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Cairnpapple Hill
Location: West
Lothian
Grid Ref: NS
987711
Height: 1024 ft (312
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Yeaman
Notes: Not the most
interesting of hills, cairnpapple Hill stands a couple of miles
northeast of Bathgate in West Lothian. The trig point is not far from a
road; the access point is a gate somewhere around NS990712. Shin over
the gate and walk up a track towards the summit. The view isn't
terribly rewarding but includes the pentlands, Arthur's Seat and the
Forth Bridges. There is a rather better viewpoint just across the road
at NS990711, complete with a topograph.
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Calders
(a.k.a. Brant Fell)
Location: Howgill
Fells
Grid Ref: SD
670960
Height: 2211 ft (674
m)
Status: Hewitt,
Nuttall
Notes: A fell in the
Howgills, roughly 3 miles northeast of Sedbergh, from which it can be
climbed in about 90 minutes via Arant Haw. It's a lonely place,
overlooking grassy fell ridges and empty valleys. The Calf dominates
the view to the north, and Arant Haw ditto to the south. Some of the
Lakeland fells are seen to the northwest and Pennine tops such as Great
Knoutberry Hill and Whernside appear to the east and southeast. |
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Calf,
The
Location: Howgill
Fells
Grid Ref: SD
667970
Height: 2218 ft (676
m)
Status: Marilyn,
Hewitt,
Nuttall
Notes: The Calf is
the highest summit of the Howgills, a relatively unfrequented group of
hills situated between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. This
hill and its neighbours loom above the M6 motorway and the West Coast
main line as they squeeze together on their way north from Kendal to
Penrith. The hill therefore overlooks the motorway and railway, beyond
which are the far eastern groups of the Lakeland fells. Yet more lonely
hills feature in just about every other direction. The best base for
the Howgills is the town of Sedbergh that lies immediately to the
south, from which the Calf can be climbed in around two hours via Arant
Haw and Calders. The highest point lays a little way east of the trig
pillar. |
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Capelaw
Hill
Location: Pentland
Hills
Grid Ref: NT
215660
Height: 1490ft (454 m)
Status: none
Notes: A grassy
dome in the
northern Pentlands, immediately west of Allermuir Hill, from which
there
is a path all the way. The top is marked by a wooden post. The ridge to
the east looks higher, but this proves to be an optical illusion. A
pleasant
enough place to be, with a splendid view of the city of Edinburgh, but
worth climbing only as part of the Pentlands ridgewalk.
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Carn
a' Chlamain
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NN
915758
Height: 3159 ft (963
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marilyn
Notes: A landrover
track from Glen Tilt virtually all the way up to the summit makes this
hill one of the easiest Munros to ascend, although what the hill lacks
in difficulty it makes up for in distance, being a good ten miles from
Blair Atholl. This does make it quite a stretch for those without
transport, and a bike ride up the glen to Clachghlas cottage will save
a lot of time and effort. The conical top stands well back from the
south east ridge along which the ascent track rises and is not seen
from the glen itself. A glorious view is dominated by the various
summits of the Beinn a'Ghlo massif across the glen, but perhaps most
interest lays to the north where the high tops of the Cairngorms are
spread out. Five hours on foot from Blair Atholl, three and a half
hours back. |
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Carn a' Choire Bhoidheach (a.k.a. the White Mounth)
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
226845
Height: 3642 ft (1110
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes: The White
Mounth is part of the Lochnagar plateau and its summit cairn lays
roughly 2km southwest of Lochnagar itself. It's not so much a mountain
but more of a gentle swelling in the general level of the plateau, a
broad, rounded top whose gradients are almost imperceptible. There is a
path from Lochnagar, though you could more or less choose your own line
across the short, wiry turf. The walk between the two hills takes
roughly 45 minutes; there's not much difference in the far panorama and
rather less foreground interest but you will probably be rewarded
instead with solitude. The Anglicised name presumably refers to the
vast snowfields that lie here in winter. |
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Carn
a' Gheoidh
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
107767
Height: 3199 ft (975
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marylin
Notes: The parent
hill of Carn Aosda and the Cairnwell, which together form the Glenshee
ski centre, Carn a' Gheoidh lays a couple of miles to the west of its
offspring and is far more secluded and pleasant. The intervening
terrain is a joy to walk - for the most part you can ignore the paths
and choose your own line over the short turf and gentle gradients.
