Scotland's highest mountains - The Munros - YouTube Scotland's highest mountains - The Munros Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Aug 3, 2013 A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 ft . Munros are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet (1856--1919), who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit that is not regarded as a separate mountain and which is over 3,000 ft (914.4 m). In the 2012 revision of the tables, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, there are 282 Munros and 227 further subsidiary tops. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles.

The Munros of Scotland present challenging conditions to hikers, particularly in winter. Each year, people die on the mountains. Nevertheless, a popular practice amongst hillwalkers is "Munro bagging", the aim being to climb all of the listed Munros. As of 2009, more than 4,000 had reported completing their round. The first continuous round of the Munros was completed by Hamish Brown in 1974, whilst the current holder of the record for the fastest continuous round is Stephen Pyke who completed his 2010 round in just under 40 days. Category Scottish Mountains & Hills | VisitScotland Grahams Opens a new window UK's highest mountain Ben Nevis grabs the headlines as the highest mountain in the UK, but there are hundreds of other peaks worthy of your best boots. Scotland's next five highest peaks are in the Cairngorms , a huge area of upland with the pulsing outdoor hub of Aviemore at its heart. Experienced walkers' hearts will flutter when they see the Cuillin ridge in Skye.

This magnificent alpine-style route is unlike anything else in the UK, with a continuous 12 km ridge crest demanding concentration on every step. There are also formidable Munros at Lochnagar, Glen Affric and the wilds of Knoydart. Southern Uplands Although 'the Scottish Highlands' are in the north of the country, if you head south past the central lowlands, you'll enter a whole new world of character-packed hills. In Dumfries & Galloway is the mighty Merrick, which stands just shy of Munro status. Towards the east are the seductive rolling summits of the Moorfoot and Lammermuir ranges. Winding all the way through this adventurer's playground is the Southern Upland Way , a long distance trail that stretches for 212 miles (341 km) from coast to coast. Small but beautiful Sometimes the best things do come in small packages. Stac Pollaidh is one of Scotland's most distinctive hills and from start to finish an utter joy to climb. The path starts off steadily, rising in gentle circuit of the hill's shoulders. For the final summit push you'll need your hands, feet and all your wits in a thrilling scramble.

From the top, the views of the scattered peaks and surrounding loch-strewn wilds are astonishing. Who says you have to go up the hills to enjoy them? Walk through Glencoe or Glen Shiel and you can enjoy the soaring ridges and huge buttresses from a gentle riverside path. In the Trossachs you can picnic by a loch and admire the crumpled rocky peaks that inspired Sir Walter Scott to write his classic novel Rob Roy. Mountain city You don't even have to leave the city to enjoy Scotland's hills - Edinburgh has a mini-mountain right in its midst! Arthur's Seat is a rugged ancient volcano surrounded by open parkland. You can explore three lochs, hidden glens, spectacular cliffs and meet some surprising wildlife. You can also climb to the hill's summit in just half an hour for the best possible views of Scotland's capital city. Munros Sir Hugh Munro could never have guessed what he was starting when he compiled his list of Scotland's 3,000 ft hills in 1891. Climbing the 282 Munros is now an iconic achievement for keen hillwalkers.

If you complete a 'round' you will also have explored some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes in Europe. Ben Lomond, just north of Glasgow, is many people's first Munro. The Isle of Skye has 12 Munros, all very challenging. Corbetts The Munros certainly make up a magical list, but hillwalkers who ignore Scotland's Corbetts are missing out on some amazing days out. Classic Corbetts include The Cobbler, Ben Ledi and Arkle. Grahams If you're new to hillwalking or simply fancy a gentle walk in the country, you'll find the Grahams offer some wonderful days of adventure. Try Tinto Hill in the Borders, Marsco on Skye and Suilven in the far north. Glens There wouldn't be any hills without glens to separate the summits! Take time to enjoy these scenic valleys and you'll be surprised by emerald lochs, fairy pools, historic battle sites, and Harry Potter's steam train. Got a couple of minutes? You could climb a Munro! No, really - it’s possible thanks to our 360 degree outdoors adventure movies , and you don’t even need a raincoat!

Looking for a new hillwalking adventure? Start climbing Arthurs! The 'Arthurs' are 20 major peaks that can be seen from Arthur's Seat in the centre of Edinburgh. The list include hills as far away as Lochnagar, 69 miles (111 km) to the north, Ben Lomond to the west and Schiehallion; it's an eclectic mix of Munros, Corbetts and Grahams. Get travel tips by email Sign up to our emails for inspiring travel ideas, news, offers and much more. munro and corbett mountain chart Munro and Corbett Mountain Chart Harvey Maps (GBP) (Check your currency) SAVE 50% was £7.95 now £3.97 This Munro and Corbett Chart shows and lists all Munros (mountains over 3000ft), Corbetts (over 2500ft), Grahams and Donalds (over 2000ft). A selection of other hills are named for information.

Re-launched in 2012 with revised information, clearer mapping and easier to read symbols, this folded chart has a detachable cover making it suitable for wall mounting, and space for recording your date of ascent. A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 ft (914.4 m). They are named after Sir Hugh Munro (1856-1919) who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain. As of the 2009, revision of the tables, published by the Scottish Mountaineering Club, there are 282 Munros and 227 further subsidiary tops. The most well known Munro is Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, with an altitude of 1,344 metres (4,409 ft).

Munro Bagging in Scotland | VisitScotland Add to basket Remove from basket Plus Minus Add to trip planner Remove from trip planner Scottish munros and munro bagging Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to conquer Scotland's Munros - also known as Munro bagging. Munros are Scottish mountains over 3,000 ft, and are named after Sir Hugh T Munro (1856 - 1919), the first man to survey and catalogue them. There are 282 in total - the ultimate challenge is to bag them all! Why go Munro bagging? Munro bagging is a popular way to explore Scotland's highest mountains. Some walkers find it a handy way to decide which mountain to climb, for others it becomes a serious goal to complete, and bagging Munros is also a great way to raise money for charity. What's with the words? Like most sports, Munro bagging has a language of its own - it's a little eccentric, but we think it's kind of cute.

