold, the classification includes a wide range of hills and mountains, and some sea stacks (pictured right).[9][31]
HuMPs
The Marilyns were expanded in 2007 by the HuMPs (Hundred and upwards Metre Prominence), which reduced the prominence requirement to 100 m (330 ft); all British Isles Marilyns are British Isles HuMPS (but not vice versa).[19][32] Though he did not use the term HuMP, Eric Yeaman's Handbook of the Scottish Hills (1989) is considered an early source as it included lists of hills with a prominence above 100 m.[32] The name and first formal British Isles list was compiled by Mark Jackson from a number of sources and published online in 2010 in More Relative Hills of Britain.[19] As of April 2020, there were 2,984 HuMPs in the British Isles: 2,167 in Scotland, 833 in Ireland, 441 in England, 368 in Wales and 11 in the Channel Islands.[32] Jackson maintains a "Hall of Fame" for climbers who have summited 1,200 HuMPs.[19]
A Simm is a mountain in the British Isles that is over 600 m (1,969 ft) high and has a prominence of at least 30 m (98 ft).[33] The word comes from Six-hundred Metre Mountain.[33] As of April 2020, there are 2,755 recorded Simms in the British Isles, including 2,190 Scottish Simms, 192 English Simms, 149 Welsh Simms, one Isle of Man Simm, and 223 Irish Simms.[b][33] By definition all Simms are also TuMPs (see below) and most, if not all, are mountains, depending on whether 600 metres or 2,000 feet (610 m) (e.g. a § Hewitts), is used as the criterion. The idea of the Simm was introduced by Alan Dawson in June 2010, who noted that a Simm was the "broadest credible definition of what could be objectively conceived as a mountain in Britain".[28] As of October 2018[update], 6,414 people had registered themselves as having climbed all 282 Scottish Munros,[34] by March 2020 11 people had registered climbing all 1,557 Marilyns of Great Britain,[35] while by Aug 2021 only four people had registered completion of the 2,531 Simms of Great Britain, three of whom have also declared completion of all 2,755 Simms of the British Isles.[36] July 2020 saw one summit promoted and one deleted, and by 24/07/2020 all of the three initial completers had "topped up".
TuMPs
In 2010, Mark Jackson further expanded the HuMPS and compiled the TuMPs (Thirty and upwards Metre Prominence), a list of all hills in Britain having a prominence above 30 m (98 ft).[37][38] By definition, all Murdos, Corbett Tops, Graham Tops, Hewitts and Deweys are also TuMPs. As of April 2020, there are 17,127 TuMPs;[37] approximately half of that number that did not appear in previously researched lists were researched by Mark Jackson between 2006 and 2009. Since 2012 the list has been published and maintained by the editors of The Database of British and Irish Hills.[39]
The Munros are mountains in Scotland with elevation of over 3,000 feet (914.4 m).[40] The list was originally compiled by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891, and is modified from time to time by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC),[14][41] an example being the delisting in December 2020 of Stob Coire na Cloiche as a Munro top, now recognised as being of only 912.5 metres (2,994 ft).[42] 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 Munro Tops.[9] There are 282 Munros, and 226 further Munro Tops, totalling 508 summits, all of them in the Scottish Highlands.[40][14]
Real Munro is used to describe Munros with a prominence of over 150 metres (490 ft) (the Marilyn prominence threshold),[43] and there are 202 Real Munros in Scotland. Of the 282 Scottish Munros, 54 meet the 600 metres (1,969 ft) prominence threshold to be classified as P600s.[44]
Metric Munro is used to describe the Munros with an elevation above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and a prominence either over 200 metres (660 ft) (of which there are 88), or a prominence over 100 metres (330 ft) (of which there are 130),[45] but the term is not in widespread use.[44]
Murdos
Càrn na Criche, the highest Murdo that is not classed as a Munro
The Murdos apply a quantitive criterion to the Munros and their associated tops, and comprise all of the summits in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 m) with a prominence above 30 metres (98 ft).[46] There are 442 Murdos, compared to 282 Munros (or 508 Munros plus Munro Tops); one of the Munros does not qualify as a Murdo (Maoile Lunndaidh), and 66 of the Munro Tops do not qualify as Murdos.[46][47]
Alan Dawson first compiled the list in 1995 as an objective and quantitative alternative to the more qualitative SMC definition of a Munro.[47] Dawson's threshold is in line with the 1994 UIAA declaration that an "independent peak" has to have a prominence of over 30 metres (98 ft).[12] Unlike all other Scottish mountain and hill classifications, the SMC does not maintain an official list of Murdos.[48] All Murdos are either SMC Munros or SMC Munro Tops.[49][39]