Allow 65 minutes from Carn Aosda. The hill is excellently placed for
views into the western Mounth and isolated, remote hills such as Carn
am Righ and Beinn Iutharn Mhor seem very close. The Cairngorms and the
Beinn a' Ghlo massifs are the obvious highlights of the panorama, while
Ben Lawers and its neighbours appear way over to the west. Eastwards
lay Glas Maol and Lochnagar, while to the south the view extends as far
as the Fife hills (East and West Lomond). |
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Carn an Tuirc
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
174804
Height: 3343 ft (1019
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes:
A northern
outlier
of the Glas Maol massif east of the Glenshee ski grounds, Carn an Tuirc
is a stony ridge sitting atop grassy flanks. Though pathless it is very
easily ascended from the nearby Monega pass between Glen Callater and
Cairn
of Claise, there being barely two hundred feet of reascent from the
latter
Munro. Carn an Tuirc has a reasonably good view northwards, down the
glen
to Braemar with the high tops of the Cairngorms ranged around the
northwestern
arc, while the Lochnagar massif dominates to the east. |
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Carn an t-Sagairt Mor
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
208843
Height: 3435 ft (1047
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes: Carn Taggart
Mor, to give the Anglicised version of the name, is a fine hill laying
to the far west of the Lochnagar group. Although it coud be included in
a very long round of Loch Muick it is far more easily approached from
Glen Callater. A path from the disused Loch Callater Lodge runs up the
flanls of the hill northeast of the loch and ultimately rounds our hill
to the south; it's a simple matter to leave the path to the left and
climb the summit dome to the top. The extensive views take in the
Cairngorms and Mounth massifs.
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Carn
Aosda
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Mounth
Grid Ref: NO
134791
Height: 3002 ft (917
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes: Arguably the
easiest and most accessible Munro of all, Carn Aosda lays at the heart
of the Glenshee ski centre and can be climbed in a mere 40 minutes from
the car park. It only just qualifies as a Munro - various sources give
its height as between 2997ft and 3009ft. The ascent, by way of rough
vehicle tracks from Glenshee ski centre, is completely straightforward
though a little steep. The summit is only just clear of the intrusions
of ski fences and towbar supports; the view to the south is rather
spoiled by these developments and even more so by the clutter of radio
masts atop the neighbouring Cairnwell, but in other directions the
hills of the Mounth and the Cairngorms offer an exciting prospect. |
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Carn
Ghluasaid
Location: Scottish
Highlands,
Kintail
Grid Ref: NH
145125
Height: 3140 ft (957
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo
Notes: The
easternmost Munro
of those overlooking Loch Cluanie and Glenshiel from the north, Carn
Ghluasaid
commands a superb view to the east, down Glen Morriston towards the
Great
Glen. Ghluasaid is one of the easier Munros to ascend, thanks to an
excellent
stalker's path to the top from the locality of Lundie down in the glen.
The summit is a broad stony plateau, with two summit cairns (some 100
metres
apart) towards the northern edge. In the summit picture we're looking
northwest
to Sgurr nan Conbhairean, of which Ghluasaid is technically an
outlier.
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Carn
Liath
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Mounth
Grid Ref: NN
936698
Height: 3199 ft (975
m)
Status: Munro, Murdo,
Marylin
Notes: The
westernmost summit of the Beinn a' Ghlo massif, Carn
Liath is a straightforward expedition from Blair Atholl. There is a
public road as far as the picturesque Loch Moraig, from where an estate
track and then a path lead directly (if somewhat steeply) to the
summit. Allow three hours for the climb from Blair Atholl, or two hours
from the car park. The rest of the Beinn a' Ghlo massif dominates the
view to the east, Ben Vrackie stands directly to the south and the Glen
Tilt hills and the Cairngorms fill the skyline to the north. The most
intriguing view is to the west, where to the right of Ben Lawers and
Schiehallion, the Glencoe and Mamore summits form a clearly visible
cluster some fifty miles away. |
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Castle
Crag
Location: Lake
District, North Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY
249159
Height: 978ft (298 m)
Status: Wainwright
Notes: Sandwiched
between the loftier hills of Grange Fell and High Spy, Castle Crag is
the hill that forms the "Jaws of Borrowdale", forcing the Derwent
through a narrow channel and effectively dividing Borrowdale into two
halves. It's the only fell less than 1000 ft high to figure in
Wainwright's guides. Although of very modest height is is surprisingly
steep and requires real effort to climb. It rewards those who reach the
summit with excellent views of Derwentwater to the north. |
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Castlelaw
Hill
Location: Pentland
Hills
Grid Ref: NT
225648
Height: 1601ft (488 m)
Status: none
Notes: A dark,
heathery dome
at the eastern end of the Pentlands, situated about a mile south of
Allermuir
Hill. A vehicle tracks reaches the summit from the north, ensuring an
easy
ascent, but Castlelaw Hill lays within the boundaries of an army firing
range so it should not be approached when the red flags are flying. The
summit features an observation point and a flagpost. The central
Pentlands
are seen to advantage from here. Should anyone ever compile a list of
Marylin
tops, Castlelaw Hill would be a typical example.
