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Triangulation Matters: Monuments of map making

Triangulation Matters: Monuments of map making

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Hill tops are fascinating places, often being adorned with fine cairns, monuments and, very frequently, trig pillars. Such structures can provide significant narratives in the chronicles of a mountain adding one of the many aspects of human interaction with the heights. In this feature we are going to explore trig points, or Triangulation Stations, which manifest in several forms, although it is the trig pillar that is such a familiar landmark to hillwalkers, marked as little blue triangles on OS…

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Kinder Scout – King of the Peak

Kinder Scout – King of the Peak

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Kinder Scout is a table top mountain, supporting a vast upland moorland plateau that forms the highest point in the Peak District at 2087ft (636m) from which, quite bizarrely, the skyscrapers of Manchester are clearly visible. Conversely, Kinder is three times taller than the city’s loftiest skyscraper and considerably more extensive, exerting an enticing presence to lure the two and a half million Mancunians away from their daily urban existence. The fascination of Kinder Scout for the denizens of the…

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Clwydian Range – The Welsh Frontier

Clwydian Range – The Welsh Frontier

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On the face of it the Clwydian Hills have a lot going for them. The range extends in an attractive, defined ridge for twenty miles from close to the North Wales coast, running south towards Llantysilio Mountain above Llangollen. The highest point reaches a respectable 1818 feet (554m) and the views possess pleasing variety. It forms part of an AONB, boasts six substantial Iron Age hillforts, colourful heather moorland and a rich diversity of wildlife. The crowning top, Moel Famau,…

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Minor Worthies – Recognising unique diversity

Minor Worthies – Recognising unique diversity

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There are plenty of hills that will be excluded from the prime list of Worthies, not because they do not deserve approbation but simply due to the wealth of local talent surrounding them. It is not the aim of the Worthies to list every single hill of merit and where an area abounds with quality only the best of the best will be chosen. This is particularly the case in places such as Torridon, where mountains that are undoubtedly magnificent…

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Bidean Nam Bian – Pinnacle of the Mountains

Bidean Nam Bian – Pinnacle of the Mountains

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This is the highest and most complex mountain in Glencoe standing at 3771 feet (1150m), with multiple ridges that sprout nine individual summits. The loftiest top is bashfully concealed behind the monumental spurs of three of these ridges, The Three Sisters, which themselves form the most celebrated view in Scotland’s most revered glen. In fact, Bidean nam Bian comprises the whole southern side of the glen, from the curve of the A82 at Achnacon rising to the Glencoe Waterfalls at…

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Black Mountain – Beacons for the connoisseur

Black Mountain – Beacons for the connoisseur

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Y Mynydd Du is a landscape to inspire folklore, legends and myths. There is the tragic tale of the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach and temperature inversions forming swirling valley mists are locally purported to be dragon’s breath. You may take this frivolous lore with a pinch of fairy dust, but you will nonetheless be arrested by an undeniably magical atmosphere amidst the sculpted skyline, whose rugged apron plunges precipitously into glacial cirques. Glossing over the fact that a…

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High Cup Nick – A Pennine Wonder

High Cup Nick – A Pennine Wonder

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High Cup Nick is a landscape feature, not a hill, however it occurs on a high escarpment where surrounding summits are of marginal additional altitude and therefore it feels like a hill. Moreover, it’s a unique and compelling upland cynosure and, in my book, that makes it worth travelling to see. Despite the rating of 64 High Cup Nick therefore gains Worthy status. A combination of geology and glaciation have created this crag rimmed valley deeply incised into the western…

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The Cobbler – the upstart of the south

The Cobbler – the upstart of the south

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Popularity is bestowed on some hills due to their arresting appearance regardless of their altitude; Stac Pollaidh is an audacious example and so is the Cobbler, which scores on an additional front due to its southern Highland location, thus accessible to the masses from the Scottish Central belt. To describe the mountain as being like a triple-peaked alpine aiguille is perhaps an exaggeration, despite being part of the grandly titled ‘Arrochar Alps’ and, if transported to Skye, The Cobbler would…

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The Coniston Fells – a mountain or a massif?

The Coniston Fells – a mountain or a massif?

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The Old Man of Coniston is the crowning peak of southern Lakeland and one of the most popular ascents in the Lake District. When viewed from the shores of Coniston Water, the mountain exerts a massively dominating presence, although the Old Man is merely the highest point (and only that by supposition) amongst a compact range of seven summits, each offering equally rewarding exploration. For that reason, this particular ‘Worthy’ is not a solitary hill but a collective, under the…

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The Long Mynd – Shropshire’s Blue Remembered Hills

The Long Mynd – Shropshire’s Blue Remembered Hills

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I would guess that few dedicated hillwalkers pay the Shropshire Hills much attention because Shropshire has no mountains, but it does have hills with mountainous attributes, and quite a fine selection there are too. The region also boasts a bewildering myriad official designations with blurred boundaries, which attest to the value of these hills, including an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a National Landscape, a Natural Area and a Natural Character Area. Certainly, beauty and distinction are intrinsic traits for…

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