The Corbetts are peaks in Scotland that are between 2,500 and 3,000 feet (762.0 and 914.4 m) high with a prominence of at least 500 feet (152.4 m).[50][51] 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.[14][41] As of April 2020, there were 222 Corbetts.[50][14] Climbers who climb all of the Corbetts are called Corbetteers; the first being Corbett himself who completed in 1943.[14]
A list of Corbett Tops, covering mountains in Scotland between 2,500 and 3,000 feet (762.0 and 914.4 m) in height and with between 100 and 500 feet (30.48 and 152.4 m) of prominence, was published by Alan Dawson in 2001. There are 455 Corbett Tops, and thus 677 Corbetts and Corbett Tops in total.[39][50]
The Grahams are hills in Scotland between 600 and 762 metres (1,969 and 2,500 feet) high, with a drop of at least 150 metres all round.[52][53] A list of British hills with over 150 metres prominence was first published in 1992 by Alan Dawson in The Relative Hills of Britain,[9] with the subset from 2000 to 2500 feet referred to as Elsies (LCs, short for Lesser Corbetts). The Elsies were later named Grahams after the late Fiona Torbet (née Graham) who published her own list of Scottish hills from 2000-2500 feet six months later. Dawson continues to maintain the list, which as of December 2022 comprised 231 hills from 600 to 762 metres high. Two of the original Grahams no longer qualify: Cnoc Coinnich was found to be above the 762 metres (2,500 ft) height threshold, while Stob na Boine Druim-fhinn was found to have less than 150 metres prominence.[54]
In 2004, Dawson published a list of Graham Tops covering every summit in Scotland between 2,000 and 2,500 feet (609.6 and 762.0 m) high with over 30 metres of prominence. This list has since been superseded by the Simms, which include all mountains in Britain over 600 metres high with at least 30 metres prominence.[55]
Donalds
Corserine, the highest point of the Rhinns of Kells range, is a Marilyn, a Donald, and a Corbett
The Donalds are mountains in the Scottish Lowlands over 2,000 ft (610 m), amongst other criteria.[56] The list was compiled by Percy Donald in 1935, and is maintained by the SMC.[41] The classification is determined by a complicated formula which also contains qualitative elements around "sufficient topographical interest".[57] The formula necessitates splitting Donalds into Donald Hills and Donald Tops; in general, Donald Hills have a prominence over 100 feet (30.5 m), but the prominence of Donald Tops can range from 16–220 feet (4.9–67.1 m).[14] Donalds can be Corbetts or Grahams and the SMC state that: "Percy Donald's original Tables are seen as a complete entity, unlike the Munros, Corbetts and Grahams."[57] As of April 2020, there are 140 Donalds, comprising 89 Donald Hills and 51 Donald Tops.[56][57]
Given the complexity of the Donald classification, the simpler New Donalds was introduced by Alan Dawson in his 1995 book The Grahams and the New Donalds, with an explicit prominence threshold of 30 m (98.4 ft);[56][58] there are 118 New Donalds, and while all Donald Hills are New Donalds, 22 Donald Tops are not.[59]
Hughs
The Hughs (Hills Under Graham Height) are a list compiled by Andrew Dempster, who published The Hughs: Scotland's Best Wee Hills Under 2,000 Feet: Volume 1: The Mainland in 2015.[60][61] Dempster describes them as "hills with attitude, not altitude" and says "the three key words are prominence, position, panorama". He lists 100 summits in the mainland volume, and plans a second volume to list 100 summits on the islands.[62] As of 2021[update] they are not listed in the DBIH but have attracted attention from peakbaggers.[63][64]
Outside Scotland
Furths
Caher, an Irish Furth, and the only Furth with a prominence below 30 m[c]
Furths are mountains in Great Britain and Ireland that are furth of (i.e. "outside") Scotland, and which would otherwise qualify as Scottish Munros or Munro Tops.[14][65] They are sometimes referred to as the Irish, the English or the Welsh Munros. There are 34 furths; 15 in Wales, 13 in Ireland and six in England. The highest is Snowdon. Of these 34 SMC identified Furths, 33 have a prominence above 30 m (98 ft) (e.g. the Murdo Furths), 14 have a prominence above 150 m (490 ft) (e.g. the Real Munro Furths), and 10 have a prominence above 600 m (2,000 ft) (e.g. the P600 Furths).[14][65]
The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) maintains the list of Furths and records claims of Munroists who go on to complete the Furths (called "Furthists").[66]
Hewitts
Calf Top in Cumbria, the smallest Hewitt which was confirmed in 2016 as almost exactly 2,000 ft.[d]
The Hewitts, named after the initials of their definition, are "hills in England, Wales and Ireland over two thousand" feet (609.6 m), with a relative height of at least 30 metres (98 ft).[67] The English[68] and Welsh,[69] lists were compiled and are maintained by Alan Dawson.[68] Dawson originally called them "Sweats" in his book, from "Summits – Wales and England Above Two thousand".[70] the Irish component was compiled and maintained by Clem Clements[71] up to his death in 2012; it is now maintained by the DoBIH along with his list of Irish Marilyns. The list is a subset of the Nuttall classification (see below), and excludes the 125 least prominent Nuttalls from the list.[68]
