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May Hill
Location: Forest
of Dean
Grid Ref: SO
695212
Height: 971 ft (296
m)
Status: Marilyn
Notes: May Hill is
the highest point of the Forest of Dean, an area of wooded hills
situated in the west of Gloucestershire and eastern Monmouthshire. The
hill's flat summit is home to a copse of trees planted to mark Queen
Victoria's golden jubilee, and the trig pillar marking the highest
point stands just outside the trees to the southeast. The hill stands
above May Hill Village from where it is best ascended; the nearest
public transport node is the bus stop at Dursley Cross on the nearby
A40. To the east and southeast the Cotswolds are displayed broadside-on
across the Severn vale, and the Severn's meanders are seen to the
south, beyond which Somerset is visible. To the west the view extends
into south Wales and includes the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.
The Malvern hills can be seen almost end-on to the north.
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Meal
Fell
Location: Lake
District,
Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY
282337
Height: 1804 ft (550
m)
Status: Wainwright,
Dewey
Notes: Meal Fell is a
hill in the "back of Skiddaw" group, laying to the northwest of its
parent fell, Knott. It is notmally climbed in conjunction with its
neighbour, Great Cockup, from Orthwaite or Bassenthwaite. Much of the
panorama is shut in by the bulks of Skiddaw and Knott, though there is
a good view across the Cumbrian coastal plain to the Solway Firth and
across to Scotland. The summit carries a huge wind shelter, an unusual
adornment to an insignificant fell such as this.
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Meall
a'Buachaille
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Cairngorms
Grid Ref: NH
990115
Height: 2657 ft (810
m)
Status: Corbett,
Marilyn
Notes: The highest
top of the ridge to the north of Loch Morlich, Meall a'Buchaiile is a
popular climb. The standard route takes the forest track from Glenmore
through the Pass of Ryvoan to Ryvoan Bothy, from where a
well-maintained path goes up the eastern ridge of the hill. It is a
fine vantage point for Cairn Gorm and its ridges and corries, and also
overlooks the Rothiemuchus forest to the south and the Abernethy forest
to the north. There are glimpses of high tops beyond the Great Glen,
and of those either side of the upper Spey valley around Newtonmore and
Dalwhinnie.
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Meall
Chuaich
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Drumochter
Grid Ref: NN
716878
Height: 3120 ft (951
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marilyn
Notes: Meall Chuaich stands at the northeast corner of the group of
hills surrounding the Drumochter pass and overlooks the upper Spey
valley. Access is easy, there being a good waterworks track from
Chuaich, near Dalwhinne, to the adjacent loch and then a moderately
graded hill path to the summit. The only slight obstacle is a boulder
field surrounding the summit dome. Views are extensive and include the
Cairngorms, the Mounth, the Glen Tilt hills and the rest of the
Drumochter hills, as well as the Ben Alder group to the west and the
Monadhliath to the northwest. Newtonmore, Kungussie and Aviemore can
all be seen. The vast emptiness of the Gaick forest stretches for many
miles to the southeast.
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Meall Greigh
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN
674438
Height: 3284 ft (1001
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marilyn
Notes: Meall Greigh
is the easternmost of the five Munros of the Ben Lawers group.
Superheroes will want to tackle all five in one expedition but ordinary
mortals will be more content to tackle Meall Greigh alone, or possibly
together with neighbour Meall Garbh. Although there is a ridge path
between the two there are no paths linking it to the outside world;
starting at Machuim and walking up the Lawers burn path you can either
tackle the hill direct via Sron Mhor (good terrain but nastily steep)
or walk along to the dam and make your way from there up to the
Garbh/Greigh col (rough grass, a touch boggy). Views of Loch Tay are
superb, and those of the Ben Lawers massif across Lochan nan Cat come a
very close second.
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Meall
nan Sleac
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Cairngorms
Grid Ref: NN
868944
Height: 2625 ft (800
m)
Status: Corbett Top
Notes: Meall nan
Sleac is a northeastern outlier of Mullach Clach a'Bhlair, and is just
a five minue diversion off the ascent path to the latter from Glen
Feshie. The best feature of the view is that the summit stands on the
southern lip of the ravine-like Coire Garbhlach. The huge bulk of the
western Cairngorm plateau shuts out any view to the east, but westwards
several stretches of Glen Feshie are in view as well as the wild
country beyond, over towards Glen Tromie, the Gaick Forest and
Drumochter.
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Meall nan Tarmachan
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN
585390
Height: 3425 ft (1044
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marilyn
Notes: Meall nan
Tarmachan stands immediately to the west of the Ben Lawers group and is
the Jekyll to Ben Lawers's Hyde; in complete contrast to the rounded
slopes of Ben Lawers, Meall nan Tarmachan presents a fascinating line
of tors and crags to Killin at the end of Loch Tay. There is some
scrambling for those who traverse the whole ridge but the main summit
can be reached without any problems by a path from the Bridge of Balgie
road just north of the Ben Lawers visitor centre. The reascent from the
south top is rather steep but the path is good. The Glen Lyon Munros
feature in the northern panorama, Ben Lawers dominates the view to the
east, Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin are prominent to the south, Ben
More and Stobinian to the southwest and the greater part of the
Tarmachan Ridge fills the scene to the west.
