From Munros to Marilyns

Relatively curvy hills....

A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3000 feet high, named after Sir Hugh Munro who first catalogued them. (The man must have been a librarian in another life.) Munro's Tables are the most famous lists of mountains, but plenty have followed where Sir Hugh led. The Munros are quite a challenge as they are very high and a long way away. Munro bagging (as climbing a Munro is called) is very popular and people find all sorts of ways to make a fairly impossible task even harder, like walking them all in winter.

Ben Klibreck (3,154ft)

One thing all the lists (Corbetts, Grahams, Nuttalls, Hewitts etc) have in common is absolute height. Until 1992 that is, when Alan Dawson published his book The Relative Hills of Britain and the 'Marilyn' was born. A Marilyn is a hill with a relative height of 150m (about 500ft) to its surroundings, i.e. it is high compared to the land around it rather than sea level, or in other words, it sticks up.



Slioch (3,217ft)

The advantage of this list of hills is that you are not confined to Scotland, Cumbria or Wales for your challenge, although most of the Marilyns are located in Scotland. Our challenge is to climb all the English Marilyns under 2000ft, modest enough, but sufficient to while away many satisfying hours on planning trips and routes, checking maps and buying more maps. Indeed more hours are spent planning the walks than actually walking them. However there are walkers made of sterner stuff than I who have bagged 1,549 Marilyns out of the total of 1,554.

Wilmington Hill, East Sussex (702ft) 8.30am

Marilyns are distributed throughout the country but most, unsurprisingly are in Scotland. There are 179 are in England (69 in Cumbria alone) and my aim is to bag everything below 2000ft (129). I made a start a few years ago when Noddy and I bagged 5 on a gloriously sunny November day. We left before dawn so had no idea quite what the weather had in store. Sadly, this turned out to be Noddy's last big walking trip as arthritis and other illnesses set in that have curtailed his abilities if not his enthusiasm. To date we have bagged 14.

Firle Beacon (713ft) with Wilmington Hill in the distance

Click here for a list of English Marilyns

Noddy relaxing

Rutland - the smallest county

Or is it....

Top Facts

It is Rutland's proud boast to be the smallest county in England, but is it really? Firstly, Rutland is not an administrative county but a unitary authority (Bedfordshire is the smallest county at the moment). Rutland is a ceremonial county (Lord Lieutenants, lots of pomp, men in silly hats etc) but the City of London has the bragging rights there. Even when Rutland was a proper county before 1974, it was debatable that it was smaller than the Isle of Wight, especially when the tide was in! Unless you were born in Rutland, I don't suppose anyone really cares.

The 'smallest' county is home to largest reservoir in England, Rutland Water. Its most famous sight is Normanton Church, flooded when the reservoir was formed, which rises out of the water like the prow of a ship. Oakham, the county town, had some very attractive old buildings and a castle that I failed to find. The other major attraction of Rutland is that it is the only local authority area without a Macdonalds.

This trip was the first part of a double header. We camped over the border in Leicestershire in this lovely field which I had all to myself. The walk to Cold Overton Park (648ft) was very undulating with almost as much descent as ascent. There were a lot of stiles which made me glad that Noddy had stayed in the van. I had enough trouble get my legs over without heaving Noddy across as well. There were surprisingly good views despite the low visiblity.

On the last part of the climb I was accompanied, nay pursued by a flock of sheep. Either they thought I was some kind of liberator come to set them free or more likely, they knew I wasn't a vegetarian. It was a trifle unsettling as the sheep were rather relentless. The trig point marking the actual top was not publicly accessible and I was not inclined to hop over the fence, because as you can see from the picture, it was guarded by a sheep.

Despite the overcast day, it was still possible to see Rutland Water to the east and imagine what a fine view you would get on a clear day. So lowly little Rutland turned out to be a good topping experience despite the sheep.

If you don't believe me about the sheep, see for yourself.

What makes a good Topping experience?

The ultimate top...

Ben Nevis at 4408ft is the ultimate county top but is probably several thousand feet beyond me. What puts me off is not the height but the amount of ascent, how long you spend walking uphill. To climb Ben Nevis you have to ascend for over 4300ft as you start at nearly sea level, and unless you get taken off the mountain by helicopter you'll have to walk back down again. Too much like hard work to me!