As of March 2019[update], the DoBIH listed 525 Hewitts, 209 in Ireland,[b] 180 in England and 136 in Wales. Since their publication in 1997, Birks Fell and Calf Top in England and Mynydd Graig Goch have been added and Black Mountain deemed to be in Wales only. The combination of Murdos, Corbett Tops and Graham Tops comprise the Scottish equivalent of the Hewitts, but their author Alan Dawson regards those classifications as obsolete. Hewitts are a sub-class of the newer 2010 British Isles classification, the § Simms, or "metric Hewitt", with a 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) height threshold, and a 30 metres (98.4 ft) prominence threshold. Dawson still maintains a list of Hewitts.[72]
The Nuttalls are mountains in England and Wales only that are over 2,000 feet (610 m), and with a relative height of at least 15 metres (49 ft).[73][74] There were 444 Nuttalls in the original list (254 in England and 190 in Wales), compiled by John and Anne Nuttall and published in 1989–90 in two volumes, The Mountains of England & Wales.[3][74] After updates, the total of Nuttalls reached 446 in August 2018 with the inclusion of Miller Moss.[73][75][76]
By including high points that rise by as little as 15 metres (49 ft) above their surroundings, the list of Nuttalls is sometimes criticised for including too many insignificant minor tops; the Hewitts (see above) are one attempt to avoid this.[68] Some Nuttalls would not be considered peaks or mountains under UIAA definitions.[12]
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.[73][74] As of October 2018[update], 302 people are recorded as having completed the list, though this includes some who did not climb Pillar Rock, which the authors permit. They have also announced that Tinside Rigg and Long Fell (added to the list in 2016) need not be summited as they are in a restricted area of Warcop Artillery Range.[77]
The Wainwrights are mountains or hills (locally known as fells) in the English Lake District National Park that have a chapter in one of Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells.[78] There are 214 Wainwrights in the seven guides, and there are no qualifications for inclusion other than Wainwright's choice, although in the introduction he stated that he would include all summits over 1,000-feet in height, with a prominence above 50 feet.[78][79] An exception was made for Castle Crag in Borrowdale, at 951 feet (290 m); Wainwright stated that although it was below his 1,000-feet criterion, it was a perfect mountain in miniature and demanded inclusion.[79] A further 116 summits were included in the supplementary guide, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, and are known as the Wainwright Outlying Fells.[78]
The Birketts are all the tops over 1,000 feet (304.8 m) within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. Height and location, but not prominence, are the criteria.[80][82] The list was devised by Bill Birkett as the basis for his 1994 book Complete Lakeland Fells.[83] There are 541 of these tops, and they include 209 of the 214 Wainwrights, and 59 of the 116 Wainwright Outlying Fells.[80][82] The five Wainwrights that are not Birketts are Armboth Fell, Baystones, Castle Crag (which, at 951 feet (290 m), is Wainwright's only sub-1,000 ft summit), Graystones and Mungrisdale Common; Birketts are listed in the § Database of British and Irish Hills.[39]
Synges
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Synges the 647 Lake District summits in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits: Survey of the Fells of the Lake District National Park (1995).[84][85] Two hills have been added to the original list: High Rigg in 2017 and Oakhowe Crag in 2020. The current list is available on the Hill Bagging website.[86] There is no height or prominence threshold.[84][87]
Mweelrea is the highest Provincial Top in Connaught, the highest County Top in Mayo, the 5th highest Irish P600 mountain, the 14th highest Irish Marilyn mountain, the 16th highest Irish MountainViews mountain, the 26th highest Irish Arderin/Hewitt mountain, and the 34th highest Irish Vandeleur-Lynam/Nuttall mountain. It is not a Furth (or Irish Munro), and therefore not a Real Munro.[88]
Vandeleur-Lynams
A Vandeleur-Lynam is the Irish equivalent of a Nuttall, except that the definition is fully metric with a height requirement of 600 metres (1,969 ft), and a prominence requirement of 15 metres (49 ft).[89][90] As with the Nuttalls, Vandeleur-Lynams do not meet the UIAA requirements for a "peak" or for a "mountain".[12] In 1952, Irish climber Joss Lynam made a list of 2,000 ft Irish summits with a 50 ft drop aided by Rev CRP Vandeleur.[91] Lynam updated his list, and published it in the book, Mountaineering in Ireland (1976) by Claude Wall,[91] and later made a metric version published in 1997.[91] There are 275 Vandeleur-Lynams in Ireland.[89][92]
Arderins
The summit of Arderin (527 m) mountain in Ireland, the 344th highest Arderin in Ireland, and the Irish County Top for both Laois and Offaly counties