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Meall
nan Tarmachan (South Top)
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN
589385
Height: 3028 ft (923
m)
Status: Munro Top,
Murdo
Notes:See the notes
directly above for Meall nan Tarmachan itself. The south top is the
first summit that you encounter if you take the path uo from the Bridge
of Balgie road a few hundred metres north of the Ben Lawers visitor
centre. It commands a grandstand view of the steep path from the next
col up to Meall nan Tarmachan itself.
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Meall Tairneachan
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN
807544
Height: 2582 ft (787
m)
Status: Corbett,
Marilyn
Notes: Not to be
confused with the Munro Meall nan Tarmachan (q.v.), Meall Tairneachan
is a Corbett laying a few miles east of Schiehallion. There is a track
servicing a bayrites mine running nearly all the way to the summit; it
leaves the public road at NN780562. Simply walk up the track to the
bend at NN808545 and then strike off half right for the top.
Schiehallion is prominent to the west of course, the Glen Lyon Munros
are seen to the south, Farragon Hill to the east and the Drumochter
Hills to the north.
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Meikle
Pap
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
259860
Height: 3215 ft (980
m)
Status: Munro top,
Murdo
Notes: Meikle Pap
is a top of Lochnagar, and the first one reaached if you approach by
the usual route from Spittal of Glenmuick. It's a mere 200 ft of ascent
from the col below the main summit plateau, and the diversion from the
main path takes a mere ten minutes. It's worth the visit, for the Pap
is a superb viewpoint for Lochnagar's northern cliffs and corries.
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Mellbreak
Location: Lake
District, Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY
148186
Height: 1680 ft (512
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Wainwright, Dewey
Notes: Mellbreak is
something of a Jekyll & Hyde fell. It dominates the scenery around
Crummock Water, towering over its southwestern shore, and has very
steep flanks and even steeper spurs. Yet, once you get to stand on the
summit, you realise that Mellbreak is still dwarfed by the neighbouring
Grasmoor and Pillar groups. The easiest way up is by a path on the
southwestern side, which in turn is reached by a farm track from
Loweswater. Crummock Water is not seen from the summit, the view from
which is dominated by the Grasmoor group to the west, the Scafells to
the southwest and Pillar to the south.
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Mellbreak (north top)
Location: Lake
District, Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY
143194
Height: 1670 ft (509
m)
Status: Dewey
Notes: Mellbreak's
north top is but ten feet lower than the main summit a few hundred
yards away, and there is little doubt that it's the superior vantage
point of the two. Apart from it having a much more prominent cairn the
view is generally better. The mountain skyline is much the same as from
the main summit but in other directions the view out to the Lorton vale
and the Cumbroan coastal plain is excellent. Crummock water is not in
view but Loweswater is seen end-on. |
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Middle
Dodd
Location: Lake
District,
Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY
397095
Height: 2146 ft (654
m)
Status: Wainwright
Notes: Middle Dodd
is really
no more than a slight rise on the north ridge of Red Screes as it
descends
to Brothers Water, but nevertheless it's a pleasant place to be. The
views
down towards Brothers Water, eastwards to Stony Cove Pike and westwards
to Little Hart Crag and Fairfield are all excellent. It's easily
visited
from Red Screes, with minimal reascent, and the walk takes less than
fifteen
minutes. Curiously, Wainwright gives the height of the fell at 2106 ft.
Perhaps he regarded a minor bump further along the ridge as the summit.
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Minch Moor
Location: Southern
Uplands, Traquair
Grid Ref: NT
358330
Height: 1860 ft (567
m)
Status: Marilyn
Notes: A lonely
summit, a few hundred metres off the route of the Southern Upland Way
between Galashiels and Traquair. Minch Moor is a broad moorland top
surrounded by forest plantations and there is no immediate view, just
distant panoramas. The view to the south and west is especially fine.
The hill can be climbed from Traquair in an hour and a half.
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Morrone
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
132886
Height: 2818 ft (859
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Corbett
Notes:
Morrone is one of the most accessible and easily ascended of Britain's
higher summits. Laying just two miles southwest of Braemar in
Aberdeenshire, its summit can be climbed from the town in just 75
minutes. The slopes are largely heather clad but towards the top the
terrain becomes more rocky. A mountain rescue radio hut at the summit
is served by a rough track that leads south then east off the summit
and reaches the minor road opposite Auchallater - it can be utilised as
an alternative route of ascent or descent to make a visit to Morrone a
circular walk. Views southward are restricted by the Carn Aosda / Carn
a' Gheoid massif, but there are good views of the Mounth ranges to the
east and west and an excellent view of the Cairngorms to the north.
