Posts tagged Trig Pillar

Swinley Forest Pudding Hill and Surrey Hill Circular Walk

Start & Finish: The Look Out Discovery Centre, Nine Mile Ride, Bracknell, RG12 7QW
Distance: 8.2 km (5.1 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 107m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Rambler’s Route, Three Castles Path
Other routes touched (cycle): Swinley Forest Mountain Bike Routes
Pubs / Cafes on route: Cafe at the Look Out Discovery Centre
OS Trig Pillar: TP5536 - Pudding Hill
Map: OS Explorer Map (160) Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
Links: Swinley Forest, The Lookout Discovery Centre

I had visited Swinley Forest many time but, until recently, had completed missed that it contains a present-day county top. Surrey Hill, the high point of the Unitary Authority of Bracknell Forest, can be found at the far south side of the forest.

From the Look Out car park take the Rambler’s Route for 1.2 km south from the Discovery Centre. You’ll pass by the Pudding Hill Trig Pillar after 600m. When the Rambler’s Route take a sharp bend to the right, continue straight now heading south-east. There’s a lot of tracks and few sign-posts so having the GPX route is your best bet to keep you on the right route. Approx 400 metres after leaving the Rambler’s Route take the right hand path heading south-east rather than the larger track. This will take you past New England Hill and will meet up with Bracknell Road (track) after 670 metres. Take a right onto Bracknell Road and follow it south. You’ll reach a sign for Surrey Hill at a larger path junction before ascending to the high point.

After Surrey Hill keep heading south toward the large transmitter before turning right ~750m from Surrey Hill summit. You’ll now be heading south/south-west across some open land, eventually meeting a fence. This is the boundary of Swinley Forest and neighboring MOD land. Cross through the gate and follow the paths past Deer Rock Hill to meet a long straight path heading north-west. This section is especially tricky to navigate without a GPS.

Once on the long north-westerly path, follow it until a large junction of 8 paths. Take the large north-easterly path called Windsor Ride, then the mountain bike path that splits off from it after 40m. Follow this path north until it meets the Three Castles Path and follow that back to the start.

Surrey Hill

Significance: Highest Point in the Unitary Authority of Bracknell Forest
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Butser Hill. NHN = Bowsey Hill
Historic County: Berkshire (of which Walbury Hill is the County Top)
Elevation: 130m
Date “climbed”: December 18th 2021
Coordinates: 51° 22' 9'' N, 0° 43' 30'' W
Map: OS Explorer Map (160) Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
Links: Wikipedia (Bracknell Forest), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Back to English County Tops Index

Richard gower18 December 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Trig Pillar, Berkshire, EnglandComment

North London Seven Summits

City skyline from Hainhault Country Park on ascent to Cabin Hill

The North London Seven Summits sounds like it should be a recognized challenge. It’s not. It’s just a collection of the Greater London Borough High Points that I decided to visit by car on a grey November afternoon. Although none are particularly inspiring, there’s a few interesting places along the way.

There’s some obvious missing boroughs when you look at the map. Hillingdon, Harrow, Harringey and Waltham Forest are not in this collection as I had already completed them before. They’re also on more interesting routes like the London Loop, Capital Ring and Greenwich Meridian Trail. Click on the links on the borough names above for details on those.

Wakemans Hill Avenue

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Brent (alternative)
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Highwood Hill
Historic County: Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is the County Top)
Elevation: 92m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 35' 10'' N, 0° 15' 31'' W
Nearest Station: Kingsbury (Jubilee Line): 1.6 km
On route of: N/A. Capital Ring is 1.5 km to the south-west
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Links: Wikipedia (Brent), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Having already visited Subury Hill, the other high point in Brent, I was keen bag the other. The coordinates took me to the corner of Wakemans Hill Avenue and Mount View. The Wikipedia article on the Kingsbury district of Brent says that the hill “peaks at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m) near the crossing of Buck Lane and Wakemans Hill Avenue”, but the road definitely seems to peak at Mount View Road. Other road signs like Summit Avenue, Sunny View and Hill View Gardens confirm that you’re on a high point. Not much to see here so I took a quick photo and moved on to Barnet.

Highwood Hill

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Barnet
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Bushey Heath Boundary
Historic County: Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is the County Top)
Elevation: 146m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 37' 58'' N, 0° 14' 26'' W
Nearest Station: Edgware (Northern Line): 4.2 km
On route of: Dollis Valley Greenwalk. London Loop is 0.2 km to the north
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Links: Wikipedia (Barnet), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

The high point of Barnet is in private property in Mote End Farm Livery Stables. Having read the reports of people being denied access to the summit, I decided to get as far as I could via public access. The closest accessible spot is the stile by the main gates to the farm at the end of the lane off Nan Clark’s Lane.

Although it’s possible to park on Nan Clark’s Lane, it’s narrow with few spots that won’t annoy the neighbours. I parked round the corner at Crown Close and walked the 600m to the gate following the Dollis Valley Greenwalk Link.

Look out for the blue plaque on the corner of Highwood Hill Road and Nan Clark’s Lane marking the “site of Hendon Park residence of William Wilberforce from 1826 to 1831”. See the blog by Adam Yamey for more on this.

Bournwell Hill-West Slope

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Enfield
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods) NHN = Bournwell Hill - West Slope
Historic County: Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is the County Top)
Elevation: 119m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 39' 50'' N, 0° 11' 7'' W
Nearest Station: Hadley Wood (Great Northern, Thameslink): 1 km
On route of: N/A. London Loop and Pymmes Brook Trail are 0.7 km to the south-west
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Links: Wikipedia (Enfield), Wikipedia (Monken Hadley Common), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

The high point of Enfield can be found at the white gates marking the entrance to Monken Hadley Common on Camlet Way. Look out for the “Enfield welcomes you” sign on the north side of Camlet Way. You can’t park on the roads around the Common so I stopped a the side of the road once the double yellow lines had run out further up Camlet Way. Hillbagging logs say that there’s a lamp-post with a “congratulatory and explanatory notice taped to lamp post by www.londons-peaks.com” although I didn’t see it on the day I was there. Looks like the website has gone too as I got an “account has expired” error when I tried to check it.

Wanstead Flats

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Newham
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Beckton Alps
Historic County: Essex (of which Chrishall Common is the County Top)
Elevation: 15m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 33' 22'' N, 0° 1' 20'' E
Nearest Station: Wanstead Park (Overground): 0.6 km
On route of: N/A. Greenwich Meridian Trail is 0.3 km to the north-west
Map: Epping Forest & Lee Valley Map | Hertford & Harlow | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 174
Links: Wikipedia (Newham), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

I would have already bagged this one a few years ago if I had known that this high point is close to the start of Wanstead Flats parkrun. Not close enough to count though so I had to do a return trip.

Closest parking is at the Centre Road Car Park although you may find some on-street parking closer. The lowest high point of all Greater London Boroughs is by a group of trees at the edge of the common next to Sydney Road.

Note that Beckton Alp is often recognised as the high point of Newham. However, that’s an artificial hill rather than the natural high point on Wanstead Flats. Based on the description I think I’ll give it a miss unless I happen to be passing by it.

Cabin Hill

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Redbridge
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Havering Atte Bower Church
Historic County: Essex (of which Chrishall Common is the County Top)
Elevation: 90m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 37' 25'' N, 0° 8' 10'' E
Nearest Station: Grange Hill (Central Line): 4.2 km
On route of: Three Forests Way. The London Loop is 0.1 km to the south-east

Walk Start & Finish: Hainault Forest Country Park Car Park, Fox Burrow Road, Chigwell, IG7 4QL
Walk Distance: 3.3 km (2.0 miles)
Walk Elevation change: +/- 64m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
OS Trig Pillar: TP2802 - Dog Kennel Hill
Map: Epping Forest & Lee Valley Map | Hertford & Harlow | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 174
Links: Wikipedia (Redbridge), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Cabin Hill is the outlier of this group as it includes a short but pleasant walk, not just a quick drive-by. From the Hainault Forest Country Park car park take the footpath that heads up the hill to the south-east behind the cafe. After 200m from the cafe take a left onto a footpath up through the woods, emerging at the golf course. Here you’ll meet the Dog Kennel Hill Trig Pillar. From the pillar return to the edge of the woods and follow the boundary path north until you meet the London Loop at the northern edge of the country park. The actual summit wasn’t obvious, so I visited several contenders: the clearing where the coordinates take you, the big tree, the gate to the park and a post in the woods. There’s not too much to see here but you’ll get some great views of the London skyline as you descent back to the car park.