The Arderins are mountains in Ireland above 500 m (1,640 ft), with a prominence over 30 m (98 ft).[90][93] The list was drawn up in 2002 by the Irish MountainViews publisher Simon Stewart from an early listing of the Myrddyn Deweys with hills from the Vandeleur-Lynams which meet the higher prominence criterion.[90] The name Arderins was first used in 2009, and comes from the 527-metre (1,729 ft) hill Arderin, which is the County Top for County Laois and County Offaly in Ireland, and translates as "Height of Ireland".[94] The Arderins were published in the 2013 book, "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins".[90] According to the MountainViews Online Database, Ireland has 407 Arderins, of which 207 are over 2,000 ft and classed as Hewitts, and the 222 are over 600 m and classed as Simms.[b][95][93]
In addition, Mountainviews uses the term Arderin Begs for the additional class of peaks over 500 m (1,640 ft) in height, and with a prominence between 15–30 m (49–98 ft); in 2018, Ireland had 124 Arderin Begs.[96]
MountainViews
In 2013, Simon Stewart, publisher of Irish mountain database MountainViews Online Database, published A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins.[90] In the book, Stewart proposed a new classification of an Irish mountain, being one with a height above 500 m (1,640 ft), and a prominence over 100 m (328 ft). Stewart identified 222 Irish peaks as meeting his new classification. MountainViews used this definition to create the list of 100 Highest Mountains in Ireland,[97] which has also become popular in Ireland.[98][99]
Carns
MountainViews and Database of British and Irish Hills recognise a list of 337 summits as Carns, having height above 100 m (328 ft) and below 400 m (1,312 ft), and with a prominence over 30 metres (98 ft).[100][101][85]
Binnions
MountainViews and Database of British and Irish Hills recognise a list of 484 summits as Binnions, having a prominence of at least 100 m (328 ft) and a height below 400 m (1,312 ft).[102][103][85] Binnion Hill is a peak of 250 metres (820 ft) in height in County Donegal, site of the Battle of Binnion Hill, and possibly the source of the name.[104]
Wales only
The Mud and Routes website includes a list of WASHIS: Welsh And Six Hundred In Stature, 118 summits which are over 600m (1,969 ft) and have a prominence of at least 50 metres (160 ft), with the comment that "Wales doesn't have a list of summits in its own right", but the term does not appear to have been adopted elsewhere.[105]
County tops
Climbing to the highest point of each county is a form of peak bagging,[44][106] dating back to the 1920s when John Rooke Corbett was attempting to visit all British County Tops.[9]
The Deweys and related categories extend the Hewitts of England, Wales and Ireland to 500 metres, and include summits in Scotland, where there are no Hewitts.
The Deweys are peaks in England, Wales and the Isle and Man between 500 metres and 2,000 feet (609.6 metres) in height, with a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet), which were listed by Michael Dewey in 1995.[107] Deweys extend the England and Wales Hewitts below 2,000 feet, but above 500 metres. There are 426 Deweys identified: 241 in Wales, 180 in England, and five in the Isle of Man.[108]
The Donald Deweys are peaks in the Scottish lowlands (similar to the Donald classification), between 500 metres and 2,000 feet (609.6 metres) in height, with a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet), which were listed by David Purchase in 2001.[109] Donald Deweys are the Scottish lowland equivalent of Deweys. There are 248 Donald Deweys.[109]
The Highland Fives are peaks in the Scottish highlands, between 500 metres and 2,000 feet (609.6 metres) in height, with a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet). The first listing was compiled by Rob Woodall in 2003 using contributions from Tony Payne and others.[110] The list was adopted by The Database of British and Irish Hills[111] in 2011, who overhauled the list and with Woodall's agreement took over its maintenance and named it the Highland Fives. Highland Fives are the Scottish highland equivalent of Deweys. There are 774 Highland Fives.[110]
The Myrddyn Deweys are peaks in Ireland, between 500 metres and 2,000 feet (609.6 metres) in height with a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet), listed by Michael Dewey and Myrddyn Phillips and made freely available to the Mountaineering Council of Ireland in 2000.[112] Myrddyn Deweys are the Irish equivalent of Deweys. In 2011 the data was re-examined against the latest mapping. There are 200 Myrddyn Deweys.[112]
Dodds
The Dodds comprises hills between 500 and 600 metres in height, with a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet). The list was conceived in December 2014 in an article in Marhofn magazine[113] as a unification of those parts of the Deweys, Donald Deweys and Highland Fives below 600m to create a metric list that can be viewed as a downwards extension of the Simms (British hills over 600m high). The acronym comes from "Donald Deweys, Deweys and Scotland". A Subdodd is a hill which just fails (by up to 10m) to qualify on the drop rule, i.e. between 500m and 600m with 20-29m drop.