Each summit reached is another bagged, and a step closer to the coveted 'compleation' of a round, which is when a walker has climbed all 282 Munros. If you're wondering about the spelling it's the archaic version of complete, making it all sound very traditional! When you 'compleat' a round, you can be referred to as either a 'Compleatist' or as a 'Munroist'. Either way, the sense of achievement is immense. Safety first Whether it's your first Munro or your final one, careful planning should be of the upmost priority when it comes to climbing Scotland's peaks - as majestic and beautiful as they are, mountains can be very dangerous places in certain weather conditions or if you aren't adequately prepared. Get advice and tips from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland , plan your route carefully, and make sure you check out the Mountain Weather Information Service to ensure that conditions are suitable. Munros by numbers Summits of Great Britain 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. Ben Nevis, the highest summit in Britain Page 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 Britain is a small country yet it has a surprising diversity of landscapes and a considerable expanse of upland areas. We've got mountains, hills, fells, escarpments, heaths, moors and downs. We've got grassy summits, rocky summits, forested summits and even suburban summits. We've got odd, isolated hills rising from flat plains, we've got ranges of mountains, we've got clusters of fells, we've got huge upland plateaux of both mountain and moor. During the last 150 years or so the recreational use of our high ground has taken hold.

People love to ramble, to hike, to hillwalk and to climb. It was perhaps inevitable that some of the explorers would turn to listing and classifying the hills that they'd climbed or aspired to climb. Thus there are many lists of British hills, each of them defined by a variety of criteria. Scottish mountains over 3000 ft high? There's a list. English hills exceeding 2000 ft? There's a list, in fact more than one. All UK hills with a relative height of 500ft or more? Yes, there's a list. Every list is different, and some are controversial. Disputes arise over just how you define your criteria. What makes a hill a hill, what makes a mountain a mountain? What, in essence, is the difference? If a hill has more than one top, how do you define which are principal summits and which are mere outliers? When does a mountain with several summits stop being a mountain and start being a mountain range? The problem is, of course, that all these things are subjective. Everyone has different opinions.

In an attempt to satisfy these differences there are a variety of overlapping lists with different inclusion criteria for height, reascent, relative height, proportional height and distance. I recently found a quote on the web (and I regret that I've lost the reference), which says, "ultimately you can't define mountains by numbers." It's absolutely true. Every list, inevitably, contains summits that simply aren't interesting, and leaves out many that are. But that doesn't deter the "baggers" and list-tickers. We know that these lists are artificial, yet they represent a ready-made challenge which many cannot resist. There are those who dedicate themselves to climbing all the Munros, or all the Corbetts, or all the Wainwrights or Marilyns or whaterer else takes their fancy. I'll never complete any of the lists. (Well, perhaps the Wainwrights if I'm lucky). I'm a fair weather walker, I don't like exposure to steep drops, and I don't drive so many hills are beyond my reach. But I do love hills and mountains and summits, and I visit those I can whenever the opportunity arises. In these pages I want to share some of them with you.

Below are some notes on the various lists. Munros (and Munro Tops) Mountains in the Scottish Highlands over 3000 ft, as listed by Sir Hugh Munro late in the 19th century. The feat of completing the Munros is still the ultimate achievement for hillwalkers and summit baggers. Munro divided his list into two sections - principal summits, and outlying "tops". However he defined neither, and many feel that he left glaring anomalies and inconsistencies. Tops to which Wainwright would have given a whole chapter languish in obscurity, having been defined neither as a Munro or a Top. Cairn Gorm, for instance, has thirteen recognisable summits; Munro defined Cairngorm itself as the principal summit but only 5 of the other 12 are Tops. Liathach, which most people think of as a single mountain, was regarded by Munro as a range and given two principal summits. Neighbouring Beinn Eighe, however, which has a more extensive and complex ridge than Liathach, got only one Munro - Ruadh Stac Mor, which topographically is an outlier some way off the main ridge.

Re-surveying by the OS over the years has resulted in a number of summits either being promoted to or demoted from the list. Beinn Teallach in the Monadhliath range seems to have changed lists more than once. More contentious are the changes in status which the Scottish Mountaineering Club have introduced over the years - Tops have become Munros, Munros have become Tops, undefined summits have also come and gone. The SMC take a committee, and therefore consensus, approach to these changes, but they still remain subjective and some of them still appear to be inconsistent to outside observers. It's a debate that may continue indefinitely. There are currently 283 Munros and a further 227 Tops. All Munros are also Murdos (see below). Some writers refer to the Furth Munros - these are other British mountains that would qualify as Munros if the definition were extended to cover the whole country rather than just the Scottish Highlands. There are four Furth Munros in England and fifteen in Wales. A subset, Metric Munros (Metros) has been proposed, which would include all Munros over 1000 metres in altitude.

Murdos The Murdos are an attempt by writer and walker Alan Dawson to rationalise the Munro list. In his introduction on the Tacit Press website , he says:- "The word Munro has become synonymous with Scottish mountains over 3000 feet, yet anyone who has climbed all the Munros will be aware that numerous 3000-foot summits are not counted. The list of Munro Tops might therefore be regarded as a natural progression, but few Munroists have gone on to climb all of these. [Some believe that] the Munro Tops are an unsatisfying assortment of major mountain summits and minor bumps... The list of Murdos provides a much more rational and appealing extension to the Munros. "A Murdo is a Scottish peak over 914.4 metres high (3000 feet) with a reascent of at least 30 metres (98 feet). The 444 Murdos comprise all 277 Munros, 160 of the most significant Munro Tops and seven additional summits.