Marks Gate

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Cabin Hill
Historic County: Essex (of which Chrishall Common is the County Top)
Elevation: 43m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 35' 16'' N, 0° 8' 29'' E
Nearest Station: Chadwell Health (TFL Rail, Greater Anglia): 4.3 km
On route of: N/A. The London Loop is 3.8 km to the north
Map: Epping Forest & Lee Valley Map | Hertford & Harlow | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 174
Links: Wikipedia (Barking and Dagenham), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

This wins the prize for the most uninspiring of the day’s uninspiring summits. The high point of Barking and Dagenham is on a sad mound between the A1112 and Kingston Hill Avenue. Nothing to see here, so park on Kingston Hill Avenue, bag the summit and move on quickly.

Atte Bower Farm

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Havering
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Langdon Hill- Southwest Slope
Historic County: Essex (of which Chrishall Common is the County Top)
Elevation: 105m
Date “climbed”: 19th November 2021
Coordinates: 51° 36' 59'' N, 0° 11' 18'' E
Nearest Station: Harold Wood (TFL Rail, Greater Anglia): 5 km
On route of: N/A. The London Loop is 0.4 km to the north
Map: Epping Forest & Lee Valley Map | Hertford & Harlow | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 174
Links: Wikipedia (Havering), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Alternative = Havering Atte Bower Church

Parent Peak: Haddington Hill (Wendover Woods). NHN = Shooters Hill
Coordinates: 51° 36' 57'' N, 0° 10' 58'' E
Links: Peakbagger, Hillbagging

After the underwhelm of Marks Gate, the high point of Havering was at least in a more pleasant location. The official high point is in the grounds of Atte Bower Farm. I got as far as the entrance to the farm to take a photo of the water tower but didn’t enter the property. A better alternative is to visit the Church of St. John The Evangelist in Havering-Atte-Bower village. This was previously the twin high-point but, according to to Hillbagging, was de-twinned in October 2020.

Look out for the plaque at the eastern entrance to the church that refers to Havering Palace: “A royal palace once stood near here for about six hundred years from the time of Edward the Confessor until the end of the civil war.”

Back to Greater London High Points Index

Richard gower19 November 2021Trek, London Borough High Point, London, Middlesex, Essex, Trig Pillar, EnglandComment

The English County Tops

The counties of England have evolved with the most significant changes occurring over the last 100 years. The main groupings are:

Historic Counties. Also referred to as Traditional Counties or Former Counties. These have been in existence since the Middle Ages.
Administrative Counties. Established by the Local Government Act 1888. These closely matched the Historic Counties but with some sub-divisions such as Yorkshire being split into the North, East and West Ridings.
Ceremonial Counties. Areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed and defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997
Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan counties. Established by the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent changes, the 1888 Administrative Counties were replaced by 82 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties plus Isles of Scilly and Greater London.
Unitary Authorities. Established by the Local Government Act 1992, they are responsible for the provision of all local government services within a district.

This post shows the highest point in each of England’s counties based on the above groupings. As the Venn diagram shows there is a lot of overlap between the different types of county.

Contact me if you spot a mistake on this page or you have new information and I will make a donation to one of my causes.

Key to abbreviations in the lists below

HC = Historic County.
AC = Administrative County.
CC = Ceremonial County.
UA = Unitary Authority or Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan County.

England’s Historic County Tops

Also referred to as Traditional Counties or Former Counties. These have been in existence since the Middle Ages. More details on Historic Counties.

Scafell Pike. 978 metres. HC, AC, UA = Cumberland. CC = Cumbria.
Helvellyn. 950 metres. HC, AC = Westmorland, UA = Westmorland and Furness.
The Cheviot. 815 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Northumberland.
The Old Man of Coniston. 803 metres. HC, AC = Lancashire.
Mickle Fell. 790 metres. HC = Yorkshire. AC = North Riding of Yorkshire. CC, UA = County Durham.
Burnhope Seat. 747 metres. HC, AC = County Durham.
Black Mountain. 703 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Herefordshire. Also of defunct county of Hereford and Worcester.
Kinder Scout. 636 metres. HC, AC, CC = Derbyshire.
High Willhays. 621 metres. HC, AC, CC = Devon.
Black Hill. 582 metres. HC, AC = Cheshire. CC = West Yorkshire. UA = Kirklees
Brown Clee Hill. 540 metres. HC, AC, CC = Shropshire.
Cheeks Hill. 520 metres. HC, AC, CC = Staffordshire.
Dunkery Beacon. 519 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Somerset.
Worcestershire Beacon. 425 metres. HC, AC, CC = Worcestershire.
Brown Willy. 420 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Cornwall.
Cleeve Hill. 330 metres. HC, AC, CC = Gloucestershire.
Walbury Hill. 297 metres. HC, AC, CC = Berkshire. UA = West Berkshire.
Leith Hill. 295 metres. HC, AC, CC = Surrey.
Milk Hill. 294 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Wiltshire.
Pilot Hill. 286 metres. HC, AC, CC = Hampshire.
Black Down. 280 metres. HC = Sussex. AC, CC = West Sussex.
Lewesdon Hill. 279 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Dorset.
Bardon Hill. 278 metres. HC, AC, CC = Leicestershire.
Haddington Hill. 267 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Buckinghamshire. Also known as “Wendover Woods”
Ebrington Hill. 261 metres. HC, AC, CC = Warwickshire.
Bald Hill. 257 metres. HC = Oxfordshire.
Betsoms Hill. 251 metres. HC, AC, CC = Kent.
Pavis Wood. 244 metres. HC, AC, CC = Hertfordshire.
Dunstable Downs. 243 metres. HC, AC, CC = Bedfordshire. UA = Central Bedfordshire.
Arbury Hill. 225 metres. HC, AC, CC = Northamptonshire. UA = West Northamptonshire. Alternative = Big Hill - Staverton Clump
Silverhill or Newtonwood Lane. 205 metres. HC, AC, CC = Nottinghamshire.
Cold Overton Park. 197 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Rutland.
Normanby Top. 168 metres. HC, CC = Lincolnshire. AC = Parts of Lindsey.
Bushey Heath. 153 metres. HC, AC = Middlesex.
Chrishall Common. 147 metres. HC, AC, CC = Essex.
Great Chishill. 146 metres. HC, AC, CC = Cambridgeshire.
Great Wood. 128 metres. HC, CC = Suffolk. AC = West Suffolk.
Beacon Hill. 105 metres. HC, AC, CC, UA = Norfolk.
Boring Field. 80 metres. HC, AC = Huntingdonshire.

England’s Administrative County Tops

The Local Government Act 1888 split some Historic Counties into new Administrative Counties. The list below shows only the counties that were split with their highest points. All of the Historic Counties in the list above have the same Administrative County name and same highest point. More details on Administrative Counties.

Cambridgeshire Historic County, split into:

Cambridgeshire. Administrative County. High Point = Great Chishill. 146 metres.
Isle of Ely. Administrative County. High Point = Haddenham Village. 39 metres.

Cornwall Historic County, split into:

Cornwall Administrative County. High Point = Brown Willy. 420 metres.
Isles of Scilly Administrative County. High Point = Higher Newford. 51 metres.

Hampshire Historic County, split into:

Hampshire Administrative County. High Point = Pilot Hill. 286 metres.
Isle of Wight Administrative County. High Point = St Boniface Down. 241 metres.

Lincolnshire Historic County, split into:

Parts of Lindsey Administrative County. High Point = Normanby Top. 168 metres.
Parts of Kesteven Administrative County. High Point = Viking Way. 151 metres.
Parts of Holland Administrative County. High Point = Pinchbeck Marsh. 8 metres.

London, previous parts of Middlesex, Essex and Surrey

County of London Administrative County. High Point = Hampstead Heath. 134 metres.

Northamptonshire Historic County, split into:

Northamptonshire Administrative County. High Point = Arbury Hill. 225 metres. (alternative is Big Hill - Staverton Clump)
Soke of Peterborough Administrative County. High Point = Racecourse Road. 81 metres. Also Peterborough UA High Point.

Suffolk Historic County, split into:

West Suffolk Administrative County. High Point = Great Wood. 128 metres.
East Suffolk Administrative County. High Point = Wattisham Airfield. 90 metres.

Sussex Historic County, split into:

West Sussex Administrative County. High Point = Black Down. 280 metres.
East Sussex Administrative County. High Point = Ditchling Beacon. 248 metres.