In other respects, Ben Nevis has some of the hallmarks of a good topping experience, 360° panoramic views and a cairn or marker to identify the highest point exactly. Leaning nonchalantly against a trig point makes a much better photo. A good top should stand out proud from its neighbours too, be unmistakably higher than its surroundings. Good tops don't have to have pointy tops, ridges can provide excellent views too. However a really good top is never too far from a handy accessible car park (no height barriers please). A tea shop or café is always very welcome after a long (or short) days walk, although I do have Archie and his excellent facilities when needed. Warm (not hot) sunny days, clear blue skies and a light breeze all help make the day more enjoyable.

As with so many things in life, size isn't everything. Ben Nevis is never going to be achievable but I'm looking forward to scaling lesser lights like Worcestershire Beacon in the Malverns or Dunkery Beacon in Exmoor, or even lowly Normanby Top in Lincolnshire where the Wolds rise out of the fens and views are enormous.

Middlesex - ghost county

Worst top so far...

Top Facts

Middlesex disappeared off the map in 1965 when it was divvied up to form all or part of eight London boroughs. Gone but not forgotten through the work of its loyal supporters like Russell Grant, county signs still abound.

The actual top of Middlesex (502ft) was a bit hard to locate. It should be by a covered reservoir but its likely location has disappeared under a new gated development where I doubt that county toppers would be welcomed. So I made do with the boundary sign.


This trip was not a good topping experience. I had hoped to combine the top with a walk in nearby Stanmore common but gave up due to height barriers! I also tried to park at nearby Bentley Priory to no avail. So I restricted myself to parking the van about 750ft away and walking up the road and taking a picture, watched by some bemused people at the bus stop.

Noddy wasn’t feeling too well that day as he was suffering from canine vestibular syndrome (it’s a bit like vertigo). We did go for a walk at nearby Aldenham Country Park, however he was moving so slowly we were overtaken by just about everyone including a woman who was about to give birth! As you can see from the photo he couldn’t be bothered to get out of the van.

I am not familiar with any of the 9 alternative tops in Middlesex spawned by the creation of the GLC, but one, Horsenden Hill (279ft), in Ealing does feature in several walking books and does appear to have a summit and views, requisites for a good topping experience.

So it was with a feeling of general disgruntlement I headed home. I won’t be going back there until 2015 when leg 15 of the London loop passes through the area, and it won’t be too soon.

Click here for details of Bentley Priory circular walk.
Click here for details of Horsenden Hill circular walk.

Suffolk - a top but not topping

Great Wood...Who are they kidding?

Top Facts

Suffolk is a county with much to recommend, excellent and varied coastline, medieval castles, chocolate box villages, the wonders of Sutton Hoo, the vast forests of the Brecklands to name but a few. However it is sadly lacking in panoramic viewpoints and its top is a misnomer.

Suffolk can actually 'boast' two historic tops as the county was divided into East and West until 1974. Great Wood (420ft) was the top of West Suffolk and is the current county top. The lesser top of East Suffolk (295ft) is at Wattisham airfield and safely hidden behind razor wire which is an excellent excuse not to visit it. It will gain another top in 2009 when Ipswich becomes a unitary authority, but I doubt whether it will offer much of a challenge.

The best thing about this walk was the meal I had at The Plough in Rede beforehand. The Faithful Hound sat this one out and I was accompanied on the walk by friends, Frances and Trevor. It was a very mild day in December and we set out on what was meant to be a circular walk. There was nothing particularly great about Great Wood and as the GPS failed to work it was a bit of guesswork as to where the actual summit was. (I don't think it's where I'm standing in the photo!)

Faulty map reading meant we couldn't complete our circle in daylight so we had to return the way we came. The highlight of the day was seeing a hare running along a ridge in the lovely late afternoon sunshine. It looked huge silhouetted against the skyline.

So it wasn't much of a top, but there is much, much more to Suffolk. Visit Lavenham with its beautiful half timbered buildings and ancient Guildhall. Walk from Clare to Cavendish and treat yourself to a cream tea. Stroll along the coast at Dunwich Heath and go twitching at Minsmere Nature Reserve (but leave your pet at home). Flatford Mill and East Bergholt form part of Constable Country along with Dedham over the border in Essex.

Don't take my word for it, go see for yourself.

Click here for a walking guide to Suffolk.

Chocs away!

A day trip to Belgium.....

On Friday I swapped Faithful Hound for Favourite Nephew and headed off to the continent. After an uneventful journey (except for an unusually large number of men dressed as Elvis in the passenger terminal) we arrived in France just over 3¼ hours after home.