The list of Murdos [includes] the most rewarding 3000-foot summits without the less significant tops." Alan Dawson has also appended a list of sub-Murdos, which are summits that just fail to qualify for inclusion in the list (useful, as resurveys may promote at least some of them to full Murdohood some day). One writer has had the idea of extending the definition of Murdos throughout the British Isles. In this scenario, in addition to the 444 Murdos in Scotland there are also 6 in England, 15 in Wales and 13 in Ireland. Corbetts John Rooke Corbett's list encompasses all of Scotland, not just the Highlands. He listed summits that are above 2500 ft in height and are not already Munros; furthermore, he stipulates a minimum 500 ft reascent. This extra rule excludes less significant tops and gives his hills a degree of distinction. Effectively the Corbetts are a "second division" of peaks in the Highlands. Resurveys occasionally promote and delete hills to and from this list; there are currently 221 Corbetts.

Rather more recently a list of Corbett Tops has been produced, and also one of Corbett Tops of Munros. Corbett Tops have a 100 ft reascent criterion, the same as Murdos. Some walkers also refer to English and Welsh 2500-ers as Furth Corbetts or Welsh / English Corbetts. All Corbetts are also Marilyns (see below), save for one specific exception involving two adjacent Corbetts with identical heights. Donalds Donalds (after the compiler, Percy Donald) are Scottish hills outwith the Highlands, with a minimum height of 2000 ft. His list is subjective in that it stipulates no reascent figure, but in practice all Donalds have a reascent of at least 100 ft and there are no apparent omissions or anomalies. The original list covered the Southern Uplands but a small number of hills close to (but outside) the Highland Boundary Fault have recently been appended. There are 87 Donalds. Some hills are both Donalds and Corbetts. Grahams Basically, all Scottish hills between 2000 and 2500 ft.

A "Third Division" if you like, though this category includes some significant and popular mountains such as Suilven and Stac Polly. Like the Corbetts, a reascent of at least 500 ft is stipulated. This list of hills was first published in The Relative Hills of Britain (Alan Dawson, Cicerone Press, 1992). Originally, Scottish hills in this height range were referred to as Elsies (short for Lesser Corbetts). They have since been renamed Grahams in memory of the late Fiona Torbet (née Graham), who compiled her own list of such hills at around the same time. Her initial list omitted all hills in Southern Scotland and about a dozen in the Highlands, but included several hills with less than 150 metres of reascent. To avoid having two conflicting lists, it was agreed to use the existing list published in The Relative Hills... (with a few name changes), but to refer to the hills as Grahams. There are 224 Grahams. Some hills are both Donalds and Grahams; all Grahams are also Marilyns (see below).

There is also a list of Graham Tops (of Munros, Corbetts and Grahams); these , like the Corbett Tops, have a reascent of 100 ft. Marilyns The Marilyns are another invention of writer and walker Alan Dawson and represent an attempt to rationalise the differences in criteria between the various lists covering Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England-and-Wales or the British Isles as a whole. However, it introduces a quirk of its own - it stipulates a *relative* height of 500 ft from all surrounding terrain. The Marilyns cover all Britain but exclude Ireland. Very recently the 500 ft criterion appears to have been "metricated" to 150 metres, but this has made no actual difference to the list itself. This 500 ft (or 150m) relative height stipulation brings in hill summits in relatively minor English hill ranges such as the Cotswolds and Lincolnshire Wolds, some of which might be regarded as obscure, boring or remote – but of course the same can be said of certain Munros.

The higher Scottish Marilyns are also Munros or Corbetts (or Murdos); those between 2000 and 2400 ft high are the same as the Grahams (see above). A major advantage of Marilyn bagging is that it encourages you to explore parts of Britain that other lists don't cover, but a downside is that it brings in tops on several remote Scottish islands (such as St Kilda), plus a small handful of fearsome sea stacks that require advanced climbing skills. Some Marilyns are barred from public access and it seems doubtful whether anyone will ever succeed in climbing all of them. There are 1554 Marilyns at present though the number fluctuates occasionally as maps are republished with newly surveyed contours, or independent surveys accepted by the OS establish more accurate heights. A list of sub-Marilyns (those that don't quite make it either on the height or reascent criteria) has also been compiled.

Some additional info from the compiler, Alan Dawson: "In essence Marilyns are similar to Corbetts, but whereas Corbetts are only between 2500 and 3000 feet high and are only found in Scotland, Marilyns may be from 500 to 4500 feet high and are found throughout Scotland, England and Wales. It must be admitted that not every single one of the Marilyns is terrifically interesting, but a high proportion of them are significant summits or local landmarks, whereas the list excludes many of the more tedious summits that have been included in other lists." For comprehensive information see Alan's website, The Relative Hills of Britain Wainwrights The 214 Lakeland summits listed in Alfred Wainwright's seven volumes have never officially been given the collective description of "The Wainwrights" but the definition seem to have come into popular usage almost by default. Wainwright stipulated a specific, tightly-bound area within which he listed and surveyed every summit above 1000ft, though there was no reascent or distance criterion, several blatant omissions (e.g.

Walna Scar, over 2000ft high, south of Coniston Old Man) and a sentimental inclusion or two (e.g Castle Crag in Borrowdale). As well as being subjective his list was also inconsistent. For instance, he gives Scafell Pike two Tops (Broad Crag and Ill Crag), yet Skiddaw Low Man is listed as a separate fell. Few would regard Armboth Fell as a separate hill, particularly as half a dozen similar bumps attached to neighbouring Ullscarf were given no such distinction. Several other Wainwrights, such as Pavey Ark, are not even summits but merely appear to be so when viewed from below. And as for Mungrisedale Common.... it seems likely that AW was just filling space in Book 5. Having said all that, the Wainwrights remain as the finest list of Lakeland hills bar none. Hewitts Another invention of Alan Dawson, and introduced and listed by him in The Relative Hills of Britain . An acronym - Hills in England, Wales or Ireland over Two Thousand feet high. There is a reascent criterion of 30 meters (100 ft approx).