Yorkshire Historic County, split into:

North Riding Administrative County. High Point = Mickle Fell. 790 metres. Also the CC High Point of Durham
West Riding Administrative County. High Point = Whernside. 736 metres. Also the CC, UA High Point of North Yorkshire
East Riding Administrative County. High Point = Bishop Wilton Wold (Garrowby Hill). 248 metres. Also UA High Point of East Riding of Yorkshire
The City of York which remained independent from the three Ridings. UA = Stock Hill, 44 metres.

England’s Ceremonial County Tops

Ceremonial Counties area areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed and defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. They are more commonly referred to as the Present Day counties. Many of the counties share the same name and geography as the Historic and Administrative Counties. Some of the “new” Administrative Counties such as East and West Suffolk remained while others Isle of Ely and Soke of Peterborough no longer exist as counties. Yorkshire was redivided again into 4 Ceremonial Counties vs the 3 Ridings of the Administrative Counties. More details on Ceremonial Counties.

Counties with the same name as an Historic or Administrative and have the same high point are not shown but are noted in the relevant sections above.

Gragareth. 628 metres or Green Hill. 628 metres. CC = Lancashire. HC = Lancashire (of which Old Man of Coniston is higher).
Shining Tor. 559 metres. CC = Cheshire. HC = Cheshire (of which Black Hill is higher). UA = Cheshire East.
High Stones. 550 metres. CC = South Yorkshire. AC = West Riding of Yorkshire (of which Whernside is higher). UA = Sheffield.
Black Chew Head. 542 metres. CC = Greater Manchester. AC = West Riding of Yorkshire (of which Whernside is higher). UA = Oldham.
Turners Hill. 271 metres. CC = West Midlands. HC = Staffordshire (of which Cheeks Hill is higher). UA = Sandwell.
Whitehorse Hill. 261 metres. CC = Oxfordshire. HC = Berkshire (of which Walbury Hill is higher).
Currock Hill. 259 metres. CC =Tyne and Wear. HC = County Durham (of which Burnhope Seat is higher). UA = Gateshead.
Westerham Heights. 245 metres. CC = Greater London. HC = Kent (of which Betsom’s Hill is higher).
Billinge Hill. 179 metres. CC = Merseyside. HC = Lancashire (of which Old Man of Coniston is higher). UA = St. Helens.
Dundry Hill East. 160 metres. CC = Bristol. HC = Somerset (of which Dunkery Beacon is higher). UA = Bristol. Also known as “Maes Knoll”
High Holborn. 22 metres. CC = City of London. HC = Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is higher).

England’s Metropolitan Borough Tops

A Metropolitan Borough, created by the Local Government Act 1972, is a subdivision of a metropolitan Ceremonial County. These exclude the 32 Boroughs of Greater London (see here for details). Each borough is effectively a Unitary Authority. More details on Metropolitan Boroughs.

Merseyside Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 5 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Billinge Hill. 179 metres. St Helens.
Poll Hill. 108 metres. Wirral.
Knowsley Park. 97 metres. Knowsley.
Woolton Hill. 89 metres. Liverpool.
Melling Mount. 36 metres. Sefton.

Greater Manchester Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 10 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Black Chew Head. 542 metres. Oldham.
Hoarstone Edge. 497 metres. Tameside.
Blackstone Edge. 474 metres. Rochdale. Alternative is Hail Storm Hill-Southeast Slope
Winter Hill Boundary. 445 metres. Bolton.
Scholes Height and Bull Hill. 415 metres. Bury.
Mellor Moor. 327 metres. Stockport. Alternative is Robin Hood's Picking Rods
Billinge Hill North Top. 169 metres. Wigan.
Newcombe Drive, Greenheys. 116 metres. Salford.
Heaton Park. 108 metres. Manchester.
Green Walk (Bowdon). 67 metres. Trafford. Alternative is Devisdale.

South Yorkshire Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 4 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Howden Edge / High Stones. 550 metres. Sheffield.
Howden Edge / Hoar Stones. 514 metres. Barnsley.
Fir Hill / Harthill Field. 157 metres. Rotherham.
Foredoles Hill. 144 metres. Doncaster.

Tyne and Wear Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 5 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Currock Hill. 259 metres. Gateshead.
Warden Law. 182 metres. Sunderland.
Westerhope. 131 metres. Newcastle upon Tyne.
Silverlink Park. 94 metres. North Tyneside.
Boldon Hills. 90 metres. South Tyneside.

West Midlands Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 7 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Turners Hill. 271 metres. Sandwell.
Cawney Hill. 251 metres. Dudley.
Rednal Hill North Top. 250 metres. Birmingham.
Sedgley Beacon. 235 metres. Wolverhampton.
Barr Beacon. 227 metres. Walsall.
Meighs Wood. 185 metres. Solihull.
Corley Moor. 167 metres. Coventry.

West Yorkshire Metropolitan and Ceremonial County, split into 5 Metropolitan Boroughs:

Black Hill. 582 metres. Kirklees.
Waystone Edge. 480 metres. Calderdale.
Withins Height. 455 metres. Bradford.
Burley Moor. 340 metres. Leeds.
Woolley Edge. 176 metres. Wakefield.

England’s Non-Metropolitan County & Unitary Authority Tops

The list below shows the highest points of the Non-Metropolitan counties that were established following the Local Government Act 1972 and Unitary Authorities established following the Local Government Act 1992. More details on Non-Metropolitan Counties and Unitary Authorities.

Counties with the same name as an Historic, Administrative or Ceremonial County and have the same high point are not shown but are noted in the relevant sections above.

Winter Hill. 456 metres. Blackburn with Darwen: formerly part of the Historic County of Lancashire.
The Wrekin. 407 metres. Telford and Wrekin: formerly part of the Historic County of Shropshire.
Gisborough Hill. 328 metres. Redcar and Cleveland: formerly part of the Historic County of Yorkshire (AC = North Riding of).
Liddington Hill. 277 metres. Swindon: formerly part of the Historic County of Wiltshire.
Niver Hill. 264 metres. Bath and North East Somerset: formerly part of the Historic County of Somerset and the former Ceremonial County of Avon.
Meir Heath. 250 metres. Stoke-on-Trent: formerly part of the Historic County of Staffordshire.
Blagdon Hill Farm. 240 metres. North Somerset: formerly part of the Historic County of Somerset and the former Ceremonial County of Avon.
Hanging Hill. 237 metres. South Gloucestershire: formerly part of the Historic County of Gloucestershire and the former Ceremonial County of Avon.
Raw Head. 227 metres. Cheshire West and Chester: formerly part of the Historic County of Cheshire.
Dere Street. 218 metres. Darlington: formerly part of the Historic County of County Durham.
Beacon Hill. 196 metres. Torbay: formerly part of the Historic County of Devon.
Bullock Hill. 195 metres. Brighton and Hove: formerly part of the Historic County of Sussex. (AC = East Sussex).
Whitehill - Butterfield Green: 178 metres. Luton: formerly part of the Historic County of Bedfordshire.
Bow Brickhill. 171 metres. Milton Keynes: formerly part of the Historic County of Buckinghamshire.
Holly Hill. 170 metres. Medway (Towns): formerly part of the Historic County of Kent.
Woolwell Road. 162 metres. Plymouth: formerly part of the Historic County of Devon.
Mill Hill. 161 metres. North Northamptonshire: formerly part of the Historic County of Northamptonshire.
Ashley Hill. 144 metres. Windsor & Maidenhead: formerly part of the Historic County of Berkshire.
Whelly Hill. 142 metres. Hartlepool: formerly part of the Historic County of County Durham and the former Ceremonial County of Cleveland.
Bowsey Hill. 140 metres. Wokingham: formerly part of the Historic County of Berkshire.
Allestree Park. 135 metres. Derby (City): formerly part of the Historic County of Derbyshire.
Nottingham M1 Motorway. 130 metres. Nottingham: formerly part of the Historic County of Nottinghamshire.
Surrey Hill. 128 metres. Bracknell Forest: formerly part of the Historic County of Berkshire.
Fort Southwick. 122 metres. Portsmouth: formerly part of the Historic County of Hampshire. “Also known as Ports Down”.
Wold Newton. 117 metres. North East Lincolnshire: formerly part of the Historic County of Lincolnshire.
Langdon Hill-Southwest Slope. 115 metres. Thurrock: formerly part of the Historic County of Essex.
Nether Hall. 110 metres. Leicester (City): formerly part of the Historic County of Leicestershire.
The Slipe. 107 metres. Bedford (Borough): formerly part of the Historic County of Bedfordshire.
Appleton Park. 105 metres Warrington: formerly part of the Historic County of Cheshire.
Park Lane, Tilehurst. 103 metres. Reading: formerly part of the Historic County of Berkshire.
Saxby Wold. 102 metres. North Lincolnshire: formerly part of the Historic County of Lincolnshire.
Halton Castle. 100 metres. Halton: formerly part of the Historic County of Cheshire.
Quarry Hill. 100 metres. Middlesbrough: formerly part of the Historic County of Yorkshire (AC = North Riding of) and the former Ceremonial County of Cleveland.
Boy Hill. 82 metres. Stockton-on-Tees (alt): formerly part of the Historic County of County Durham and the former Ceremonial County of Cleveland.
Thorpe Larches. 82 metres. Stockton-on-Tees (alt): formerly part of the Historic County of County Durham and the former Ceremonial County of Cleveland.
Basset Avenue. 82 metres. Southampton: formerly part of the Historic County of Hampshire.
Corfe Hills. 78 metres. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole: formerly part of the Historic County of Dorset.
Heath Mount. 60 metres. Southend-on-Sea (alt): formerly part of the Historic County of Essex.
London Road. 60 metres. Southend-on-Sea (alt): formerly part of the Historic County of Essex.
East Burnham Park. 51 metres. Slough: formerly part of the Historic County of Berkshire.
Stock Hill. 44 metres. York: formerly part of the Historic County of Yorkshire (AC = North Riding of).
Warbreck Reservoir. 30 metres. Blackpool: formerly part of the Historic County of Lancashire.
South Field. 12 metres. Kingston upon Hull: formerly part of the Historic County of Yorkshire (AC = East Riding of).