Our first stop was the Chocolate Factory just outside Ostend. It would be more correct to call it the chocolate factory shop and it is very popular with British tourists (3 coach loads of old dears from Clacton who arrived at the same time as us). Excellent chocolate and plenty of choice, not as cheap as it used to be, thanks to the falling pound but cheap enough.

After making purchases, we went in search of sun, sea and sand. The last two were not hard to find in this part of Belgium and the sun shone gloriously as Philip and I took a regal stroll over the dunes. About a hour before the weather had been distinctly wintery, so our timing was perfect.

It was mid afternoon when we arrived in Bruges and we made for the Belfry which dominates the town. I was somewhat surprised to find it had steps, (the last belfry I went up was the Campanile in Venice which had a lift) and had I realised there were 366 of them I might have sent Philip up alone. We were treated to the hourly chimes and a chance to see the clock mechanism at work.

However the view was splendid up there, we even managed to spot Archie, parked a jaunty angle in the north of the city, (clearly visible in the centre of the picture above).




We spent the rest of the afternoon buying more chocolate and strolling around the historic city centre, enjoying the canals, the swans and beautiful brick architecture of the churches. We took Archie for a tour of Bruges which was quite interesting, including a three point turn to avoid a multi-story carpark (note to self: learn the Flemish for height barrier) and along and over the canals along some very narrow roads. It appears that parking by the canals in the north of the city is free.

On a previous visit to Bruges, I stayed at the King Albert I hotel which was very centrally placed near the bus station about 10 minutes walk from the Markt. It is an excellent spot for a weekend trip as it's only a 90 minute drive from Calais, lots to see and do and plenty of places to eat.

Talking of food, we had a very nice meal at a brasserie in the Markt, the main square in Bruges. We decided to eat on the terrace in a wind that the cast of Dallas would have appreciated. I had Belgium beef stew and Philip had steak. It appears that our very attentive waiter was expecting us and laid in extra supplies of ketchup. We rounded the meal off with some excellent deserts, waffles for me and pancakes flambéed with Grand Marnier for Philip.

We headed home along the coast road and were treated to a beautiful sunset over the Channel. Our uneventful journey turned eventful when we reached Nieuwpoort where the road disappeared into black hole. In the gathering gloom we made several circles of the town, before finding the motorway, only to discover that the west bound slip road was barred. After a trip up the motorway in the wrong direction, we were able to turn around and head for home. The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful apart from a French customs officer dusting my dashboard. We were home at midnight making it a very long, very full day.

Starting at the bottom - Huntingdonshire

Not so Boring Field....

Top Facts

Our next port of call was Huntingdonshire. Hunts is a county that disappeared for ever in 1974 after a brief marriage with Peterborough, but the name lives on as a district of Cambridgeshire. Not big and not hilly, it is still quite an attractive county famous for being the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell. St Ives, along the banks of the Great Ouse, is a good place for a day out; attractive riverside walks, an impressive 15th century bridge complete with chapel, Houghton Mill and Hemingford Grey where you can visit the manor house, one of oldest continually inhabited houses in England.

The county top is listed as Boring Field (263ft), (not a name I can find on any map) so hopes were not high for the spectacular and stunning. However there was a Caravan Club certified site about half a mile away so Noddy and I ended up there on a Friday night for a 2 night stay. A lovely little site it turned out to be with a very smart lawn surrounded by a tall hedge and a beautifully maintained shower room that I immediately left muddy footprints in. The best thing about the site, aside from splendid facilities and pretty, quiet location (Covington) was the direct footpath from my van to the summit half a mile away.

Noddy and I duly rested overnight to prepare for the coming exertions. Our walk took us through farmland that was used as a cross country course for horses but fortunately we didn’t meet any on the footpath. We walked north- west up a barely perceptible incline and then branched off south along a ridge which marked the border with Northamptonshire. At this point I got out my new GPS to locate the actual spot only to find that it didn’t register altitude. Looking at the map, I think we were actually in the wrong county when I took the photo as the footpath appears to be in Northants, but I wasn’t going to hack through the hedge, we were near enough. There were pleasant views from the ridge and the weather was kind. Noddy and I wandered the footpaths for a couple of hours which eventually led us back to Archie. We never needed to cross a road, great!

We had planned on walking up Warren Hill (232ft) in nearby Kimbolton, which offered extensive views (according to the Pathfinder guide) but the rain came down and soaked us about 10 minutes after we left the van. Kimbolton, medieval church at one end, Vanbrugh built castle at the other, it is well worth a return trip some day.



Huntingdonshire might not have the biggest or most inspiring top but it has its compensations.