Previously the Hewitts were known as the "Sweats" and excluded Ireland. There are 525 Hewitts in total: 178 in England, 138 in Wales and 212 in Ireland. Apart from the 211 Irish Hewitts many hills in this list are also Marylins and may also be Wainwrights. All Hewitts are also Nuttalls (see below). Nuttalls John and Anne Nuttall have published a two-volume book, Mountains of England and Wales (Vol 1: Wales, Vol 2: England). These books, and the Nuttalls website , list summits over 2000 feet (610m) with a reascent of 50 feet (fifteen metres). There are 443 Nuttalls.

Deweys Michael Dewey's "Mountain Tables" is currently the most recent list to appear in print, a slightly quirky publication listing English / Welsh hills lower than 2000 ft but higher than 500 metres (roughly 1550ft), with a 100 ft reascent criterion - there are 186 in England, 242 in Wales and 5 on the Isle of Man. They are in effect a second division of Hewitts. Clements Based on a list by Clem Clements, these are hills in England, Wales and the Isle of Man of 100 ft prominence and between 1000 ft and 500 metres in height; the division below Deweys, in effect. There are an estimated 1712 Clements. Donald Deweys Based on a list compiled by Rob Woodall of the Relative Hills of Britain Yahoo group, these are the Scottish equivalent of the Deweys; i.e. hills higher than 500 metres with 100ft prominence not already on other lists. There are 1015 of them.

I have been calling them the Woodalls on these pages in the past. Yeamans In 1989 Dr Eric Yeaman published a bumper list of Scottish mountains, including all those with a reascent of 100 ft plus others qualifying by a measure of distance. Purely for the purposes of these pages, however, I'm counting a hill as a Yeaman only if it's between 1000ft and 500 metres in height, i.e. it's not already listed as a Munro, Corbett (or Corbett Top), Graham (or Graham Top) or Woodall. In effect my Yeamans list is the Scottish equivalent of the Clements. There are 2326 of them. HuMPs HuMPs are a superset of Marilyns; the acronym means "Hundred Metre Prominences". Thus the HuMPs are all British hills with a hundred metre (roughly 330 ft) prominence regardless of height. They encompass the Marilyns, sub-Marilyns and others.

The HuMPs serve two purposes; they give seasoned Marilyn baggers yet more hills to tick, and they also introduce a purely metric British hill list for the first time. There are currently 2985 HuMPs, of which just 820 lay outside Scotland. One practical difficulty facing any aspiring HuMP bagger is that a good many of the lesser ones have no public access whatsoever, often being situated on working farmland. Another is that the HuMPs include a summit that is arguably the most difficult in Britain - the Old Man of Hoy, a fearsome sea-stack in the Orkneys. A definitive list of HuMPs has been compiled by Mark Jackson. ThuMPs ThuMPs are purely my own invention; the list contains nothing new but is simply a collection of all lists of hills of 100ft (i.e. 30 metre) prominence. I wanted a list that would start with the Murdos (in Scotland) and the Hewitts (in England) but would extend down to 1000ft of altitude.

Thus it is a combination of the Murdos, Corbetts and tops, Grahams and tops, Hewitts, Deweys, Donald Deweys, Clements and Yeamans. It doesn't include any hills less than 1000ft high. Other Lists Many other lists have been published, many of them relatively recently, and it's worth mentioning them here. John Rooke Corbett, as well as his list of Scottish 2500 ft summits, also drew up a list of English 2500 ft summits in 1911. It was published in the Rucksack Journal. It was revised in the 1920's and later amended by Edward Moss in 1933. In the same year W T Elmslie published a list of English 2000 ft hills. F H Simpson followed up in 1937 with a list of Lake District 2000 ft summits, using more accurate mapping. Edward Moss extended Simpson's list with one covering the whole of England in 1939 and then Wales in 1940. He subsequently published a number of updates.

George Bridge was next on the scene, his 1973 list covering 2000 ft summits in England and Wales using a criterion based on a relative-height-plus-distance formula. Another list of English summits, compiled by Nick Wright, appeared in 1974. Chris Buxton and Gwyn Lewis published a more comprehensive English / Welsh 2000 ft summit list in 1986, with a reascent criterion of just 10 metres - consequently this list includes a great many minor tops. Finally, Richard Moss, the son of Edward Moss, maintains an internet database of English / Welsh hills based on his father's tables. It cross references these with the lists of Dawson (i.e. Hewitts), Nuttall, Bridge, Buxton & Lewis, and Wright. The concept of Relative Height Relative height (otherwise known as prominence) is a slightly tricky concept to grasp if you don't instinctively understand it first off. In essence it's the minimum net height you have to reascend to reach the summit of a given hill from any higher ground. It's a measure of how well it stands apart from its neighbours in terms of elevation.

For a more detailed description see A way to visualise relative height is to imagine that sea level can rise and fall. To determine the relative height of any given hill, imagine that the sea rises just enough to cut your hill off completely from all higher ground. The relative height is your hill's elevation above the new, imaginary, sea level. Summit lists that rely on the concept of relative height, such as the Marylins, therefore list hills of individuality - those that stand out from their neighbours. A consequence of such a list is that it always includes the principal summit of any upland area but will tend to leave out the minor tops or "bumps". Upland plateaux such as Dartmoor tend to have few summits with a significant prominence, whereas "peaky" areas such as Kintail will have plenty. Ultimately, though, even lists based on relative height are going to have boring summits as well as exciting ones. The concept of aesthetic appeal just can't be based on numbers.

