Some Mountains, Hills and Summits of Great Britain

These pages feature some of the many mountains, hills, fells, summits and high points in Britain. The criteria for inclusion are that (1) I've climbed the hill in question, and (2) that I've taken a photo at the summit. Wherever possible there is also a picture of the hill from a neighbouring summit or adjacent valley, or a picture of the view from the top.

See the home page for an explanation of the status terms (Munro, Corbett, Marylin, Hewitt, et al).

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Bleaberry Fell

Location: Lake District, Central Fells
Grid Ref: NY 285195
Height: 1932 ft (590 m)
Status: Wainwright

Notes: Bleaberry Fell is the northernmost top of the ridge that stretches northwards from the Langdale Pikes between Derwentwater and Thirlmere. It is an excellent viewpoint for Keswick itself and also shows Skiddaw, Grizedale Pike and the Eel Grag group off to great advantage. The fell can be climbed from Keswick via Walla Crag in just over an hour. Walla Crag (to the north) and Falcon Crag (to the west) both have superb views over Derwentwater. The path southwards to High Seat and High Tove is rather boggy.
Bleaklow

Location: Peak District, Derbyshire
Grid Ref: SK 092959
Height: 2077 ft (633 m)
Status: Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: Bleaklow lays on the route of the Pennine Way and thus is blessed with well trodden and well maintained routes to its summit. Were this not the case it is doubtful whether Bleaklow would ever be visited other than by hardy list tickers, for it is a remote moorland top surrounded by exceptionally difficult terrain. Even with the assistance of the Pennine Way one does arrive at Bleaklow's cairn with a sense of accomplishment. Bleaklow lays at the centre of a broad and largely flat upthrust of peat moorland and hence there are no views, save of the equally inhospitable rises of Black Hill to the north and Kinder Scout to the south. The summit is one hour's climb from Snake Pass or one and a half hours from Longendale.

Blease Fell

Location: Lake District, Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 312270
Height: 2638 ft (804 m)
Status: none

Notes: Blancathra's far west top. The summit is not really significant, except as Blencathra's best viewpoint for Keswick and Derwentwater. Rather it's the vast, convex grassy slope that descends to the Glenderaterra valley to the west that is well known, for it's this face that Blencathra presents to Keswick, and this face that a substantial majority of fellwalkers choose for their descent from the ridge back to Threlkeld. It's sheer tedium and is hell on the knees and calves, but everyone seems to agree that it would be far worse as an ascent. If you do climb Blencathra this way, Blease Fell summit will be a little piece of heaven.

Blencathra (a.k.a. Saddleback)

Location: Lake District, Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 323277
Height: 2848 ft (868 m)
Status: Wainwright, Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: Saddleback may be the popular name for this splendid fell, but Blencathra is its proper name and it's known as such to all serious fellwalkers. It's the eastern neighbour of Skiddaw in Lakeland's northern fells, and towers over the village of Threlkeld at its foot. From Clough Head (top picture) Blencathra is revealed as a ridge with several tops, each with a supporting buttress falling to the Keswick - Penrith gap below. The highest top is Hallsfell, at the eastern end of the ridge. Surprisingly, there is no trig pillar, just a simple cairn. The easiest way up is by the well-trodden path from Scales up the eastern shoulder of Scales Fell. The superb views take in most of Lakeland and the northern Pennines.

Botley Hill

Location: North Downs, Surrey
Grid Ref: TQ 396553
Height: 875 ft (267 m)
Status: Marilyn

Notes: Boring name, boring hill. Botley Hill is the highest part of that section of the North Downs straddling the meeting point of London, Kent and Surrey (and as such is the nearest Marylin to London), but the summit itself is a disappointment. The top of the downs here is flat, and the highest point lays within a pasture grazed by sheep. A road runs right past the trig point, which is just the other side of the hedge (and, to the chagrin of purist summit baggers, is not actually at the highest point which is some thirty metres away within the pasture). There is no view. The surrounding countryside is very pleasant, however, and you could justify a visit to Botley Hill by walking a local section of the North Downs Way (which passes only a few hundred metres away) and taking in this "summit" as an afterthought.