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Mullach Clach a'Bhlair
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Cairngorms
Grid Ref: NN
882927
Height: 3343 ft (1019
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes: A remote top,
not so much a peak as a gentle swelling in the huge moorland void
between the Feshie and the Eidart in the southwestern corner of the
Cairngorms. Access is relatively easy, however, by virtue of a
landrover track that comes up from Glen Feshie and crosses the moor
just three hundred meters north of the summit. The top can be reached
in just under three hours from the nearest road access at Achlean.
There is no foreground interest, and on the day I climbed the Mullach
it was blanketed in dense cloud so I had no view, but it would be
expected to include the Sgor Gaoith ridge end-on to the north, and the
twin bulks of Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain to the east with perhaps
Cairn Toul and Ben Macdui overtopping them. To the south and southeast
are the wastes of the Feshie / Geldie watershed, beyond which An
Sgarsoch, Beinn Dearg and the hills of Glen Tilt would stand out.
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Mungrisedale
Common
Location: Lake
District,
Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY
311293
Height: 2077 ft (633
m)
Status: Wainwright
Notes: Why did
Wainwright
count Mungrisedale Common as a fell in its own right? There are two
common
theories: he either included it as a joke to see how many of his
readers
would seek out the summit, or he was seeking to fill the pages of his
Northern
Fells book, which has a relative paucity of fells compared to the
others.
Whatever the reason, he was pretty dismissive of Mungrisedale Common,
likening
its shape to that of "a pudding which has been sat on". In his day
there
was nothing to mark the nominal summit but a small cairn now exists and
no less than seven paths converge on it. The common is a vast splodge
of
moorland forming the northwestern hinterland of Blencathra, and barely
rises above the intervening col; nevertheless it has its charms,
provided
that you visit on a sunny day. Best approached from the foot of Foule
Crag,
from where there's a path most of the way. The top image shows the fell
as seen from Blencathra; it's the grassy sprawl in the middle distance.
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Mynydd Carn-y-Cefn
Location: Ebbw Vale
Grid Ref: SO
187184
Height: 1804 ft (550
m)
Status: Marilyn, Dewey
Notes: The highest
point of the moorland ridge seperating Ebbw Vale from Ebbw Fach to the
east, Mynydd Carn-y-Cefn is most easily approached from Nantyglo from
where a track skirts West Monmouth golf club and runs along the east
side of the ridge. The summit itself features a trig pillar sitting on
an expanse of dull moorland. There is no foreground interest but the
view takes in the Valleys (southwards), the Brecon Beacons
(northwestwards) and the Black Mountains (northeastwards).
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Mynydd Machen
Location: Ebbw Vale
Grid Ref: ST
223900
Height: 1188 ft (362
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Clement
Notes: Mynydd Machen
stands to the southwest of Risca, a few miles north of Newport. The
hill carries a prominent TV relay mast on its summit and can be seen
from most of the coastal plain between Cardiff and Newport. Both towns
figure prominently in the summit view, which also extends across the
Bristol channel to Somerset. The easiest access from the road network
is at Gelli-ffiniog farm at ST216907, from where a track goes right to
the top.
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Mynydd Twyn-glas
Location: Lwyd Vale
Grid Ref: ST
259978
Height: 1549 ft (472
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Clement
Notes: Mynydd
Twyn-glas (Mynydd Maen on some maps) is an extensive area of high
ground situated between Cwmbran to the east and Newbridge to the west.
It can be ascended from either, though the approach from Cwmbran is
quicker. Drivers can park at ST277979 and take the track to the
top; non drivers can get a bus as far as Upper Cwmbram at ST274969. The
ascent is gentle. The summit is a typical heathland plateau, though any
sense of wilderness is dashed by the line of pylons and two clusters of
radio masts. Newport, the Bristol Channel and Somerset are seen to the
south, the Abergavenny hills to the northeast and the higher tops of
the Brecon Beacons to the northwest.
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Mynydd y Lan
Location: Ebbw Vale
Grid Ref: ST
208923
Height: 1250 ft (381
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Clement
Notes: Mynydd y Lan
lays to the west of Crosskeys in lower Ebbw Vale, not many miles
northwest of Newport, a near neighbour of Mynydd Machen (q.v.).
It features steep slopes on most sides though the summit itself is
pretty flat and featureless, marked only by a boundary stone. The best
access is at ST218917 though the map is not terribly accurate in its
depiction of the path network; the route I found was initially along
the Two Rivers walk then along an unmarked track up left through the
forest
to the foot of Cox's Quarry, from where a sketchy path ran up the left
side of the quarry rim to reach a track hugging the side of the forest
for the rest of the way up. Cardiff and Newport both feature in the
view to the south, while the rest of the panorama encompasses many of
the heights between the Glamorgan valleys.
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