Scotland : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost The Cuilins Geography and landscapes The aim is not to make a list of the areas like a geography book, neither to make a complete lesson of Scottish Geology, but to give a general idea of the general shape of mountainous areas in Scotland. Scotland, with the mountains of Wales and Ireland, is located on a geologic fault whose continuity is the Alps of Scandinavia . This fault runs from South-West to North-Eat, and in Scotland, we can say that approximately four parallels stripes that follow this direction, with depressions in between. In the very middle lies the Loch Ness, perfectly straight and oriented in diagonal. No other geographic feature illustrate so well the direction of the Scottish fault. Scotland in few lines Map of Scotland The Grampians make the most important mountainous range lying just under it, and fading out near the axis Glasgow-Edinburgh. This area owns the highest tops of Scotland. They are described in a very detailed page a href="">here. On the opposite side of the Loch Ness lie what Scottish call “the North-West Highlands ”.

Often, for the foreigner, partly due to whiskies advertisements and so on, the word “highlands” is a bit usurped and we tend to use it for the whole wild areas of Scotland. But geographically speaking, the “highlands” mean all areas north from the Grampians, including them. Then, for this very area, the best term is “ North-West Highlands ”. They also have their fair amount of high mountains, despite less numerous than the Grampians , and more concentrated on the West. But this is compensated by the fact that few of them (and this without the unclassifiable Isle of Skye ) have particularly sharp shapes and original features, for example in the region of Torridon. Hills near Glasgow South from the Grampians is located a wide depression in which are located the two biggest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, 40km far from each other, respectively on the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth . Looking at the shape of Scotland, under this depression, Scotland becomes wider again, before narrowing again at the English border. This region constitutes the 3rd mountainous part, which we commonly call Dumfries and Galloways, sometimes including also the Borders .

None of these hills are “ Munros ”, but they offer peaceful walks out of the crowds. As for the “fourth stripe”, the northernmost one, geologically speaking, it is separated by the sea from the rest of Scotland and is represented by the group of hilly islands of the Outer Hebrides, also running parallel to the SW-NE axis. The little island of St Kilda, far away from the Hebrides, is the only part of Scotland not to belong to these four groups running parallel to each other.... Still speaking landscapes, Let’s comment now a bit about the East-West contrast. For all these ranges, we can state approximately the same tendency. The Cairngorms On the westernmost regions are located the steepest mountains. Very often, these mountains are surrounded by long lochs, more or less linked to the sea, making the access to few of them quite long, and some very long walking approaches in few cases. There are even a fair number of famous Scottish mountains located on islands, the “Inner Hebrides”. Some of these mountainous islands are : Mull, Jura, Arran , Skye , Eigg, Rum... In the West, all valleys have a perfect “U shape”.

This geography is the heritage of the ice age which, due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream (and then more wet weather), dug deeper glaciers as we go west. The same logic applies to the west coast of Norway, Chili, or the North-American continent. Due to this proximity of the sea and exposure to the elements, the vegetation is also more scarce in the westernmost mountains. The first of them start rising straight from the sea without a single forest, just grass, while mountains of the same size and shape, further in central Scotland, have at least 200-300m of forest on their base. Going further East, the morphology continues to change. Mountains tend to be less and less sharp and steep. In the Cairngorms, the most famous mountainous region located in Eastern Scotland, landscape and morphology are completely different. Mountains look rather like big granitic plateaux in which the ice erosion worked in more dispersed places, leaving softer shapes. But still very strongly, leaving in few places more varied and original shapes of erosion. Lairig Ghru, Scotland’s biggest canyon, is one of them.

The mountains in these regions are also covered with much more vegetation, generous forests, including some of the rare specimens of the original Scot Pine; meadows covered of heather. Fauna is also more present, with countless deer’s, hares, ptarmigans. Weather is also completely different than on the West Coast. By the mean of the “barrier effect” of the many tops located more west, and many combined Foehn winds , the eastern mountainous areas of Scotland experience a sort of micro-climat, less oceanic, which sometimes give the impression of a mini “continental weather” in the heart of Scotland herself. During winter for example, it usually receives much more snow. All these aspects are very well detailed and explained in the excellent article about Scottish meteorology by Proterra . Ben Lui If you hike in Scotland for the first time, while reading about mountains or talking to other people, soon or late you will hear this word. First, if you don’t ask what is it, you will think about some famous mountain range somewhere in Scotland! But the “Munros” are everywhere... The Munros are the summits in Scotland over 3000 feet, or 914m.

Why this 3000ft limit? Because this is a round number which most high Scottish mountains tend to reach, and which usually makes the limit to the high mountain environment (rock, ridges, ice, snow…). The same way Alps have their four-thousanders, Himalaya the 8000’s, etc, etc. There are 284 Munros in Scotland . Every walker collect them as stamps, some of them manage to do all of them in a life. they were first documented by Sir Hugh Munro, an original member of the SMC (Scottish Mountaineering Club), in 1891. He did not climb his own creations and died in 1919 when working on a revison of his infamous 'tables'. The name 'Munro' has become synonymous was Scottish mountains over 3000ft (915m). It is only recently that all tops were correctly measured, thanks to recent laser technologies. During many decades before, their number kept changing (often increasing, but not always…).

Unpopular areas occasionally became suddenly highly frequented, and the opposite also occurred as “unlucky mountains” happened to lose the “Munro status” for a story of few metres… Buachaille Etive Mor Besides this “trainspotting” aspect of Munro-bagging, as long as you are not too obsessed by the exactitude of the term, it is an excellent sporting activity. Many hikers go to ranges that own several “ Munros ”, and bag several in a row. In some cases, this is a real physical challenge, and most of such trips are very rewarding. Looking for unpopular Munros will also take you to secret places in Scotland. The Munros are not the only list of tops in Scotland. You have also the Corbetts , from 2500 to 3000.

