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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 worthy of our Honourable Mention category. A combination of geology and glaciation have created this crag rimmed valley deeply incised into the western scarp of the Pennine hills. Some people aggrandise High Cup…

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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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Pewsey Downs – A Wiltshire Wanderland

Pewsey Downs – A Wiltshire Wanderland

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Hills don’t need to be mountains to provide walking pleasure and this exploration of the Wiltshire Downs is an excellent example. In my view the Pewsey Downs are probably the finest representative in the county (and arguably the country) to showcase the charm of the chalk downland amidst a quintessential English countryside setting. Wiltshire is a county of mystery, from its multitude of prehistoric sites and white horse landscape figures to the more modern phenomena of being the capital of…

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Yr Eifl – Snowdonia’s Miniature Rival

Yr Eifl – Snowdonia’s Miniature Rival

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Commonly called ‘The Rivals’, rather appropriate for this group of three pointy peaks thrusting from the ocean and jostling for attention, the name is merely an anglicised adaptation from the pronunciation rather than a direct translation. In the modern Welsh language, there is no such word as Eifl and it perhaps derived from olden days when it is thought to have described a Trident or Fork, which is certainly an apt physical description. The hills form the highest land on…

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Arenig Fawr – The Belvedere of Snowdonia

Arenig Fawr – The Belvedere of Snowdonia

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Arenig Fawr gains its place on the Worthy list principally through the attractive combination of altitude, isolation and the consequent superiority as a viewpoint. As an ascent, the route via Llyn Arenig Fawr is a rewarding walk and the summit is a fine place to be. Beyond that, the mountain’s other faces are less distinguished, although this quiet, unpretentious slice of Wales definitely deserves to be on your to-do list. Located towards the eastern fringes of the Snowdonia National Park,…

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The Dark White Edge – Peak Perfection

The Dark White Edge – Peak Perfection

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A ‘peak’ is a pointed mountain top, so whoever bestowed the name Peak District upon the upland terrain at the southern rise of the Pennines was a little over enthusiastic, for the majority of the higher hills there are not peaks at all, but moorland giants. Nevertheless, there are peaks in this widely varied national park, albeit relatively diminutive ones, found primarily amidst the limestone country. However, you will not find any on this outing, which in fact only loosely…

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