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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Hergest Ridge

Location: Herefordshire
Grid Ref: SO 254562
Height: 1398 ft (426 m)
Status: Marilyn, Clement

Notes: Hergest Ridge achieved fame in the 1970's as the title of a Mike Oldfield album; apparently he lived locally at the time. The ridge is an area of heathland rising to the west of the small town of Kington and its northwestesrn shoulder is crossed by the England - Wales border. The ascent from the town takes about an hour and involves taking the minor road past Hergest Croft gardens and then following your nose. The panorama includes some very pleasant hill country around the Welsh borders and extends to Black Mountain and the Brecon Beacons, the Malverns, and the Shripshire hills to the north.


Herrock Hill

Location: Herefordshire
Grid Ref: SO 278596
Height: 1217 ft (321 m)
Status: Clement

Notes:Herrock Hill is an outlier of Bradnor Hill, just north of Kington in Herefordshire, and it lies about a mile to the northwest of its parent. It's a heathland dome that commands pleasant views of the Welsh border country, particularly Hergest Ridge, the Radnor Forest, the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. There is no direct route from Bradnor Hill but Herrock can be reached from the footpath that winds around Bradnor to the west and north. An ascent can be combined with that of nearby Rushock Hill.

Heughscar Hill
Heughscar Hill

Location: Lake District, Far Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 488231
Height: 1230 ft (375 m)
Status: Wainwright outlying fell, Clement

Notes: Heughscar Hill is the northernmost outlier of the High Street range, lying to the north of the Moor Divock track out of Pooley Bridge. A gentle dome of heathland, it looks unpromising from afar but is actually quite delightful. Ascent is simple; take the aforementioned Moor Divock track then turn left and ascend the hill direct. The view of Ullswater is especially good.

High Hartsop Dodd

Location: Lake District, Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 393107
Height: 1703 ft (519 m)
Status: Wainwright

Notes: A slight bump along the north ridge of Little Hart Crag, barely qualifying as a fell in its own right. High Hartsop Dodd overlooks Brothers Water to the north but apart from that it's really sandwiched in between its higher neighbours, including Red Screes to the east and Hart Crag to the west. Fairfield, St Sunday Crag and Helvellyn also appear nearby. This intimacy with a considerable number of higher fells does at least give the view from the cairn a good deal of interest. Can easily be visited from Little Hart Crag, a walk of around ten minutes with negligible reascent.


High House

Location: Lake District, Southern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 240092
Height: 2244 ft (684 m)
Status: Nuttall

Notes: The north top of Allen Crags, situated between its parent fell and Glaramara. Strictly speaking it is nameless, but it qualifies as a Nuttall and for inclusion it was named for High House Tarn, which it stands directly above. Although the cairn is very close to the ridge path it's a sure bet that few walkers bother to visit. Views are excellent, particularly around the southern arc from the Langdale Pikes through to the Gables.


High Pike

Location: Lake District, Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 374088
Height: 2152 ft (656 m)
Status: Wainwright

Notes: The second top of the Fairfield Horseshoe (if going anticlockwise from Ambleside), High Pike has the appearance of a fine rocky peak when seen from the valley of Scandale but a visit to the top reveals that it's merely a shoulder on the ridge with virtually no descent to the north. High Pike is marked by a chaotic jumble of large boulders and some clambering will be needed. A stone wall runs along the summit ridge. The view is not especially good but includes much of the High Street range to the east.




High Pike

Location: Lake District, Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 318350
Height: 2159 ft (658 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: One of the most northerly Lakeland fells, High Pike rises three miles south of the village of Caldbeck and commands excellent views across the Solway Firth to Scotland. The fell as a whole is broad, squat and grassy but the top is stony and features some unusual summit furniture, not least a stone seat, the ruin of a shepherd's cottage and an enormous cairn. A number of abandoned mines litter the northern slopes and the easiest ascent makes use of the old mine road from Nether Row.