Bowscale Fell

Location: Lake District, Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 333305
Height: 2303 ft (702 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: Bowscale Fell is a lonely summit standing northeast of Blencathra, its parent fell, in the north of the Lake District. It's a grassy dome tucked in between loops of the Calder and Glenderamackin rivers, and is probably best climbed from the path along Bannerdale from the village of Mungrisedale to the east. The most obvious features of the view are the vast "Back o' Skiddaw" wilderness to the northwest and the arresting sight of Blencathra just west of south. There's also a good view eastwards towards the northern Pennines on clear days.
Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain

Location: Scottish Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN 925724
Height: 3510 ft (1070 m)
Status:  Munro, Murdo, Marylin

Notes: One of the Beinn a'Ghlo group, Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain is best ascended by first climbing Carn Liath (q.v.) and then following the ridge. There's a good path all the way though there is quite a substantial drop between the two summits. The view is dominated by Beinn a'Ghlo's principal top, Carn nan Gabhar, and its outlier, Airgiod Bheinn, filling the eastern arc. The Cairngorms are well displayed to the north, and the main feature eastwards is the Ben Lawers massif. A really fine climb.
Bram Rigg Top

Location: Howgill Fells
Grid Ref: SD 668964
Height: 2205 ft (672 m)
Status: Nuttall

Notes: A minor top in the Howgills, midway between Calders and The Calf and off to the left of the main ridge path. There are paths to and from the little cairn, although none are shown on the map. The neighbouring hills dominate the scene to the north and south, with wild, empty valleys to the east and west. About ten minutes' walk from Calders.
Bredon Hill

Location: Vale of Evesham
Grid Ref: SO 957402
Height: 981 ft (299 m)
Status: Marilyn

Notes: Bredon Hill lays alone within the Vale of Evesham, a broad, wooded hill covering an area of several square miles. It stands above the lovely village of Elmley Castle, about four miles west of Evesham, from where there is a track to the top. This ascent is exceptionally muddy but it does hide the best of the views until you reach the summit. The panorama is allegedly glorious, taking in the Cotswolds, the Malvern Hills, the Forest of Dean, Black Mountain and the whole of the vale of the Severn from Bristol to Birmingham - though on the day I climbed Bredon Hill in March 2005 a dense fog denied me any view whatsoever. The summit is a broad pasture ringed by a drystone wall and some Iron Age earthworks. There is a topograph set within a lone rock, while a couple of hundred metres to the south a squat brick tower (pictured) appears to occupy the highest point of the hill.

Broad Cairn

Location: Scottish Highlands, Mounth
Grid Ref: NO 240815
Height: 3274 ft (998 m)
Status: Munro, Murdo

Notes: Broad Cairn is part of the Lochnagar massif and is one of two Munros laying to the south of the Dubh Loch. Access is easy, there being a vehicle track from Spittal of Glenmuick to within half a kilometre of the summit. A path goes most of the rest of the way though the summit dome itself is defended by a tedious boulder field. The view is excellent, ranging over the whole of the eastern Mounth, the tops of the Cairngorms and the lower hills of Angus and Aberdeenshire.

Bryn Arw

Location: Black Mountains
Grid Ref: SO 301206
Height: 1260 ft (384 m)
Status: Marilyn, Clement

Notes: Bryn Arw is a little heathland summit some four miles north of Abergavenny, just to the south of the Black Mountains proper. The summit is unmarked and slightly ambiguous, but it lays somewhere in among the gorse-covered hillocks seen in the photo, left. The Sugar Loaf, two miles to the southwest, dominates the view while the sprawls of Black Mountain and Waun Fach form the skyline to the north. The hill is surrounded by minor country lanes and footpaths, giving easy access from most directions.
Bush Howe

Location: Howgill Fells
Grid Ref: SD 659980
Height: 2044 ft (623 m)
Status: Nuttall

Notes: A minor top of the Howgills about fifteen minutes' walk northwest of the Calf. The summit is a grassy dome almost devoid of features. The view is similar to that of the Calf to the south except that it looks directly down Chapel Beck to the southwest, to where the M6 motorway and the West Coast main line squeeze between the hills.
Butser Hill

Location: South Downs, Hampshire
Grid Ref: SU 716203
Height: 886 ft (270 m)
Status: Marilyn

Notes: A prominent top on the South Downs, Butser Hill lays a handful of miles southwest of Petersfield. Although the north slopes contain most of the hill's interesting features there is no legitimate approach on this side; access has to be from the south. A road leads almost to the summit from the south side and the South Downs Way passes within a few hundred metres. The summit features a trig pillar and a small village of radio huts as well as a prominent microwave tower. The view is fairly extensive and includes the Portsmouth / Southampton conurbation to the south along with the Isle of Wight.