These were first documented by John Logie Corbett in the early 20th century to provide a basis for cataloguing lower Scottish mountains and one a munroist himself, Their merit includes promotion of many interesting tops which fail to reach the Munro status (ex: the Cobbler, Quinag, etc), and many very interesting, sometimes wide, mountainous areas, in which no Munros are located (ex: Dumfries and Galloway, some islands like Arran , etc). Besides these two lists, some other lists exist; more or less known as the altitude goes lower and lower : - The Donalds : hills in Central & Southern Scotland chosen by Percy Donald with a drop of at least 100ft of primary factor. - The Grahams : hills between 2000 and 2499 ft with primary factor of 500ft chosen by Fiona Graham Some people also refer to “British Munros”, including the rest of the British mountains that reach 3000ft, in Welsh Snowdonia , Irish Kerry , or England's Lake District , all of them just around a dozen all together.

Not a very significant amount compared to the “mass” of Scotland, but not less attractive mountains ! On Ben Nevis Ben Nevis , Scotland's highest mountain, owns one of the tallest vertical drops one can find in UK, and many gorgeous routes are located on the North East Face. Ben Nevis is also in winter an ice climbing heaven. On the Island of Skye are located the most atypical mountains of UK, the Cuillins . Of volcanic origin, made of a very tought and abrasive kind of granite called "Gabbro", they are extremely sharp and jagged. Thousands of rockclimbing routes are located on the dozen of main peaks. This is the prefect area to practice "real mountaineering", involving both rockclimbing and mountaineering skills. The Cairngorms, in Eastern Scotland, as mentioned above, were subject to particllarly strong ice erosion concentrated in some places, which created some of the most important cliffs in Scotland. Cairngorms are mostly made of a granite of very good consistency which make a fine rock to climb.

Finally, some of the finest rockclimbing spots are also located on coastal crags, for example on the Old Man of Hoy, and more in general everywhere where cliffs are made of a thought rock and provide a significant vertical drop. A good website which contains a lot of information about rockclimbing in Scotland (and UK) is : Carn Etchachan Scottish mountainners can go during the four seasons, each has advantages and inconvenients. * Summer is the warmest season, and perhaps the only one during when you can afford going out not with too many clothes. You will meet more people on popular trails. The Scottish landscapes are also not the most beautiful during this period, as all tend to be uniformly green. On the other hand, when perfect weather is settling for a whole day, you can enjoy the daylight during a lot of hours, from the very early morning, to the sunset around 10pm. * Autumn can provide splendid days with the most stable weather during the whole year, but also some horrible rainy periods. During this time, the whole landscape get warm colours turning yellow-orange-reddish.

The grass on the slopes of the montains get an infinity of different tones, depending on the exposure to the sun and the height. After cold periods, it is also not rare to see all scottish tops topped with a white cap, starting exactly at the same height on every hill, with a precision of only few meters. This kind of landscape which can rarely be observed out of Scotland (or British mountains), has something magical and cannot leave indifferent the eye of the visitor. * Winter can be really harsh, with very low temperatures baning any trip to mountains, especially during January-February. But not systematically. There will always be some periods warmer than others, during which you will experience great snow conditions on the tops, while the lower parts are still uncovered. One should also be aware that during this period, days are very short, and for a long hike, starting early is always much safer. Winter trips are on the other hand very rewarding for the photographers, as the sun tend to stay close to the horizon, providing colorful luminosities all day long, especially when clouds play with the rays of light.

* The Spring start when snow is melting, first on the pastures, and, much later, in the corries where it remains out reach from the sun. When the pastures reappear after the melting of the snow, landscapes are not very attractive: dead grass is between dark green and brown. Mountains experience some of the most capricious moments of the year with more sudden and unpredictable rainfalls than ever. After the passage of cold fronts, it is not rare to experience some late conditions of good fresh snow (which, however, do not last long). From the month of May, grass and trees recover their green vivid tones, with a wide range of tones: again, one of the finest moments of the year. But, partly wasted by the presence of a famous insect... Scotland by night... The midges are some very small insects who live in Scotland, as well as some wet parts of Scandinavia. More exactly, in Scotland, the midges are a familly of the Nematoceran Diptera, the "mountain midges", called Deuterophlebiidae.

The midges, whose larval stage is aquatic, appear at the end of the spring, as soon as the temperature grows, and the mountain bogs packed with water. This period of the year corresponds usually to the end of the spring and the summer. Their presence is not very identifiable during windy days, but without wind, they suddenly become a terrible scourge for the mountaineers, especially when in short clothes (T-shirt, etc) Almost completely invisible to the bare eye, you notice their mischief long after they have started... your skin is covered with very small red spots, and becomes very itchy; painful, even, in some extreme cases. Several hours later, they fade out and the feeling completely disappear. Some people are in fact more sensitive to this pain than others. Also, it seems that the midges tend to prefer some kind of skins more than others ! Few methods exist to get rid of them. Some flagrance sprays, which act like repellents are sold in some shops in Scotland. When walking, if you are surrounded by them, never stop for too long in one place, keep walking: the most windy, the less damage... Always wear some light clothes with long sleeves and legs, even if the weather is hot.

If you camp, beware of always zip the mosquito-net as soon as you enter or leave. Some people whose skin is highly sensitive even hike sometimes with special hats with mosquito net around the face, like in Africa ! In most of the Scottish mountains, hiking is allowed in total freedom. But, in some exceptional cases, some routes are not possible, just because the land belongs to someone. Most of the time, such areas are fenced fields. Always avoid climbing fences, or penetrating deliberately in what seems to be someone's property. Sometimes, this is not very obvious, but always behave respectfully, and politely if you are caught in such situation. If you are forced to cross a fenced area with cattle (which can happen for example if you walk down a mountain in a way you didn't expect very much), always mind to close the gate behind you, this is one of the most important things. For more information, read this website : The Red Kite Another important issue is the mountain erosion due to hikers. Most of the Scottish mountains, and especially the northernmost ones are made of a rocky base, on which lie a certain thickness of various nature: sand, peat, mud; which is covered by a vegetal layer like moss, grass.