The list was first published by the Database of British and Irish Hills,[114] who maintain the list, in December 2017 after it had been recognised by the Relative Hills Society.[115] The geographical coverage was originally confined to Britain, but was extended to the Isle of Man in February 2020 and to Ireland in September 2020.[116]
Hardys
A Hardy is the highest point of a UK, Manx or Channel Island hill range, a UK island over 1,000 acres (400 hectares) or 4.05 km2) or a UK top-tier administrative area (counties and unitary authorities). There are now 347 Hardys with the recent addition (up to July 2016) of five low lying English coastal estuary islands: 61 hill ranges, 96 islands and 190 administrative areas. 183 are in England, 31 in Wales, 107 in Scotland and 26 in Northern Ireland. The list was first compiled in the 1990s by Ian Hardy.[117][118]
Non-active lists
Bridges
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Bridges the 407 summits in George Bridge's Mountains of England and Wales: Tables of the 2000ft Summits (1973).[85][119][120] Bridge used a prominence threshold of 50 feet (15 m), but was hampered by the accuracy of the maps available at the time, and the list was effectively replaced by the Nuttalls, which uses the metric equivalent of 15 m – 49 ft.[87][120]
Buxton & Lewis
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Buxton & Lewis the 422 summits in Mountain Summits of England and Wales (1986) by Chris Buxton and Gwyn Lewis.[85][121][122] Buxton and Lewis used a prominence threshold of two contour rings on the OS 1:50,000 map, and the number of hills is similar to the Nuttalls and the Bridges.[87][122]
Clems
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Clems the 1,284 summits in the list Yeamans of England & Wales compiled in 1993 by E. D. Clements, known as Clem, by applying Yeaman's criterion of "an eminence which has an ascent of 100m all round, or, failing that, is at least 5 km (walking distance) from any higher point on neighbouring hills" to summits in England, Wales and the Isle of Man, together with 14 summits which he added later. They were named Clems after his death, and formed the basis of the later list of HuMPs.[123][124]
Fellrangers
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Fellrangers the 230 (originally 227) Lake District summits in Mark Richards' Fellranger series of eight guidebooks (originally published by HarperCollins, starting with Central FellsISBN9780007113651; reprinted by Cicerone Press; 2013 boxed set ISBN978-1852847487; new editions 2019-2021),[85][125] A list is available on the HillBagging website.[126] There is no height or prominence threshold.[87][125] The original list included 18 fells not included in the 214 Wainwrights, some of which are listed among Wainwright's "Outlying fells".[127] The 2019-2021 edition includes a further three summits to bring the total to 230, the additions being Winterscleugh (Bretherdale Common), Whinfell Beacon and Grayrigg Forest, all in the Mardale and the far east volume.[128]
Yeamans
The Database of British and Irish Hills recognises as Yeamans (sometimes spelled Yeomans) the 2,441 summits identified by Eric Yeaman in his Handbook of the Scottish Hills (1989, Arbroath:Wafaida ISBN0951432400) with later changes. His criterion was "an eminence which has an ascent of 100 m all round, or, failing that, is at least 5 km (walking distance) from any higher point on neighbouring hills". Yeamans produced an update in 2001, and the list was used as the basis by those developing the later list of HuMPs, but the category is now considered to be "historic" and has not been updated since 2001.[124][129]
Regional lists
The following are lists of hills for a given region in the British Isles:
^The DoBIH is licensed under a "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License".[20]
^ abcAs of March 2019[update], the Irish MountainViews Online Database lists the prominence of Knockbrinnea (W) as 29m, and Carrignabinnia as 27 m, and thus they do not qualify as Arderins. Due to the use of different sources, the DoBIH gives their prominence as 30 m and they are thus classed as Irish Hewitts and Simms, giving 209 Irish Hewitts and 224 Irish Simms on the DoBIH tables.
^33 of the 34 SMC Furths have a prominence above 30 metres (98 feet), although Caher West Top in Ireland, has a prominence of 24 metres (79 feet).
^The Ordnance Survey confirmed in 2016 that Calf Top was 6 millimetres above the 609.6 m threshold for a 2,000 ft mountain, and confirmed Calf Top as England's "last mountain".[8]
^ abNuttall, John; Nuttall, Anne (2008). The Mountains of England & Wales – Volume 2: England (3rd ed.). Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. ISBN978-1852845896.
^"1(2)". Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000(PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 14 Feb 2013. "mountain" includes, subject to the following definition, any land situated more than 600 metres above sea level;
^"A funny name for a mountain". MarkHorrell.com. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2020. I explained how these five ridgetops couldn't possibly be classified as 8000m peaks in their own right because each of them requires less than 135 metres of re-ascent between their respective parent peaks, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse (known as topographic prominence). It seems that where logic and common sense fail the NMA feels that flattery may work instead.