Bynack More

Location: Scottish Highlands, Cairngorms
Grid Ref: NJ 042063
Height: 3576 ft (1090 m)
Status:  Munro, Murdo, Marilyn

Notes: Bynack More (or Ben Bynack, or Beinn Beithneag, or Caiplich) lays in the north west of the Ben Macdui massif of the central Cairngorms, the highest range of mountains in Britain. It's the highest point of a vaguely wedge-shaped piece of land lying between Strath Nethy and the Lairg an Laiogh. Like most of the Cairngorms it's a vast, gently-rolling upthrust of pink granite carpeted by mosses and short, wiry grasses. It's superb, easy walking terrain although quite remote. The easiest ascent is from Loch Morlich via the Ryvoan pass and the Lairg an Laiogh, a distance of 8½ miles involving 2600 ft of ascent. Views of the central and eastern Cairngorms, some of the grandest scenery in Britain, are superb.
Caer Caradoc

Location: Shropshire Hills
Grid Ref: SO 477953
Height: 1506 ft (459 m)
Status: Marilyn

Notes: A dramatic and craggy little hill standing a couple of miles northeast of Church Stretton in Shropshire. The normal route of approach is by a path rising up the eastern flanks from the south - avoid the direct route from Church Stretton as the lane adjacent to New House Farm is atrocious, but instead take the farm track and bridleway east of Helmeth Hill. The summit is unmarked and any one of half a dozen craggy outcrops could be the highest point. The earthworks on the summit are the remains of an iron age hill fort, claimed to be the last stand of Caractacus in his battles against the Roman invaders (though that battle probably took place elsewhere). The expedition from the town takes just 65 minutes and the reward is a glorious view that takes in the Long Mynd to the west, Wenlock Edge to the east and the Wrekin to the northeast.
Caerketton Hill

Location: Pentland Hills
Grid Ref: NT 242662
Height: 1483 ft (452 m)
Status: none

Notes: Caerketton Hill stands at the northeastern tip of the Pentlands and provides a superb view over the city of Edinburgh. It is an outlier of Allermuir Hill, not quite a mile to the west. Standing directly above the Hillend dry ski slope, it can be ascended from Hillend's car park in about 45 minutes.
Cairn Bannoch

Location: Scottish Highlands, Mounth
Grid Ref: NO 222825
Height: 3320 ft (1012 m)
Status: Munro, Murdo

Notes: One of the more remote summits of the Lochnagar massif, Cairn Bannoch lays some 10km from the nearest road access at Spittal of Glenmuick. Access is via a track along the south side of Glen Muick that rises to the paleau just short of neighbouring Broad Cairn, after which a reasonablyprominent path leads the rest of the way. The summit is only 120 ft above the previous col and can easily be mistaken for a minor top. The view is excellent, taking in just about all of the Mounth and Cairngorm massifs.


Cairn Gorm

Location: Scottish Highlands, Cairngorms
Grid Ref: NJ 005040
Height: 4085 ft (1245 m)
Status: Munro, Murdo, sub-Marilyn

Notes: Cairn Gorm is the sixth highest mountain in Britain. Seen prominently from Aviemore and the Spey valley, it has given its name to the massif as a whole (though properly the Cairngorms are Am Monadh Ruadh, the Red Hills). Cairn Gorm is a gentle dome of a mountain, easily climbed from the base station of the summit railway by an ascent of some 2100 ft. It was formely possible to take the chairlift to the Ptarmigan cafe at 3700 ft and walk the final kilometre to the summit, but since the chairlift was replaced by the railway visitors are no longer allowed access to the summit from the top station. The summit is home to an automatic weather station run by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Views from the summit are awesome, particularly along the line of the northern corries (as depicted).


Cairn of Claise

Location: Scottish Highlands, Mounth
Grid Ref: NO 185788
Height: 3491 ft (1064 m)
Status: Munro, Murdo

Notes: An outlier of Glas Maol, Carn of Claise is situated northeast of its parent mountain and stands on the boundary between Aberdeenshire and Angus. A rise in the general level of the plateau rather than a "proper" mountain, Carn of Claise offers no views as such, just a general vista of a stone-littered grassy void. A stone wall leads away from the summit to the north but peters out. An old track known as the Monega Pass runs past Carn of Claise a hundred metres to the east, and offers a very easy route from Glas Maol to those who wish to visit this summit.
Cairn of Gowal

Location: Scottish Highlands, Mounth
Grid Ref: NO 226820
Height: 3251 ft (991 m)
Status: Munro top

Notes: A top of Cairn Bannoch (see above), Cairn of Gowal is not much over sixty feet short of its parent and is crossed on the ridgewalk between Cairn Bannoch and Broad Cairn. It is marked by the tiniest of cairns and can easily be missed.

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This page last updated 13th November 2009


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