Defunct Counties

Herford and Worcester. Formerly parts of the Historic & Administrative Counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. High Point = Black Mountain. 703 metres.
Avon. Formerly parts of the Historic Counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset. High Point = Niver Hill. 264 metres.
Humberside. Formerly parts of the Administrative Counties of East Riding of Yorkshire, West Riding of Yorkshire, and Parts of Lindsey, (Lincolnshire). High Point = (to be verified) Bishop Wilton Wold (Garrowby Hill). 248 metres.
Cleveland. Formerly part of the Historic Counties of County Durham and Yorkshire (AC = North Riding of). High Point = Whelly Hill. 142 metres.
Huntingdon and Peterborough. Formerly the Administrative Counties of Huntingdonshire and Soke of Peterborough. High Point = Racecourse Road. 81 metres.

The Rapes of Sussex

The Rapes of Sussex were major land divisions of the county, thought to pre-date the Norman Conquest. More details here

Blackdown 280 metres. Rape of Chicester. Also Sussex HC and West Sussex CC High Points.
Ditchling Beacon. 248 metres. Rape of Lewes. Also East Sussex CC High Point.
Glatting Beacon. 245 metres. Rape of Arundel.
Crowborough Beacon. 242 metres. Rape of Pevensey.
Chanctonbury Ring. 240 metres. Rape of Bramber.
Brightling Down. 197 meters. Rape of Hastings.

More High Points

UK County Tops

Scottish County Tops

Welsh County Tops

Northern Ireland County Tops

Irish County Tops

National Parks & National Landscapes

London High Points

Sussex Rapes

European High Points

Richard gower3 November 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, EnglandComment

The Scottish County Tops

Compared to England, the Scottish Counties have had few changes over the years. There’s 3 main groupings of Scottish County:

Scottish Shires. Historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975.
Historic Counties. Also referred to as Traditional Counties or Former Counties. Established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
Scottish Council Areas. Also referred to as Present Day Counties. Established by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

This post shows the highest point in each of Scotland’s counties based on the above groupings. As the Venn diagram shows there is a lot of overlap between the different types of county.

Contact me if you spot a mistake on this page or you have new information and I will make a donation to one of my causes.

Scotland’s Historic County Tops

Also referred to as Traditional Counties or Former Counties. Established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 and abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. More details on Scotland’s Historic Counties.

The highest points of these Historic Counties are:

Ben Nevis. 1,344 metres. Completed. Historic County = Invernessshire, Present Day County = Highland.
Ben Macdui. 1,309 metres. Historic Counties = Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. Present Day Counties = Aberdeenshire and Moray.
Ben Lawers. 1,214 metres. Completed. Historic County = Perthshire. Present Day County = Perth and Kinross.
Carn Eige. 1,183 metres. Historic County = Ross and Cromarty.
Bidean nam Bian. 1,150 metres. Historic County = Argyll.
Glas Maol. 1,068 metres. Completed. Historic County = Angus.
Ben More Assynt. 998 metres. Historic County = Sutherland.
Ben Lomond. 974 metres. Completed. Historic County = Stirlingshire.
Ben Vorlich. 943 metres. Completed. Historic County = Dunbartonshire.
Goatfell. 874 metres. Completed. Historic County = Buteshire. Present Day County = North Ayrshire.
Merrick. 843 metres. Completed. Historic County = Kirkcudbrightshire. Present Day County = Dumfries and Galloway.
Broad Law. 840 metres. Completed. Historic Counties = Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire. Present Day County = Scottish Borders.
White Coomb. 821 metres. Completed. Historic County = Dumfriesshire.
Kirriereoch Hill-North West Slope. 782 metres. Completed. Historic County = Ayreshire. Present Day County = South Ayrshire.
Mount Battock. 778 metres. Completed. Historic County = Kincardineshire.
Culter Fell. 748 metres. Completed. Historic County = Lanarkshire. Present Day County = South Lanarkshire.
Hangingstone Hill. 743 metres. Completed. Historic County = Roxburghshire.
Ben Cleuch. 721 metres. Completed. Historic County = Clackmannanshire. Present Day County = Clackmannanshire.
Carn a'Ghille Chearr. 710 metres. Historic County = Morayshire.
Morven. 706 metres. Historic County = Caithness.
Carn Glas-choire. 659 metres. Historic County = Nairnshire.
Blackhope Scar. 651 metres. Completed. Historic County = Midlothian. Present Day County = Midlothian.
Meikle Says Law. 535 metres. Completed. Historic County = East Lothian. Present Day County = East Lothian.
Meikle Says Law (boundary). 532 metres. Completed. Historic County = Berwickshire.
West Lomond. 522 metres. Completed. Historic County = Fife. Present Day County = Fife.
Hill of Stake. 522 metres. Completed. Historic County = Renfrewshire. Present Day County = Renfrewshire.
Innerdouny Hill. 497 metres. Completed. Historic County = Kinross-shire.
Ward Hill. 481 metres. Historic County = Orkney. Present Day County = Orkney.
Ronas Hill. 450 metres. Historic County = Shetland. Present Day County = Shetland.
Craigairie Fell. 321 metres. Completed. Historic County = Wigtownshire.
Cairnpapple Hill. 312 metres. Completed. Historic County = West Lothian.

Scotland’s Present Day County Tops

Scotland has 32 Unitary Authorities that replaced the 33 County Councils that existed from 1890 to 1975. More details on Present Day counties of Scotland.

The list above shows where a peak is both an Historic and a Present Day County Top. The 14 peaks shown below are distinct from the Historic County Tops.

Ben More. 1,174 metres, Stirling.
Ben Cruachan. 1,132 metres, Argyll and Bute.
An Cliseam / Clisham. 799 metres, Western Isles.
Blackcraig Hill. 700 metres, East Ayrshire.
East Cairn Hill. 567 metres, Edinburgh.
West Cairn Hill. 562 metres, West Lothian.
Cort-ma Law East Top. 527 metres, North Lanarkshire.
Creuch Hill. 441 metres, Inverclyde.
Duncolm. 407 metres, West Dunbartonshire.
Corse Hill. 376 metres, East Renfrewshire.
Darrach Hill. 357 metres, Falkirk.
Brimmond Hill. 265 metres, Completed. Aberdeen.
Cathkin Hill. 200 metres, Glasgow.
Gallow Hill. 175 metres, Completed. Dundee.

Scottish Counties Prior to 1890 (Shires)

The Shires were historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975. More details on the Scottish Shires.

The mountains below are the high points of the Scottish Shires that are distinct from either Historic or Present Day County Tops.

Sgurr Mor. Sgurr Mor 1003m, Cromartyshire.
- Carn Eige is the Historic & Present Day County Top of Ross and Cromarty.
Dun Rig. 774m, Selkirkshire.
- Broad Law is the Historic County Top of Selkirkshire and the Present Day County Top of Scottish Borders.
Carn nam Bain-tighearna. 634m, Nairnshire
- Ben Nevis is the County Top of Present-Day Highland

More High Points

UK County Tops

English County Tops

Welsh County Tops

Irish County Tops

Northern Ireland County Tops

National Parks & National Landscapes High Points

Richard gower2 November 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, ScotlandComment

The Welsh County Tops

Compared to England, the Welsh Counties have had few changes over the years. There’s 3 main groupings of Welsh County:

Historic Counties. Also referred to as Traditional or Ancient Counties.
Principal Areas. Also referred to as Present-Day Counties. Established by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994.
Preserved Counties. Established by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996.