High Raise

Location: Lake District, Central Fells
Grid Ref: NY 280095
Height: 2500 ft (762 m)
Status: Wainwright, Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: A great sprawling mass of a hill, the highest summit of the Central Fells massif laying a mile north of the Langdale Pikes. High Raise has more in common with the Pennines than the Lakeland fells, being a flat-topped broad ridge whose slopes are a fair distance from the summit cairn. While there is little foreground interest the far panorama is among the best in Lakeland and features a full 360 degree vista of mountainscape. Keswick is just visible to the north. All approaches are long; perhaps the most popular is from Grasmeme via Easedale and Sergeant Man, though the route from Stonethwaite via Greenup Gill is probably the easiest and that from Dungeon Ghyll via Stickle Tarn the shortest.


High Raise

Location: Lake District, Far Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 448134
Height: 2631 ft (802 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: High Raise is the highest point on the northern section of the High Street ridge to the east of Ullswater. The most popular route of ascent is from Patterdale, at the southern end of the lake, via Wainwright's Coast to Coast route, though it can also be reached more directly from Pooley Bridge. The view is dominated by High Street and its outliers to the south, while Penrith lays to the northeast backed by Cross Fell. There are glimpses of Ullswater and Haweswater from the summit environs.

High Spy

Location: Lake District, North Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY 234162
Height: 2142 ft (653 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: High Spy is part of the Dale Head - Catbells ridge that forms the western side of Borrowdale, and is usually climbed as part of that ridgewalk rather than on its own. Its flanks on the Borrowdale side are quite prettily wooded, while to the west High Spy falls steeply and dramatically to the upper Newlands valley. Although Dale Head blocks out the view to the southwest, views in most other directions are excellent and Skiddaw, the Helvellyn ridge, the Scafell massif and the Grasmoor / Grizedale groups are all displayed to advantage.


High Stile

Location: Lake District, Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY 170148
Height: 2648 ft (807 m)
Status: Wainwright, Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: The highest of the trio of fells standing high over Buttermere, High Stile is a superb viewpoint but is also a fell that is not easily won. It can be rarely climbed on its own, almost all visits being made by those walking the ridge as a whole and approaching by either Red Pike or High Crag. Both these fells have steep and slightly tricky ascents that require a good deal of effort, although the ridgewalk itself is straightforward and delightful.


High Tove

Location: Lake District, Central Fells
Grid Ref: NY 289165
Height: 1689 ft (515 m)
Status: Wainwright

Notes: High Tove is one of the summits of Lakeland's Central Fells ridge, which stretches north from the Langdale Pikes to the Keswick - Penrith gap. The ridge is atypical of Lakeland, being low and marshy. Although situated midway between Borrowdale and Thirlmere, High Tove overlooks neither. The far panorama is pleasant enough, however, and includes the Dale Head, Helvellyn and Skiddaw groups. High Tove can easily be climbed from Watendlath in about half an hour, the old path over to Thirlmere crossing the ridge via the summit.


Hindscarth

Location: Lake District, North Western Fells
Grid Ref: NY 215165
Height: 2385 ft (727 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: Hindscarth is the second of the three fells that overlook Honister Pass from the north. From this side Robinson, Hindscarth and Dale Head form a continuous wall above the pass, but the system of valleys and ridges that differentiate them from each other is well seen from the Newlands valley to the northwest. Hindscarth is rarely climbed on its own, but usually in conjunction with either Robinson or Dale Head, from either of which it's but a simole ridgewalk away. The summit stands off the main ridge to the north and provides an excellent view. In the picture we're  looking southwards across the Dale Head col towards the Scafell range and Great Gable.


Holme Fell

Location: Lake District, Southern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 315006
Height: 1040 ft (317 m)
Status: Wainwright, Marilyn, Clement

Notes: A rambling and rugged little fell, overlooking the head of Coniston Water.  A mile or so northwest of Tarn Hows, it's perhaps best climbed from the road junction at Yew Tree Farm via Uskdale Gap. Although the Coniston fells crowd the view to the southwest the panorama in most other directions is extensive and rewarding.