^ abcd"Mountain Classification". UIAA. March 1994. Retrieved 16 April 2020. Topographic criterium: for each summit, the level difference between it and the highest adjacent pass or notch should be at least 30 m (calculated as an average of the summits at the limit of acceptability).
^ abcdefghi"Munros, Furths, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds". Scottish Mountaineering Club. 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2020. The list of distinct Scottish peaks of 3000ft (914.4m) and over, of "sufficient separation" from their neighbouring peaks. The list that was originally drawn up by Sir H.T. Munro in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1891 was unfinished at the time of his death. Munro did not write down a precise definition of what he meant by "sufficient separation", though the character of a mountain did enter into it. Through regular use these hills have become known as the Munros.
^ ab"Welcome". The Database of British and Irish Hills. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
^"Birthday celebrations with two new Nuttalls". Ordnance Survey. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020. DoBIH was founded by Graham Jackson and Chris Crocker as a personal tool to help them log their own hill ascents. However, over the years DoBIH evolved into something much bigger with six editors and many hillwalkers supplying data.
^"Copyright". Database of British and Irish Hills. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2020. We place no restrictions on use of the data by third parties and encourage authors of other websites and applications to do so. We just ask users to observe the terms of the Creative Commons licence
^"Downloads". Database of British and Irish Hills. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
^"Hill Classification". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 8 October 2020. P600, P600 m Peaks, 600 m+, SWEIM, British and Irish hills with at least 600 m of prominence, also known as the Major Mountains of Britain & Ireland.
^Dawson, Alan. "Beyond Britain". The Relative Hills of Britain (rhb.org.uk). Retrieved 16 April 2020. In Britain the main thresholds for relative height (prominence) listings are 150m, 100m and 30m. Worldwide the thresholds for prominence are larger, typically 1500m, 600m and 150m. These may be referred to as Ultras or P1500s, Majors or P600s and Marilyns or P150s.
^ abcd"The Marilyns". HillBaggingUK. 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2020. A Marilyn is "a hill of any height with a drop of 150 metres (nearly 500 ft) or more on all sides". So it is a hill which is relatively high compared to its surroundings.
^ abc"The HuMPS". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 16 April 2020. The Humps: Humps are hills of any height with a drop of 100 metres or more on all sides. The name Hump stands for HUndred Metre Prominence. By definition, all Marilyns qualify as Humps (but not vice versa). A Subhump is a hill which just fails (by up to 10m) to qualify on the drop rule, i.e. drop of 90m to 99m on all sides.
^ abc"The SIMMs". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 16 April 2020. The Simms: A Simm is a hill in England, Wales or Scotland over 600m high with a drop of at least 30 metres all-round. Simm is an acronym for Six-hundred Metre Mountain. The Irish and Isle of Man Simms are also listed on this website. A Sub-Simm is a hill which just fails (by up to 10m) to qualify on the drop rule, i.e. over 600m with 20-29m drop.
^Clerk of the List (October 2018). "Compleators". Scottish Mountaineering Club. Retrieved 16 April 2020. The SMC hold a record of Munros, Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds compleators.
^Dawson, Alan (6 July 2020). "Simm Hall of Fame". The Relative Hills of Britain (rhb.org.uk). Retrieved 16 April 2020. A Simm is a hill in Britain that is at least 600 metres high and has a drop of at least 30 metres on all sides. Only three people are known to have climbed all 2531 Simms, but anyone with at least 2000 Simms is eligible for the Simm Hall of Fame. As this is a distant target for many baggers, the Simm Corridor is open to those who have climbed at least 1500 Simms.
^ ab"The TuMPs". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 16 April 2020. The Tumps: A Tump is a hill in Scotland, England, Wales, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands which is separated from adjacent tops by a height difference of at least 30 metres on all sides. The higher of the Tumps, including all over 500m in height, are included on other lists such as the Simms and Deweys. For the lower Tumps, the accuracy of the data on this site is not necessarily as dependable nor subject to as much scrutiny as those above 500m. For lower lying hills it can be much more difficult to identify the actual summit, so some grid references given may be more an indication of the general area of the summit. There is also a greater likelihood of encountering access problems when trying to bag lower Tumps, so please be considerate of land ownership and usage.
^ ab"The Munros". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. The Munros: A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3000 ft in height, distinct and separate from its surrounding mountains. Munro's Tables were originally compiled in 1891 by Sir Hugh Munro, but are now revised and maintained by the Scottish Mountaineering Club. ... A Munro Top is also a summit over 3000 ft, but considered to be a subsidiary top of a Munro.