This post shows the highest point in each of Wales’ counties based on the above groupings. As the Venn diagram shows there is a lot of overlap between the different types of county.

Contact me if you spot a mistake on this page or you have new information and I will make a donation to one of my causes.

Wales’ Historic County Tops

The 13 Historic Counties of Wales were used for administrative purposes for centuries with different times of origin. They were replaced by the Principal Areas which were established by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. More details on the Historic Counties of Wales

Snowdon. 1,085 metres. Completed. Historic County = Caernarvonshire. Present Day County = Gwynedd.
Aran Fawddwy. 905 metres. Completed. Historic County = Merionethshire.
Pen y Fan. 886 metres. Completed. Historic County = Brecknockshire. Present Day County = Powys.
Cadair Berwyn. 830 metres. Completed. Historic County = Denbighshire. Present Day County = Denbighshire.
Moel Sych. 827 metres. Completed. Historic County = Montgomeryshire.
Fan Foel. 781 metres. Completed. Historic County = Carmarthenshire. Present Day County = Carmarthenshire.
Plynlimon. 752 metres. Completed. Historic County = Cardiganshire. Present Day County = Ceredigion.
Chwarel y Fan. 679 metres. Completed. Historic County = Monmouthshire. Present Day County = Monmouthshire
Great Rhos. 660 metres. Completed. Historic County = Radnorshire.
Craig y Llyn. 600 metres. Completed. Historic County = Glamorganshire. Present Day County = Neath Port Talbot.
Moel Famau. 555 metres. Completed. Historic County = Flintshire. Present Day County = Flintshire.
Foel Cwmcerwyn. 536 metres. Completed. Historic County = Pembrokeshire. Present Day County = Pembrokeshire.
Holyhead Mountain. 220 metres. Completed. Historic County = Anglesey. Present Day County = Isle of Anglesey.

Wales’ Present Day County Tops

These 22 Principal Areas, also referred to as the Present Day Counties, were established by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. Ten of these areas share a County Top with a Historic County that it replaced. These are shown in the list above. The list below shows the 12 high points of Present Day Counties that are distinct from the Historic County Tops. More details on the Present Day Counties of Wales

Carnedd Llewelyn. 1,064 metres, Conwy
Craig Berwyn. 790 metres, Wrexham
Craig y Lynn Boundary. 590 metres, Rhondda Cynon Taff. Completed
Coity Mountain. 581 metres, Blaenau Gwent
Coity Mountain East Slope. 578 metres, Torfaen
Mynydd Llangeinwyr /Werfa. 568 metres, Bridgend. Completed
Pen March 535 metres. Caerphilly
Merthyr Common. 530 metres, Merthyr Tydfill
Mynydd y Betwys. 373 metres, Swansea
Wentwood. 309 metres, Newport
Garth Hill. 307 metres, Cardiff
Tair Onnen. 137 metres, Vale of Glamorgan

Wales’ Preserved Counties

There are 8 preserved counties of wales, each fully containing between 1 and 5 of the Principal Areas (“Present Day Counties”). There are no high points that are unique to the Preserved Counties as all are County Tops of Principal Areas and some are also Historic County Tops. More details on the Preserved Counties of Wales

The high points of the Preserved Counties are:

Clwyd: Moel Famau
Dyfed: Plynlimon
Gwent: Coity Mountain
Gwynedd: Snowdon
Mid Glamorgan: Craig Y Lynn Boundary
Powys: Pen y Fan
South Glamorgan: Craig y Llyn
West Glamorgan: Myndydd y Betwys

More High Points

UK County Tops

English County Tops

Scottish County Tops

Irish County Tops

Northern Ireland County Tops

National Parks & National Landscapes High Points

Richard gower1 November 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, WalesComment

Newlands Corner and Chilworth Gunpowder Mills Circular

Fields between Newlands Corner and Guildford Lane

Start & Finish: Newlands Corner Car Park, A25 Shere Road, Newland's Corner, Albury, GU4 8SF
Distance: 10.6 km (6.6 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 209m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): North Downs Way, Scholar’s Trail, Tillingbourne at Work SCC
Other routes touched (cycle): none
OS Trig Pillar: TP4779 - Merrow Downs
Pubs / Cafes on route: Newlands Cafe or The Plucky Pheasant at the start/finish.
Map: Godalming & Farnborough | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 145
Links: Newlands Corner, Merrow Downs, St Martha’s Hill, Chilworth Gunpowder Mills

There’s a lot of options for circular walks from Newland’s Corner. This one is a variation on most as it takes in the Merrow Downs Trig Pillar and Chantries Wood. The route is a mix of large well-signed trails and cuts though woods with lots of similar looking paths. For these I’d recommend a GPX route or Explorer map to keep you on track.

From the Newland’s Corner Car Park take the path that heads north to the right of the Visitor's Centre. Follow paths to the edge of Merrow Downs Golf Course where you’ll find the OS Trig Pillar. From the pillar head west then south through the woods until you reach the North Downs Way. Follow the North Downs Way as it south-west past St Martha’s Church and down to Halfpenny Lane.

Cross over Halfpenny Lane and leave the North Downs Way, heading south-west through Chantries Wood. After the campsite, take a path heading steeply downhill to the south-west until you meet a path T-junction after a hedge. Take a left, heading east along the hedge until you get back to Halfpenny Lane. Take a right onto Halfpenny Lane, then a right immediately onto a footpath rather than following the Lane.

At the end of the footpath you’ll re-join Halfpenny Lane. Follow this south for 100m crossing the Tilling Bourne stream where you’ll see the entrance to the Gunpowder Mills on the left. Enter the Gunpowder Mills and follow the path through it for ~1km until you meet the Downs Link. Take some time here to see the remains of the old East India Company Mills. There’s information signs at the main entrances with leaflets explaining the different remains.

Once you reach the Downs Link you’ll need to leave the Mills and continue east though a field remaining parallel to the Tilling Bourne. Continue through an estate of some very nice houses set around Postford Lake and Waterloo Pond. You’ll emerge onto the A248 Chilworth Road. Follow the road east for 200m and take a left onto Guildford Lane. Follow Guildford Lane north-west for 500m then take a path on the right. Follow this path for just over 1km through woods, past a farm and then the final ascent to Newlands Corner.

For a shorter version of this you could save ~1km by heading directly west from Newlands Corner, missing out the Trig Pillar. Another 1k can be saved by walking south down Halfpenny Lane instead of the Chantries Wood section. I highly recommend the full route though as it takes in several of the main points of interest in the area.

Back to Surrey Hills Index

Richard gower17 October 2021Trek, Trig Pillar, Surrey Hills, Surrey, EnglandComment

Scottish Borders County Tops

View to Loch Trool from Bruce’s Stone at the start of the Merrick Trail

With all of the County Tops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the bag, I “just” have Scotland to do. The problem is that they’re now a long way from home and getting taller. Before this trip I’d only done 3 of the 33 Historic County Tops of Scotland. I’d done Ben Nevis a couple of times, Goatfell once and, most recently Hangingstone Hill as an add-on to the Cheviot walk.

The remaining 30 would need to be grouped into longer weekends around natural groupings. With easy access from Glasgow Airport, the 6 summits of this trip was an obvious place to start. Broad Law covers 2 counties each giving a total of 7 historic counties over a 4-day trip.

Craigairie Fell

Significance: Highest peak in Wigtownshire (Historic County Top)
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Beneraird
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Beneraird
Elevation: 321m
Date climbed: 23rd September 2021
Coordinates: 55° 1' 34'' N, 4° 45' 40'' W

Route Start / End: Parking space at end of road west from Polbae (DG8 6RZ)
Route Distance: 7.5 km (4.6 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 159m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Southern Upland Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP2507 - Craigairie Fell
Map: OS Explorer Map (310) Glenluce and Kirkcowan
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Wigtownshire), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Craigairie Fell was our warm-up peak for the trip. With a total elevation of 321m, it’s a hill rather than a mountain and can be bagged in less than 2 hours. We tackled this one first as we flew into Glasgow in the morning and it was a 2-hour drive to the start of the walk.