Ill Bell

Location: Lake District, Far Eastern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 436077
Height: 2484 ft (757 m)
Status: Wainwright, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: Ill Bell is the highest top on the ridge between Troutbeck and Kentmere. It is seen as a shapely pyramid from most aspects and ascents to it from any direction are quite steep. It is normally climbed as part of the Kentmere horseshoe via Yoke or Froswick. The Fairfield and Helvellyn ranges dominate the panorama to the northwest, with Gable, Scafell, Bowfell and the Langdale Pikes crowding in to the west. Windermere is well seen to the southwest.



Ingleborough

Location: Yorkshire Dales, Ribblesdale
Grid Ref: SD 740745
Height: 2372 ft (726 m)
Status: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: One of the famous Three Peaks of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Ingleborough stands to the west of Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Its characteristic flat top makes it stand out for many miles around, and it is even prominent from many of the Lakeland fells forty miles away. There are many well trodden routes to the summit though perhaps the best are those from Clapham and Horton-in-Ribblesdale. The view is superb, while the flanks of the fell are packed with interest, including potholes and caves (among them the famous Gaping Gill), limestone pavements, and waterfalls. There are enough footpaths in the environs of the fell to keep you exploring for a month.


Kinder Scout

Location: Peak District, Derbyshire
Grid Ref: SK 085875
Height: 2088 ft (636 m)
Status: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall, County Top (Derbyshire)

Notes: The highest summit of the Peak District is a desolate spot in the middle of a huge peat bog. The cairn pictured here may or may not be the actual summit but it really matters little - Kinder Scout is a vast, flat plateau with little variation in height, and the cairn must mark something or other. It can have few visitors, for although the Pennine Way runs across Kinder it misses the actual top by about half a mile. I took this picture in September 1975 after several months of drought and I was wearing ordinary street shoes at the time, a feat impossible in normal conditions.



Kit Hill

Location: Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
Grid Ref: SX 374713
Height: 1096 ft (334 m)
Status: Marilyn, Clement

Notes: A detached outlier of Bodmin Moor, Kit Hill stands some ten miles north west of Plymouth and directly above the market town of Callington. Approaches from the town are not straightforward and the best starting point is probably the village of Kelly Bray to the west. The hill is a broad dome of heathland and much of it has been designated a country park. A tall brick communications tower stands at the summit, and a road also runs to the top. Extensive earthworks suggest an iron age hill fort. Views are pleasant but not extensive; Caradon Hill is seen to the west, Dartmoor to the east. The summit view picture shows Kelly Brae to the west.



Knock of Crieff

Location: Scottish Highlands, Perthshire
Grid Ref: NN 873233
Height: 915 ft (279 m)
Status: Marilyn

Notes: Knock of Crieff is a splendid little hill that overlooks the Perthshire town of Crieff. The lower top has a viewpoint and a topograph; the upper top lays deep within the trees and is marked by a cairn. The ascent is easy and is a delightful evening stroll from the town. From the lower viewpoint one can gaze upon the Ochils to the south, Ben Vorlich to the west, and Ben Chonzie and Auchnafree Hill to the northwest and north.

Knott

Location: Lake District, Northern Fells
Grid Ref: NY 296329
Height: 2329 ft (710 m)
Status: Wainwright, Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall

Notes: The highest top of the Caldbeck or "Back O' Skiddaw" massif, Knott is sprawling and remote. Perhaps the best approach is along the single track road from Mosedale and the path along the north side of Grainsgill Beck. Although much of the surrounding moor is covered in heather, Knott itself features a beautiful grassy top. Knott's "middle of nowhere" situation is magnificent but as a consequence its view does lack interest, being largely composed of endless miles of empty moorland.

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This page last updated 6th November 2009