^ ab"The Murdos". HillBaggingUK. A Murdo is a Scottish mountain over 3000ft (914.4m) in height, with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) on all sides. All Murdos are also Munros or Munro Tops. All Munros are Murdos, but not all Munro Tops are Murdos. A Submurdo is a hill that just fails (by up to 10m) to qualify on the drop rule, i.e. over 3000ft with 20-29m drop. Murdos are a subset of the Simms.
^"Murdos". Database of British and Irish Hills. 3 August 2018. Murdos: Scottish hills at least 3000 feet in height with a drop of at least 30 metres on all sides. All Murdos are Munros or Munro Tops but some Munro Tops fail to qualify as Murdos. The list now has "historic" status.
^ abc"The Corbetts". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. A Corbett is "a Scottish hill between 2500 and 2999 feet high with a drop of at least 500 feet (152.4m) on all sides". They are named after the list's original compiler, J.Rooke Corbett. The Corbetts are a subset of the Marilyns.
^Dawson, Alan; Hewitt, Dave (1999). Corbett Tops and Corbetteers. Cambuskenneth, Stirling: TACit Press. ISBN0-9534376-1-2.
^"The Grahams". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 19 February 2023. A Graham is "a Scottish hill between 600 and 762 metres high with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides". The Grahams are also a subset of the Marilyns.
^Dawson, Alan; Bowker, Ann (2022). Tales from the Grahams: 231 medium-sized hills of Scotland. Pedantic Press. ISBN978-1916366244.
^"The Simms". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 19 February 2023. A Simm is a hill in England, Wales or Scotland over 600m high with a drop of at least 30 metres all round.
^ abc"The Donalds and Donald Tops". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. The Donalds are named after Percy Donald and his list of hills over 2000 feet in the Scottish Lowlands. They are based on a complicated formula for determining separate hills, and originally comprised 87 hills plus a number of other named "Tops". The New Donalds are an attempt to rationalize the qualifying criteria, being "hills in Central or Southern Scotland at least 2000 feet high (610m) with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) all round". All New Donalds are either a Donald or a Donald Top, but some of the Donald Tops do not qualify as New Donalds.
^ abc"Donalds". Scottish Mountaineering Club. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020. There are currently 89 Donald Hills and a further 51 Donald Tops. A complete round of The Donalds should include all 140 summits. Percy Donald's original Tables are seen as a complete entity, unlike the Munros, Corbetts and Grahams.
^"The New Donalds". HillBaggingUK. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020. The New Donalds are an attempt to rationalize the qualifying criteria, being "hills in Central or Southern Scotland at least 2000 feet high (610m) with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) all round". All New Donalds are either a Donald or a Donald Top, but some of the Donald Tops do not qualify as New Donalds.
^"The Hughs". Luath Press. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ ab"The Furths". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. A Furth is a 3000 ft peak of the British Isles furth of Scotland. Traditionally the Furths only include hills with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) on all sides.
^"The Hewitts". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. A Hewitt is "a Hill in England, Wales or Ireland over Two Thousand feet high (610m) with a drop of at least 30 metres (98 feet) all round". The Hewitts of England and Wales are therefore a subset of the Nuttalls. A Subhewitt is a hill which just fails (by up to 10m) to qualify on the drop rule, i.e. over 610m with 20-29m drop. Note that the subHewitts formerly included hills between 600m and 610m, but these are now simply classified as Deweys.
^"The Hewitts: The 2000 foot summits of England and Wales". WalkingHighlands. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020. The most satisfactory recent list in our opinion was originally compiled by Alan Dawson in his book, the Relative Hills of Britain, using a minimum reascent figure of 30 metres; this gives 317 summits in England and Wales, hills which Dawson originally named the Sweats (Summits – Wales and England Above Two thousand).
^Clements, E.D. 'Clem' (1998). The Hewitts and Marilyns of Ireland. Cambuskenneth, Stirling: TACit Press. ISBN0-9522680-8-6.
^Chris Crocker. "Database Notes: Hewitts". Database of British and Irish Hills. In June 2010 Dawson created the Simms (Six-hundred Metre Mountains; originally called Sims) by combining the Murdos, Corbett Tops, Graham Tops and Hewitts and lowering the height threshold to 600m. [...] Hewitts are Hills in England, Wales and Ireland at least 2000 feet high with a drop of at least 30 metres on all sides. Although subsumed into the Simms, the list has been retained by its author.
^ abc"The Nuttals". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. The definition of a Nuttall is "any summit of 2000ft (610m) or more which rises above its surroundings on all sides by at least 50ft (15m)". The Nuttalls list includes Pillar Rock which cannot be ascended without rock climbing equipment.
^ abcNuttall, John; Nuttall, Anne (2009). The Mountains of England & Wales – Volume 1: Wales (3rd ed.). Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. ISBN978-1852845940.