There’s a good parking spot about a mile west along the road from Polbae. It’s more of a track than a road so don’t attempt it in a car with low clearance. You’ll notice it soon after the Forestry Commission sign saying “No Unauthorized Vehicle Access”. It’s an odd place to have the sign as it’s on a random part of the road with no place to turn around. The first place to turn further along is a junction with a track to a farm where the obvious parking spot is.

From the parking spot, navigation is very easy as you follow the Southern Upland Way all the way to the Trig Pillar at the top. The actual route is slightly shorter than the one on the map as there’s a short-cut of the Southern Upland Way that cuts off the hairpin bend near the D of Derry on the map.

Although our views from the top were a little misty, it was significantly better than the other summits in the trip with no views at all.

Merrick

Significance: Highest peak in Kirkcudbrightshire (Historic County Top), Highest peak in Dumfries and Galloway (Present Day County Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Corbett, Donald
Parent Peak: Helvellyn
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Goatfell
Elevation: 843m
Coordinates: 55° 8' 21'' N, 4° 28' 6'' W
OS Trig Pillar: TP4777 - Merrick
Links: Wikipedia Kirkcudbrightshire), Wikipedia (Dumfries and Galloway), Wikipedia (Merrick), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Kirriereoch Hill-Northwest Slope

Significance: Highest peak in Ayrshire (Historic County Top), Highest peak in South Ayrshire (Present Day County Top)
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Kirriereoch Hill
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Kirriereoch Hill
Elevation: 782m
Coordinates: 55° 9' 11'' N, 4° 28' 53'' W
Links: Wikipedia (Ayrshire), Wikipedia (South Ayrshire), Wikipedia (Kirrieroch Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagger

For both peaks:
Date climbed: 24th September 2021
Route Start / End: Upper Bruce's Stone Car Park, Newton Stewart, DG8 6SU
Route Distance: 16.7 km (10.4 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 1,114m
Subsidiary tops on route: Benyellary (719m), Kirriereoch Hill (786m)
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Merrick Trail
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 7 passes through Upper Bruce’s Stone Car Park
Map: OS Explorer Map (318) Galloway Forest Park North
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)

After an overnight in nearby Newton Stewart we tackled the big climb of the trip. Merrick is the highest point in the Historic County of Kirkcudbrightshire, the Present-Day County of Dumfries and Galloway and both the highest peak in the Southern Uplands and Southern Scotland.

The Merrick Trail is a well marked path leading from Upper Bruce’s Stone Car Park to the summit. Before you start the walk, take 10 minutes to see the carved granite stone that commemorates victory over an English army during the Scottish Wars of Independence in 1307.

On a clear, warm day this would have been a wonderful walk. From the summit you can see Snowdon, 144 miles away on the longest line of sight in the British Isles. This wasn’t the day to see anything. After the bothy and the forest section, the mist turned to cloud and we only saw what was 10m in front of us. By the time we reached the Trig Pillar at the summit there was also strong wind and rain. This would have been a great time to turn back and head down to a warmer, clearer elevation.

There was no turning back though as we still had another County Top to visit. The high point of Ayrshire is just beyond the summit of Kirriereoch Hill approximately 2km from the summit of Merrick. We relied on the GPX track as the path was hard to make out in the fog. Kirriereoch Hill’s summit is well marked by a pile of stones. From here, the County Top of Ayrshire is 100m to the north just beyond the remains of an old stone wall. The map on my phone showed the county boundary about 20m beyond the wall. Although it wasn’t completely clear exactly where the County Top was, we at least stopped by several possibilities.

From Kirriereoch Hill, the path continues north to a series of other summits. We had already got what we came for and turned back to re-trace our steps back over Merrick and down to the Bruce’s Stone. With the big one done, we drove 2 hours north-east to Strathaven, our overnight stop before the next set of peaks.

Culter Fell

Significance: Highest peak in Lanarkshire (Historic County Top), Highest peak in South Lanarkshire (Present Day County Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Graham, Donald
Parent Peak: Broad Law
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Broad Law
Elevation: 748m
Date climbed: 25th September 2021
Coordinates: 55° 32' 46'' N, 3° 30' 10'' W

Route Start / End: Layby on right hand side of minor road south of Culter Allers Farm
Route Distance: 7.1 km (4.4 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 484m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP2681 - Culter Fell
Map: OS Explorer Map 336 Biggar and Broughton
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Lanarkshire), Wikipedia (South Lanarkshire), Wikipedia (Culter Fell), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Culter Fell was our first of 3 peaks, covering 4 counties, located close together to the north-east of Moffat. It’s possible to do all three on a single day with an early start and enough light. It was a Saturday and we also needed to get in a parkrun, so we did a combination of Lanark Moor parkrun, with Culter Fell and Broad Law.

There’s enough parking for several cars on a large layby near Culter Allers Farm. From here you can follow the road south, crossing over Culter Water stream. You’re now on private land which is open to walkers but occasionally closed for shooting. You can call 01899 204010 to check access or to request permission for groups of over 4.

Approximately 1km from the layby leave the road and follow a track, then a path, ascending to the south-east. The path to the Trig Pillar at the summit is well marked and difficult to miss even in low visibility as we had. Options at the summit are to return the same way, as we did, or continue south, then south-west to Coulter Head Reservoir and return back along the road.

Broad Law

Significance: Highest peak in Peeblesshire and Selkirkshire (Historic County Top), Upper Tweeddale NSA High Point
Member of: Marilyn, Corbett, Donald
Parent Peak: Merrick
Nearest Higher Neighbour: Merrick
Elevation: 840m
Date climbed: 25th September 2021
Coordinates: 55° 29' 53'' N, 3° 21' 10'' W

Route Start / End: Layby next to Megget Stone, Biggar, ML12 6QR
Route Distance: 7.4 km (4.6 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 372m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
OS Trig Pillar: TP1647 - Broad Law
Map: OS Explorer Map 330 Moffat and St Mary's Loch
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Peeblesshire), Wikipedia (Selkirkshire), Wikipedia (Broad Law), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Looking back on our Broad Law walk a week after we did it, it’s hard to distinguish it from our Culter Fell walk. With a similar distance, elevation change and exactly the same thick fog, both have blurred into one. With better visibility I’m sure the view from Broad Law would have been impressive given its height, just 3m lower than Merrick. We couldn’t even see the large air navigation beacon close to the Trig Pillar on the summit.

Navigation is very easy as the path follows the boundary fence all the way from the road to the summit. The fence is low at the top making it very easy to cross the border to make sure you’ve bagged both of the County Tops on this peak.

White Coomb, our next peak is less than 9km as the crow flies from the Broad Law summit or a 30 minute drive between each parking spot. We’d had enough adventure for one day so came back the following day for the final peak of the trip.

Note that Dun Rig is another contender for the Historic County Top of the former county of Selkirkshire. See the reference to this in the Wikipedia article for Broad Law for details. Although I might return to bag that one later for completeness, I’m happy to claim Selkirkshire for now based on following the list in Jonny Muir’s UK County Tops book.

White Coomb

Significance: Highest peak in Dumfriesshire (Historic County Top)
Member of: Marilyn, Corbett, Donald
Parent Peak: Broad Law
Nearest Higher Neighbour:
Elevation: 821m
Date climbed: 26th September 2021
Coordinates: 55° 25' 21'' N, 3° 19' 25'' W

Route Start / End: National Trust for Scotland Car Park, Grey Mare's Tail Nature Reserve, Moffat Water Valley, DG10 9LP
Route Distance: 6.3 km (3.9 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 575m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Map: OS Explorer Map 330 Moffat and St Mary's Loch
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir)
Links: Wikipedia (Dumfriesshire), Wikipedia (White Coomb), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

The walk to White Coomb starts at the busy National Trust Car Park at Grey Mare’s Tail. From here the steep path to the right hand side of Tail Burn stream takes most walkers up to Loch Skeen. Follow this for 1.25km to the top of the waterfall where you can cross the stream via some stepping stones. You’ll see a faint path leading down to the stepping stones and the stone dyke wall on the other side. Once crossed, follow the well marked path to the right of the wall to the flat grassy top of White Coomb. You’ll need to leave the path and cross the dyke for the final 20m to the summit which is marked by a pile of stones.

A return option from the summit would be to return to the path and continue on it in a clockwise direction around the loch then back to the car park. With only a few hours until our flight back from Glasgow we returned by the same route, completing the walk within 2 hours.