Click here for walking guides of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire

Next stop Cambridgeshire

The next top was Cambridgeshire...

Top Facts

It was pretty obvious that Noddy wasn't too keen on walking to Cambridgeshire so I gave up and returned to Langley, but not before I had walked down the wrong path and had to scramble down a ditch and hack through a copse. It was only about three miles to the border so the trip didn't take very long. I stopped to admire Holy Trinity Church in Chrishall which stands alone atop a little hill. It has battlements and an interesting chequered design, not typical among Essex churches.

The county top of Cambridgeshire (479ft) is either an unmarked spot height on the B1039 opposite The Hall or the covered reservoir nearby. Not very inspiring! As I didn't have a GPS, there didn't seem much walking down the road trying to gauge the highest point as this may have attracted attention from the local residents. I opted to drive to the closest point to the covered reservoir which happened to be the car park of a nearby sports centre. I got out, Archie posed for a picture and we drove off. All over in seconds!

It was a great shame that the church at Great Chishall wasn't the highest point as it was very attractive. The whole village is well worth a visit as is the nearby Wood Green Animal Shelter. Noddy and I travelled on to Wandlebury which would have made a great county top were it not for the unfortunate lack of height (243ft). Wandlebury is an old hill fort that has some very interesting buildings inside it and is now a Country Park. You can see for miles in all directions and on the day that I went, Ely Cathedral was visible to the naked eye 15 miles away (although you could see it much more clearly with binoculars).

Noddy and I ended the day at the Cambridge Camping and Caravan Club site near Scotsdales, (for those of you familiar with Cambridge). The weather remained glorious so Noddy and I both did some sunbathing.

Cambridgeshire has another traditional county top at Haddenham village, the highest point of the Isle of Ely, which was a independent county until 1965. At 128ft it must seem positively mountainous compared with the surrounding countryside.

Our first county topping trip was very successful, excellent weather and no difficulties in finding or scaling the tops. Although the tops themselves were not as inspiring as I hoped, I did see some interesting views elsewhere in Cambridgeshire; the excellent panorama from Wandlebury and the nude sunbathers of Quy Fen.

Essex - Our First Top

Essex, naturally was to be our first top.

Essex Top Facts

The summit is at Oldfield Grove (482ft) on Chrishall Common in the far north west of the county close to the border with Cambridgeshire and their county top, Great Chishall. It had been my plan to combine the two on the walk, however Noddy had other plans.




It was a glorious day in early September. We had spent the day before at the very pretty village of Ashwell in Hertfordshire camped at the Caravan Club site. It was only a short drive to Upper Langley where we parked. It is quite hilly for these parts forming little outcrops from the Chilterns. You can get some fine views from the tops of the ridges.

We set off from the car park by the cricket pitch along the Harcamlow Way up what was, even by Essex standards, a modest incline. However it was obvious from the start that Noddy wasn't up for walking and took up station about 100 feet behind. You can see he has his moody face on in the picture!

I would love to enthuse about the view but sadly there wasn't one. The top is an unmarked patch of ground as the path emerges from some trees. As I did not have a GPS at the time, I put my bag down where I imagined the top to be and bribed Noddy to pose for a photo.

It was a shame about the view as some of Essex's lesser hills have some great ones. Cabin Hill (300ft) in Hainault Forest has views all the way back into London, there are some fine views of the Thames Estuary from Thorndon Country Park near Brentwood. There are some impressive views from Langdon Hill (377ft) the 'County Top' of Thurrock, however I won't be able to enjoy them because of the height barrier on the car park. Even the view from London Road (200ft), the disputed 'County Top' of Southend isn't bad, as it overlooks the Thames Estuary, Hadleigh Castle Country Park and Two Tree Island nature reserve (where Noddy fell in the mud while paddling and we had to hose him down!). I think it's fair to say that just about any hill in Essex is more impressive than this one.