^Nuttall, John; Nuttall, Anne. "Changes". The Mountains of England and Wales. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^Nuttall, John; Nuttall, Anne. "Completers". The Mountains of England and Wales. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
^ abc"Wainwrights and Wainwright Outlying Fells". HillBaggingUK. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020. The Wainwrights: The Wainwrights are a list of hills appearing in the seven volumes of Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells; the list is subjective – some of the hills are not summits at all – just prominent points at the end of a ridge or spur from a higher mountain. The [Wainwright] Outlying Fells: Wainwright produced an additional volume entitled The Outlying Fells of Lakelands.
^ abWainwright, Alfred (1992). Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells Book One — The Eastern Fells. London, England: White Lion Publishing. ISBN978-0718140007.
^ abc"The Birketts". HillBaggingUK. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020. The Birketts are all the Lake District hills over 1,000ft as listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. The Birketts list includes Pillar Rock which cannot be ascended without rock climbing equipment.
^"Pillar Rock". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 17 April 2020. Pillar Rock, qualifying as a separate summit to Pillar (Lake District) itself in the Nuttalls and other lists [the Birketts], is the bane of summit baggers everywhere. Wainwright says that, to walkers "Pillar Rock is positively out of bounds. Don't even try to get a foothold on it". It's graded as a "moderate" rock climb.
^"The Synges". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 8 November 2018. The Synges are Lake District hills listed in The Lakeland Summits: Survey of the Fells of the Lake District National Park by Timothy Synge.
^ ab"The Vandeleur-Lynams". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. A Vandeleur-Lynam is a hill in Ireland at least 600 metres high with a drop of at least 15 metres on all sides. In 1952, Joss Lynam made a list of 2,000ft summits with 50ft drop with assistance from Rev CRP Vandeleur. Joss Lynam updated a version of this list and published it in a reprint of "Mountaineering in Ireland" by Claude Wall printed in 1976. The metricised equivalent was published in 1997. Lynam was actively involved with the list until 2002, thereafter assisting MountainViews with subsequent revisions until his death in 2011.
^ abcdeStewart, Simon (2013). A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Cork: Collins Books. ISBN978-1848891647.
^ ab"The Arderins". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. An Arderin is a hill in Ireland of 500m or over with a drop of at least 30m on all sides. This list was drawn up in 2002 by the MountainViews publisher from an early listing of the MyrddynDeweys with those hills from the Vandeleur-Lynams which meet the higher drop criterion. The list name, created in 2009, comes from the 527m hill which is the County Top for both Laois and Offaly and means, from the Irish, "Height of Ireland".
^"Hill Classification". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 21 April 2020. County Tops: CoH (Historic County Top (pre-1974)), CoA (Administrative County Top (1974 to mid-1990s)), CoU (Current County/UA Top)
^Dewey, Michael (1995). Mountain Tables: Tables of the mountain and hill summits of England and Wales. London, England: Constable & Co Ltd. ISBN978-0094745209.
^"The Deweys". HillBaggingUK. The Deweys: A Dewey is "a mountain or hill in England, Wales or the Isle of Man, that exceeds 500 metres in height, but is below 610 metres (2000ft) in altitude; it must be separated from adjacent tops by a height difference of at least 30 metres on all sides". The definition is similar to the Hewitts and Simms, except that Hewitts must be above 2000ft, and Simms above 600m. The Deweys are named after the list's compiler, Michael Dewey, the list appearing as one of the chapters in his book, Mountain Tables.
^ ab"The Donald Deweys". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 17 April 2020. A Donald Dewey is a hill in the Scottish Lowlands between 500m and 609m high with a drop of at least 30m on all sides. [...] There are 248 Donald Deweys. [...] The Deweys were extended to Ireland (the Myrddyn Deweys) by Michael Dewey and Myrddyn Phillips in 2000, and to the Scottish Lowlands (Donald Deweys) by David Purchase in 2001.
^ ab"Highland Fives". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 9 October 2020. A Highland Five is a hill in the Scottish Highlands between 500m and 609m high with a drop of at least 30m on all sides. [...] There are 774 Highland Fives. [...] Hitherto, 500m hills in the Scottish Highlands have not had a separate identity, but a complete listing of Scottish 500m hills was compiled by Rob Woodall using data from Tony Payne, Clem Clements, John Kirk and others and uploaded to the rhb group (2003, revised 2006).
^ abBridge, George (April 1973). Mountains of England and Wales: Tables of the 2000ft. Summits. Reading, England: West Col Productions. ISBN978-0901516688.
^"The Fellrangers". HillBaggingUK. Retrieved 8 November 2018. The Fellrangers are Lake District hills listed in the Lakeland Fellranger guides by Mark Richards.