Other High Points in the Scottish Borders Area

Blackcraig Hill. 700 metres, East Ayrshire Present Day County High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging
Cort-ma Law East Top. 527 metres, North Lanarkshire Present Day County High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging
Corse Hill. 376 metres, East Renfrewshire Present Day County High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

Other High Point in the Historic County of Lanarkshire

Cort-ma Law - East Top 527m, North Lanarkshire Present Day County High Point: Peakbagger / Hillbagging

Back to Scottish County Tops Index

Richard gower26 September 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Wigtownshire, Ayrshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Lanarkshire, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, Dumfriesshire, ScotlandComment

Walking The London Loop: Stanmore Common to South Oxhey

View to West London and the Wembley arch from Bentley Priory Open space

Start: Stanmore Common Car Park, HA7 3HQ
Finish: Oxhey Woods Car Park, Oxhey Drive South, Watford, HA6 3EX
Distance: 9.2 km (5.7 miles)
Elevation change: + 103m / - 120m. Net -17m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Bentley Priory Circular Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A
London Coal Duty Posts: 50, plus 49 and 51 are just off the route
OS Trig Pillar: TP6393 - The Kiln
Pubs / Cafes on route: The Case is Altered, Old Redding, Harrow, HA3 6SE
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Guidebook: The London Loop: Recreational Path Guide
Links: Cycling The London Loop, London Loop - Transport for London, London Loop - Wikipedia, London Loop - Long Distance Walkers Association
- Stanmore Common, Bentley Priory Museum, Harrow Weald Common, Grim’s Dyke, South Oxhey, Oxhey Woods

The latest of our short walks along the London Loop took us from Stanmore Common to South Oxhey. As with any trip on the London Loop, Colin Saunders’ book is the definitive guide so I’ll leave it to that book to provide the route description.

Of particular interest to us (well me, the wife comes for the walk) were the additional things to bag along the way:

The WW2 Pill Box on Bentley Priory Open Space
The Kiln OS Trig Pillar on Harrow Weald Common
The summit of Harrow Weald Common (150m)
Coal Duty Post 50: sometimes visible from the path but obscured by bushes when we were there.
Coal Duty Post 49 and 51: Just off the route, but we did them as a drive-by on route to the start.
The London Borough High Point of Hillingdon: Just off the route, but we did it as a drive-by on route to the start.

Next sections of the London Loop:

Clockwise: Scratchwood to Stanmore Common (coming soon)
Anti-clockwise: South Oxhey to Hill End

Back to London Loop Index

Richard gower5 June 2021Trek, London Borough High Point, Coal Duty Post, Trig Pillar, London, EnglandComment

Sugar Loaf

Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Waun Fach
Elevation: 596m
Date climbed: 6th May 2021
Coordinates: 51° 51' 46'' N, 3° 3' 28'' W
Route Start & Finish: The Dragons Head pub, Llangenny, Crickhowell, NP8 1HD
Distance: 8.7 km (5.4 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 502m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Other pubs / Cafes on route: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP6243 - Sugar Loaf
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger / Hillbagging / Llangenny

This was the second of three trig-bagging walks in the Black Mountains on a spring trip to the Brecon Beacons. We were on the last day of good weather before a long stretch of rain so we picked this one based on recommendation from a friend who lives nearby.

Many people start their Sugar Loaf trip from Abergavenny and there’s lots of footpath options between the town and the summit. The approach from Llangeny is a great alternative, especially if you’re travelling there from the North or West.

From the Dragon’s Head car park, cross over the (river) Grwyne Fawr, taking a left on the road that runs parallel to the river. Take the first road on right and walk up the hill in a north-easterly direction. After ~1.25 km from the start continue along the footpath through a farm rather than keeping on the road that curves to the right. Once past the farm you’ll follow the edge of a field upwards towards a path T-junction. Take a right here heading south. This path will curve round the brow of a hill before heading north east up to the summit of Sugar Loaf.

On a clear day the views from the summit are excellent so it’s worth spending a bit of time there to take it all in. To return to the start, take the north-westerly path which curves round to the west. After 3km from the summit the path enters a farm where you’ll take a right onto the road. Soon after this take a left onto another road, another left at the end and continue to the junction where you’ll meet your earlier route up. Take a right here and retrace your steps to the bridge then the Dragons Head pub.

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Richard gower6 May 2021Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, National Trust, Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire, WalesComment

Waun Fach and The Dragon's Back

Member of: Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Parent Peak: Pen y fan
Elevation: 811m
Date climbed: 5th May 2021
Coordinates: 51° 57' 46'' N, 3° 8' 35'' W
Route Start & Finish: The Dragons Back pub, Pengenffordd, Talgarth, Brecon, LD3 0EP
Distance: 11.7 km (7.3 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 574m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Other Pubs / Cafes on route: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP3548 - Gwynydd Bach
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger / Hillbagging

This was the second of three trig-bagging walks in the Black Mountains on a spring trip to the Brecon Beacons. It was my birthday and, having missed out on our normal big trip due to Covid, I wanted a special mountain. It may not be well known, a County Top or on many bucket lists, but as the highest peak in the Black Mountains, that would be enough significance for this year.

The car park next to the Dragon’s Back pub is an obvious place to start. The honesty box for the £2 charge gives warnings of tough-to-remove stickers to be stuck to windscreens if the charge is not paid. Despite the CCTV cameras above it, it’s unlikely they would know you’ve put money in there. After a year of not touching any cash I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we actually had some coins in the car.

Take the footpath that starts at the north end of the car park and follow it in a south-easterly direction for just over 3.5 km. Here you’ll reach a ridgeline with several different footpath interactions. Take the path that heads north, continuing to ascent, then curves to the east. Follow this path for approximately 2km to the summit of Waun Fach. There used to be an OS Trig Pillar here, but it’s been replaced by a low, flat stone with a metal OS roundel on it.

From the summit, take the northerly footpath, descending steadily for 1.5 km. At the path junction take the left hand path, heading south west, descending along the Dragons Back. We had very good visibility which gave us some amazing views across to the National Park to Pen y Fan and beyond. The highlight at the end of the trip is the path through the ruins of Castel Dinas. The steep ascent up to to the castle right at the end of the trip was a bit daunting though given we were low on energy at the time.

I’d been hesitant about doing this one having read and heard of tough navigation and boggy conditions at the top. The path at the summit seemed relatively new so have probably addressed the bogginess issue. I’d say that the navigation is no tougher than similar mountains in the area so you’ll be fine with the usual preparation, clothing and skills for the hills.

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Richard gower5 May 2021Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Brecknockshire, Wales Comment

Mynydd Llangorse

Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Mynydd Troed
Elevation: 515m
Date climbed: 4th May 2021
Coordinates: 51° 55' 57'' N, 3° 13' 27'' W
Route Start & Finish: Parking outside Llangorse Multi Activity Centre, Gilfach Farm, Llangorse, Brecon, LD3 7UH
Distance: 6.5 km (4.0 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 285m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Beacons Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
OS Trig Pillar: TP5020 - Mynydd Llangorse
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger / Hillbagging / Llangorse Lake, Llangors

This was the first of three trig-bagging walks in the Black Mountains on a spring trip to the Brecon Beacons. With a short distance and relatively low elevation this made for a nice warm-up for the longer treks of the next couple of days.

The parking area just outside of the Llangorse Activity Centre is an obvious place to start. Just inside the activity centre you can find the start of a footpath heading in a south-easterly direction across a field towards the hill. The trig pillar at the summit is only 1.5km from the Activity Centre, giving you the option of a very short out-and-back. If you prefer a longer circular walk, there’s several options based on a few paths that intersect at the summit. We continued east for ~500 metres, then taking a well marked track south to the Beacons Way.

When you meet the Beacons Way, don’t follow it but take the westerly path that makes a steady descent from the hill. This path will curve round to the hill and reconnect with the path you followed at the start and back to the Activity Centre.

The cafe at Llangorse lake, a short drive from the Activity Centre, is a great place for a rest, a coffee and a cake after the walk.

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Richard gower4 May 2021Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Brecknockshire, WalesComment

Walking The Capital Ring: Harrow on the Hill to Horsenden Hill

Including the London Borough High Points of Brent and Ealing

View to Wembley and the city from Sudbury Hill

Start: Harrow on the Hill Station, Station Approach, Harrow, HA1 1BB
Finish: Perivale Station, Horsenden Lane North, Perivale, Greenford, UB6 8AE
Distance: 7.9 km (4.9 miles)
Elevation change: +96m /- 146m. Net -50m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): The Capital Ring, Grand Union Canal Paddington Arm
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A
Pubs / Cafes on route: Several on Harrow on the Hill High Street and around Sudbury Hill stations
Map: OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
Guidebook: Capital Ring (National Trail Guides) by Colin Saunders
Links: Harrow on The Hill, St Mary’s Church Harrow on the Hill, Sudbury Hill, Horsenden Hill

This route mostly follows the Capital Ring with a couple of short diversions to bag the high points of the London Boroughs of Brent and Ealing.