The (Traditional) County Tops of England

	County	Name	Height	Visited
1	Cumberland	Scafell Pike	3209
2	Westmorland	Helvellyn	3117
3	Northumberland	The Cheviot	2674
4	Lancashire	Coniston Old Man	2634
5	North Riding of Yorkshire	Mickle Fell	2585
6	Durham	Burnhope Seat	2447
7	West Riding of Yorkshire	Whernside	2415
8	Herefordshire	Black Mountain	2306
9	Derbyshire	Kinder Scout	2087
10	Devon	High Willhays	2037	12/05/2009
11	Cheshire	Black Hill	1909
12	Shropshire	Brown Clee Hill	1772	28/09/2008
13	Staffordshire	Cheeks Hill	1706	27/06/2009
14	Somerset	Dunkery Beacon	1703	14/05/2009
15	Worcestershire	Worcestershire Beacon	1394
16	Cornwall	Brown Willy	1378	09/05/2009
17	Gloucestershire	Cleeve Hill	1083	30/09/2007
18	Berkshire	Walbury Hill	974	07/03/2008
19	Wiltshire	Milk Hill	968	19/06/2009
20	Surrey	Leith Hill	965	09/06/2007
21	Hampshire	Pilot Hill	938	07/03/2008
22	West Sussex	Black Down	919	22/10/2006
23	Dorset	Lewesdon Hill	915	22/10/2006
24	Leicestershire	Bardon Hill	912	19/04/2008
25	Buckinghamshire	Wendover Woods	876	12/05/2007
26	Warwickshire	Ebrington Hill	856	29/09/2007
27	Oxfordshire	Bald Hill	843	24/03/2007
28	Kent	Betsom's Hill	823	02/12/2006
29	East Sussex	Ditchling Beacon	814	20/10/2006
30	East Riding of Yorkshire	Bishop Wilton Wold	807
31	Hertfordshire	Pavis Wood	801	12/05/2007
32	Bedfordshire	Dunstable Downs	797	13/05/2007
33	Northamptonshire	Arbury Hill	738	28/09/2007
34	Nottinghamshire	Newtonwood Lane	669	14/11/2008
35	Rutland	Cold Overton Park	646	18/04/2008
36	Lincolnshire	Normanby Top	551
37	Middlesex	Bushey Heath	509	27/01/2007
38	Essex	Chrishall Common	482	07/09/2006
39	Cambridgeshire	Great Chishill	479	07/09/2006
40	London	Hampstead Heath	441	07/05/2008
41	Suffolk	Great Wood	420	28/12/2006
42	Norfolk	Beacon Hill	345	05/05/2008
43	Huntingdonshire	Boring Field	263	30/09/2006

County Topping

Walkers like lists. There are numerous lists of the mountains and hills of Great Britain; Munros, Corbetts, Grahams, Hewitts, Wainwrights, HuMPs and Marilyns to name but a few. A List gives you a purpose for your walk, a chance to plan, buy maps and guide books, arrange campsites and spend long nights working out the best way to get there. It adds so much more to the walking experience.

County Tops are a list of the highest point above sea level in a county. Simple really! Quite unambiguous and unequivocal you would think. Wrong! Both elements (county and top) are subject to dispute.

What constitutes a ‘county’ is a subject that stirs deep passions. Visit the Association of British Counties website if you don’t believe me. You can have Traditional Counties, Ceremonial Counties, Administrative Counties and Counties that turn out to be unitary authorities (Herefordshire). Some counties persist long after they disappeared off the map (Middlesex) and some blossomed but for a short time, only to be swept away by yet another round of local government reorganisation (Humberside 1974-1996, RIP).

So which list do you pick? There are currently about 180 local authority areas in England (and growing) and the thought of finding the high point of Slough was not inspiring. So I chose the counties that existed when I was born, when the boundaries of my beloved Essex rested on the banks of the mighty River Lea. I make that 43 counties and I don’t care that it doesn’t agree with the Traditional County list of the ABC, who rather inexplicably have ignored the County of London.

Now the Top part.
Some counties now have an Administrative or Current Top to go with their old Traditional top as the result of some land grabbing during local government reorganisation. I shall choose to ignore the interloper in favour of the old time top. In some counties, there is no agreement about where the top is (Nottinghamshire has three contenders), this is often due to the fact although the top is a high point, it isn’t always very high.

It’s a hill Jim, but not as we know it….

Now it seems highly unlikely that Noddy and I will scale the heights of Cumberland (Scafell Pike 3209ft) or Westmoreland (Helvellyn 3117ft) without the aid of Sherpas so we have set our sights a little lower. Our aim (well, mine really) is to conquer all the ones below 2000 feet, (33 tops) and see how we get on with the others. This will make use of some of the natural advantages of living in the South East, we may not have many hills but we have quite a lot of counties.

At the time of writing I’ve bagged 18 Tops and Noddy has bagged 12.

If you want to know more about hill bagging lists, go to www.hill-bagging.co.uk
If you want to check out a website of some very dedicated County Top baggers,
go to www.wheresthepath.com