Scottish mountains are extremely exposed to the oceanic climate and experience very often heavy rains. The vegetal layer prevents these heavy rains to sweep away the slopes of the mountains, even in the most fragile places. On some popular mountains, the frequency of passage of hikers is such that the vegetal layer is distroyed. Fortunately, in most cases, this "erosion" makes just a bare line without grass, in which everyone tend to follow. But, as soon as the traffic is excessive, the trail gets deeper and deeper. You can find yourself sometimes walking in a trench so deep that your hands and elbows are touching the grass on the right and on the left. When a trail becomes too uncomfortable to walk, people tend then to walk aside, finding the bumps and irregulatities of the terrain finally more comfortable than walking in a trench. A second trail appears, with a second trench... Then, the trail gets wider and wider.... And hikers are not the only scourge, now the rain participates, and carries away important masses of mud and soil.

On some mountains like Schiehallion, or Stac Pollaidh , the wound is several meterw wide, and visible from several kilometers far, detroying for ever the original aspect of the mountain. In order to prevent such damage, always try to keep on the main trail, walk aside as less as possible. If you do so, walk as far as possible from the original trail, in order to "increase the dispersal" of the erosion. Never take shortcuts between laces, never destroy the trail more in places where it is already damaged. Always walk softly, and not "crush the mountain" under every step. Mountains are like a gentle girl... the softest you behave, the most rewarding they will be. Liathach The aim of this section is not to provide all accomodations in Scotland (they are more detailled in subregions pages), but to give few tricks about how to find hiking-convenient accomodations in Scotland. * Campsites are usually working from around end of May to end of September/October. But few of them in popular places work (officially...) all year long.

Here is a good website to find campsites in Scotland, in the area you plan to go: * Accomodating into houses of course is more expensive, but a good number of basic and simple accomodations exist in the whole Scotland, they are just a bit more difficult to find, because often less referenced on the internet. You can try these websites to find few of them: Otherwise, you can always try to type a place name followed by "self-catering" in Google. But results often provide contrasted results; the interesting ones often drowned in a mass of B&B with higher (often unnecessary for the hiker) standard... * Another very interesting option, which for the foreigher may sound a bit ridiculous at first time, are the Youth Hostels. In many countries, Youth Hostels are dirty cheap accomodations for students in touristic towns. But in Scotland, even if there are a bit of those in the large cities, most of the Youth Hostels located in the countryside are much closer to the concept of "hiking accomodation", not to say the equivalent of mountain refuges for few remote ones accessible only on foot like Glen Affric .

Here is the website of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association : Beinn Dorain Scotland has the inconvenient to be located in one of the most remote corners of Europe. Not only getting to Great Britain, it also requires a whole driving day to get to those mountainous areas from Calais. But there are more interesting options than driving. Between Glasgow and Edinburgh, the historic (and more touristic) capital of Scotland, Glasgow is from far the best located city to reach mountains. From Glasgow, the Loch-Lomond area is only half an hour of driving, or bus, or train. Other famous areas like Glen Orchy, Glen Coe, and Glen Nevis are just a bit further on the way North. While the autobus drive until Skye or the North littoral, the northernmost train line ends in Mallaig, just after Fort William, on the foot of Ben Nevis, UK’s highest top. One of the inconvenients of the train is that GlenCoe is not served by any station; only reacheable by autobus . Loch Linnhe Nowadays, most big cities of UK are served with low-cost airlines from many places in Europe.

The aim of this section is not to make a complete overview of all of them, as it permanently changes, but here are few of the best ways to reach Scotland. Despite Glasgow International Airport is on the North of Glasgow and close to the center, it is not very convenient. The shuttles that link it to the town are quite expensive, and not very quick. The other option is the smaller Prestwick airport , in southern Scotland, to which most Ryanair flights are going. Prestwick is linked to a train station, and all plane passengers get 50% discount on train tickets all over Scotland (even free tickets in some cases). These discounts are working until 2 days after the arrival (which allow many train connections), and from 2 days before the time of the return. You have a little train connection in Glasgow involving 5mn walk between Central Station and Queen Street Station, but you can get this way until Fort William for a quite fair price.

From Prestwick airport , one must be aware that most low-cost flights are planned in very early morning or very late evening, in times when often no more public transport is going to the airport anymore, hence sleeping in the airport hall is usually tolerated (as long as you don’t drink vodka, sing, or leave rubbish). Chairs don’t have elbow separations, and four free of those free chairs in a row make a very decent place to sleep, saving in the same time a night in one of the Glasgow hotels. And look around you, it is not rare to see other people with backpacks, with who you can talk mountains for a while ! Catching the fist train in the morning, if you are going to the mountains of South-West Scotland, this leaves you almost the time of a whole hiking day. Two other airports in Scotland might be useful: - The Inverness Airport , certainly the most convenient to reach the mountains of the NW Highlands , but linked only to other cities in UK - The Aberdeen airport , convenient to reach the Cairngorms, also linked to UK cities mostly, with few extra connections in Europe.

By rail, young people owning trains subscriptions, like for example Interrail , might find the London-Glasgow night train particularly convenient. Some people use the night train from London to Glasgow to visit Scotland the time of one or two days, saving the price of hotels. Emergency phone numbers and mountain rescue .......... to come .... Mountains & Hills Mountains & Hills The mountains & hills of Great Britain Page 1: Introduction & types. (This page) The ten tallest mountains in the UK are all found in Scotland.