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Catbells
Location: Lake
District, North Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY
244199
Height: 1480 ft (451m)
Status: Wainwright
Notes: The striking
profile of Catbells and its position on the western side of
Derwentwater ensures that it is one of the Lake District's most popular
climbs. However, it is not a climb to be taken lightly. All ascents are
unpleasantly steep and the fell's topknott is craggy enough that the
summit is impossible to attain without some undignified and awkward
clambering. The view is glorious, taking in Derwentwater to the east,
the Newlands valley to the west, the Skiddaw massif to the west and a
host of Lakeland summits to the south. |
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Cefn
Eglwysilan
Location: Taff Vale
Grid Ref: ST
097925
Height: 1253 ft (382
m)
Status: Marylin,
Clement
Notes: A lonely
summit of rough pasture standing above Pontypridd to the east. The trig
point is exactly an hour's walk from Pontypridd railway station, with a
road most of the way; some walkers will find parts of it rather steep.
Motorists can make their task far easier by parking at the road bend
just below the summit dome. The whole summit pasture is open access
land and carries more paths than the map shows. There's not much of a
view from the top but the Brecon
Beacons should be seen to the north on clearer days.
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Chanctonbury Ring
Location: South
Downs, Sussex
Grid Ref: TQ
135120
Height: 781 ft (238 m)
Status: Marylin
Notes: Chanctonbury
Ring is one of many tops of the South Downs in West Sussex, and stands
out from the pack only because of its relative height. It is a few
miles north of Worthing and overlooks the village of Washington, from
where it is most easily ascended. The photo shows the trig pillar to
the west of the Ring, which is an ancient
hill fort crowned by a thicket of trees. The Ring is marginally higher
than the trig point. Worthing can just be
glimpsed to the south, while northwards there is a view across the
Sussex countryside towards Billingshurst and Horsham.
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Cheriton Hill
Location: North
Downs, Kent
Grid Ref: TR
196396
Height: 617 ft (188 m)
Status: Marylin
Notes: Cheriton
Hill is the
easternmost Marylin in Britain and is the highest elevation of the
Dover
and Folkestone downs, though the actual highest point - seen here -
lays
way back from the lip of the downs in standard farming country.
There's
no feeling of being at the top of anything and in that respect Cheriton
Hill is among the most boring of Britain's high points. The 1:50000 map
shows the highest point as a trig pillar adjacent to a reservoir, but
the
1:25000 map has a spot height on a road a couple of hundred metres to
the
west (as depicted). In truth the exact location doesn't really matter
because
the surrounding terrain is virtually flat. The upside of a visit to
Cheriton
Hill is that it introduces you to the possibilities of the North Downs
proper. France can be seen from the top of the scarp, three quarters of
a mile to the south. Cheriton Hill can be walked from Folkestone
railway
station in about 75 minutes.
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Choinneachain
Hill
Location: Scottish
Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN
818289
Height: 2582 ft (787
m)
Status: Corbett Top
Notes: Just a few
metres lower than its parent, Auchnafree Hill, this top is most easily
reached along the track up from the Loch Turrett dam. A sketchy path
leads north from King Kenneth's Cairn, from which you venture off left
to reach the summit. Ben Chonzie and Auchnafree Hill shut in the view
somewhat, but the Ben Lawers range is prominent to the northwest and
there is a suggestion of a huge plateau to the northeast that might be
the Cairngorms.
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Claife
Heights
Location: Lake
District, South Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: SD
382973
Height: 886 ft (270
m)
Status: Marylin
Notes: Claife
Heights is one of the lesser Lakeland fells that failed to make it into
Wainwright's seven volume guide but instead got a mention in his later
"outlying fells" book. A Marylin, it rises on the west side of
Windermere a few of miles north of Beatrix Potter's stamping ground of
Near and Far Sawrey. The craggy limestone top is half hidden in forest
and is defended by a series of paths that are ill defined and which
flounder around desperately in bogs. There's not much of a view from
the actual summit but nearby locations have glimpses of Windermere,
with Windermere town and Bowness directly opposite, with the Fairfield
and Kentmere ridges ranged to the north and northeast. |