The highest peaks in each part of the UK are: Scotland: Ben Nevis (Nevis Range, 1,344 metres) Wales: Snowdon (Cambrian Mountains, 1,085 metres) England: Scafell Pike (Cumbrian Mountains, 977 metres) Northern Ireland: Slieve Donard (Mourne Mountains, 852 metres) The ranges of mountains and hills in the UK include: Scotland: Cairngorms, Cheviot Hills, Scottish Highlands, Southern Uplands, Grampian Mountains Wales: Brecon Beacons, Cambrian Mountains, Snowdonia England: Chilterns, Cotswolds, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, Malvern Hills, Mendip Hills, North Downs, Peak District, Pennines, Salisbury Plain, South Downs, Shropshire Hills Northern Ireland: Mountains of Mourne, Antrim Plateau, Sperrin Mountains The lowest point of the UK is in the Fens of East Anglia, in England, parts of which lie up to 4 m below sea level. Types of Hills & Mountains There are different types of mountains and hills according to their characteristics, heights and geographical locations.

Munros: The Munros are mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m). The list was originally compiled by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891, and is modified from time to time by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC). Unlike most other lists, the Munros do not depend on a rigid prominence criterion for entry; instead, those which satisfy the subjective measure of being a "separate mountain" are regarded as Munros, while subsidiary summits are given the status of tops. There are 284 Munros and 227 further tops, all of them in the Scottish Highlands. Corbetts: The Corbetts are peaks in Scotland between 2500 and 3000 feet (762 and 914.4 m), with a relative height of at least 500 feet (152.4 m). The list was compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke Corbett, a Bristol-based climber and SMC member, and was published posthumously after it was passed to the SMC by his sister.

There are 219 Corbetts, many of them in areas of Scotland which have no Munros, notably Moidart, Applecross, the Southern Uplands and the islands of Arran, Jura, Rùm and Harris. Donalds: The Donalds are hills in the Scottish Lowlands over 2000 feet (609.6 m). The list was compiled by Percy Donald, and is maintained by the SMC. Whether a hill is a Donald is determined by a complicated formula. A hill with a prominence of at least 30 m is automatically a Donald, but one with a relative height of 15 m may be one if it is of sufficient topographic interest. There are 89 Donalds, many of which are also Corbetts or Grahams. Grahams: The Grahams are hills in Scotland between 2000 and 2500 feet (609.6 and 762 m), with a prominence of at least 500 feet (152.4 m). The list of hills fitting these criteria was first published by Alan Dawson in The Relative Hills of Britain.

They were later named Grahams after the late Fiona Torbet (née Graham) who compiled a similar list around the same time. Dawson continues to maintain the list, which contains 224 hills. Murdos: The Murdos are an attempt to apply strict objective criteria to the Munros and their associated tops. They are all the summits in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m) with a relative height of at least 30 m. There are 444 Murdos, compared to 284 Munros or 511 Munros plus tops. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson. Nuttalls: The Nuttalls are hills in England and Wales over 610 m (2000 feet) with a relative height of at least 15 m. There are 252 Nuttalls in England and 188 in Wales. The list was compiled by John and Anne Nuttall and published in two volumes, The Mountains of England & Wales.

By including hills that rise by as little as 15 m above their surroundings, the list of Nuttalls is sometimes criticised for including too many insignificant minor tops. The Hewitts (see below) are one attempt to avoid this. With the exception of Pillar Rock, a rocky outcrop on Pillar in the Lake District, the peaks of all of the Nuttalls can be reached without resort to rock climbing. Hewitts: The Hewitts are Hills in England, Wales and Ireland over Two Thousand feet (609.6 m), with a relative height of at least 30 m. The English and Welsh lists were compiled and are maintained by Alan Dawson; the Irish list is by Clem Clements. The list addresses one of the criticisms of the Nuttalls by requiring hills to have a relative height of 30 m, thus excluding the 125 least prominent Nuttalls from the list. There are 525 Hewitts in total: 178 in England, 137 in Wales and 211 in Ireland.

(Black Mountain is counted in both England and Wales.) Scotland is excluded from the list of Hewitts because its mountains are extensively covered by other lists. Wainwrights: The Wainwrights are hills (locally known as fells) in the English Lake District National Park that have a chapter in one of Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 hills in the seven guides. There are no height or distance qualifications to these hills; they are simply the ones he thought worthy of inclusion. A further 102 hills were included in the supplementary guide, The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Marilyns: The Marilyns are hills in the British Isles that have a relative height of at least 150 m, regardless of distance, absolute height or other merit. There are currently 1554 Marilyns in Britain: 1214 in Scotland, 180 in England, 156 in Wales and 5 on the Isle of Man.

(Black Mountain is in both England and Wales, which is why the country totals sum to 1555.) There are a further 453 Marilyns in Ireland. The list was compiled and is maintained by Alan Dawson. Walking, Trekking and Hiking Beach Walkers, Lunderston Bay, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Exploring Scotland on foot is a great way to see the country whatever your age or ability. From all-ability trails suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs to long-distance paths such as The West Highland Way or Great Glen Way to Munro bagging (the name of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 ft (914.4 m) in height – there are 282 of them). Trail walking and hiking are available all over the country with a number of providers providing fully guided group trips or self-guided holidays. Our long-distance trails are also very popular. Famous paths are the West Highland Way, Great Glen Way, Cateran Trail, Fife Coastal Path and Southern Upland Way. You can join a group, do it independently and get your bags transferred between stops.

Climb up one of the many hills, munros or mountains in Scotland and take in the exceptional views from the top. With views that stretch for miles and miles, they will not disappoint. Have a look at the providers listed below and explore the options available. Maybe you will find the walking holiday you have always dreamt of!

Question: What is the name for a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3,000 ft (914.4 m).
Answer: Munro