The map and route details above describe a route from Harrow on the Hill to Perivale Stations. A return trip by public transport would take you to from Perivale to Northolt by train then a bus to Harrow on the Hill. We had 2 cars for the trip so we were able to park one car at by St Mary’s Church, Harrow on the Hill and another at Horsenden Farm, both free at the time we went. This reduced the trip distance by about 1 km.

From Harrow on the Hill Station, walk south along Station Approach, taking a left onto Lowland’s Road (A404) and then cut south across The Grove Open Space. At the south end of the park you’ll follow the Capital Ring Link up to Lord Byron’s view in the grounds of St Mary’s Church. This is the top of Harrow Hill at 124m. It’s not the high point of Harrow, though as that’s Bushey Heath to the north. The name is thought to come from the Old English for 'heathen temple'. Its remains may well stand beneath St Mary's church, whose spire can be seen for miles around (source: How London’s Hills Got Their Names).

When exiting St Mary’s Church, walk south down Church Hill to High Street. You’ll now be on the Capital Ring which you’ll follow for most of the trip. When the Capital Ring leaves Sudbury Hill road at South Hill Avenue, keep walking down Sudbury Hill. At the intersection of Sudbury Hill, Greenford Road, Harrow Road and Sudbury Court Drive, take a left onto Sudbury Court Drive. Take the first right onto Sudbury Court Road then the footpath into Sudbury Hill Park. You can’t miss the tree that marks the (alternative) highest point in Brent.

Take a moment to rest on the benches that are strangely turned away from the view before retracing your steps to the intersection. Continue south-west along Greenford Road, rejoining the Capital Ring at Sudbury Hill Harrow Station. Continue along the Capital Ring to the bridge over the Grand Union Canal, bagging the Trig Pillar at Horsenden Hill along the way. The car park at Horsenden Farm, next to the Grand Union, was our end point for the trip. If you’re finishing at Perivale station, cross over the Grand Union and keep walking down Horsenden Lane South for ~600m.

Sudbury Hill

Significance: (alternative) Highest peak in London Borough of Brent
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill. NHN = Wakeman’s Hill Avenue (the other high point in Brent)
Historic County: Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is the County Top)
Elevation: 91m
Date “climbed”: 24th April 2021
Coordinates: 51° 33' 45'' N, 0° 19' 29'' W
Nearest Station: Sudbury Hill Harrow (Chiltern Railways): 1.9 km
On route of: N/A. The Capital Ring is 1.1 km to the south-west
Map: OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Links: Wikipedia (Brent), Wikipedia (Sudbury Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

This may be 1 metre lower than the official high point of Brent but it’s likely the most interesting. The higher point is in the middle of a residential street and looks tedious. I’ll confirm that soon when I get round to visiting it. At last this one feels like a summit and has some views of the city.

Horsenden Hill

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Ealing
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Haddington Hill. NHN = Sudbury Hill
Historic County: Middlesex (of which Bushey Heath is the County Top)
Elevation: 85m
Date “climbed”: 24th April 2021
Coordinates: 51° 32' 46'' N, 0° 19' 34'' W
Nearest Station: Sudbury Town (Piccadilly Line): 1.6 km
On route of: The Capital Ring is 0.1 km to the north
OS Trig Pillar: TP4023 - Horsenden Hill
Map: OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Links: Wikipedia (Ealing), Wikipedia (Horsenden Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Signs of an Iron Age settlement from 2500 BC have been found on and around the hill. Its present name can be traced back to Saxon times and probably refers to a hill fort controlled by a chap called Horsa (source: How London’s Hills Got Their Names).

Unlike Sudbury there’s no disputes about this being the highest point in Ealing.

Back to Greater London High Points Index

Richard gower24 April 2021Trek, London Borough High Point, Trig Pillar, Canal, Railway, London, EnglandComment

Telegraph Hill: Kingston-upon-Thames Borough High Point

Significance: Highest peak in London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames
Member of: N/A
Parent Peak: Botley Hill. NHN = Clock House
Historic County: Surrey (of which Leith Hill is the County Top)
Elevation: 90m
Date “climbed”: 27th March 2021
Coordinates: 51° 19' 49'' N, 0° 19' 39'' W
Nearest Station: Chessington South (South Western Railway): 3.4 km
On route of: N/A. Chessington Countryside Walk is 2.2 km to the north-east
OS Trig Pillar: TP5774 - Rushett Common (Missing)
Coal Duty Post: 115
Map: OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Links: Wikipedia (Kingston-upon-Thames), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

After the under-whelm of visiting High Holborn, this went one step further by both lacking in elevation and being inaccessible. The summit of Telegraph Hill is in private property so you can only get within a few hundred metres of it. You can either pull in by the blue gates on the A423 for a nice view of discarded waste on the shabby driveway or access it via the woods off The Avenue. The latter option gets you slightly closer and at least gives you a walk there from The Star pub on the main road. Look out for the Coal Duty Post in the pub car park.

Back to Greater London High Points Index

Richard gower27 March 2021Trek, Trig Pillar, Coal Duty Post, London Borough High Point, London, Surrey, EnglandComment

Chessington Countryside Walk

View to Rushett Farm airstrip from the Trig Pillar on the north edge of Ashtead Woods — View to Rushett Farm airstrip from the Coal Post on the north edge of Ashtead Woods

Start & Finish: Chessington South Station, Chessington, KT9 2JR
Distance: 9.1 km (5.6 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 92m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Thames Down Link
Other routes touched (cycle): N/A
OS Trig Pillar: TP2145 - Chessington
London Coal Duty Posts: 117, 118, 119, 120
Pubs / Cafes on route: N/A
Map: OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
Links: Explore Surrey - Chessington Countryside Walk Leaflet, Chessington, Chessington South Station, Chessington World of Adventures, Ashtead Common, Epsom Common, Horton Country Park

This is an easy, scenic walk in countryside to the south of Chessington. It was our latest walk in the Explore Surrey series whose website is a rich source of information about getting out and about in the county. As with all of their routes, their PDFs have all the details so I won’t cover them again here.

Our walk was a slight variation on the route described in the PDF in order to bag an OS Trig Pillar and 4 Coal Duty Posts. You’ll pass 2 of the Coal Posts on the Public Bridleway through Ashtead Woods. It’s a minor diversion off the trail to visit the other 2 which are on either side of the B280 Christ Church Road near the Epsom Common Car Park.

The OS Trig Pillar is right at the end of the walk before returning to Chessington South station. It’s an unloved pillar sitting in a vacant patch of land at the end of a residential cul-de-sac. From the footpath off Green Lane look out for the wooden information sign for Huntingate Walk. Take a right here, through a gate and descend a short, steep bank to cross Hunting Gate Drive. Walk up Vivien Close, keeping to the right to find the Trig Pillar is at the end of the road.

Back to Surrey Hills Index

Richard gower27 March 2021Trek, Trig Pillar, Coal Duty Post, Railway, Surrey, London, EnglandComment

Greater London High Points

Greater London is divided into 32 local authority districts called Boroughs plus the City of London. Living relatively close to the edge of London it was natural that I would want to visit all 33 high points. Much like the UK County Tops some feel like a proper summit and others are unremarkable points in flat areas.

Westerham Heights on the Kent border is the high point of both Bromley and the whole of Greater London. It’s also a very short walk from Betsom’s Hill, the Kent County Top. Other than their elevations neither are particularly interesting though. You’ll need to visit Sanderstead Plantation in Croydon for the highest point that actually feels like a hill.

Prior to April 1st 1994 the Greater London high point was on the north-eastern slope of Botley Hill. A boundary change moved this point to Surrey where Leith Hill is higher.

Hampstead Heath, the high point of Camden is also the high point of the old County of London Administrative County. This area came into being with Local Government Act 1888 which split some Historic Counties into new Administrative Counties. The Administrative Counties have since been replaced by the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties plus Greater London.

High Holborn, the high point of The City of London, is not a borough but an English Ceremonial County

As you would expect with high points, several are marked with OS Trig Pillars. Sanderstead Plantation in Croydon has a Trig Pillar nearby at Selsdon Park but it’s not at the summit. Pole Hill, in Waltham Forest is the highest point of a Greater London Borough that has a Trig Pillar on the summit.

By the end of 2021 I had completed the high points of all Greater London Boroughs. Click on the links in the list below to see details on each one. I still have the remaining Trig Pillars and Summits >100m to complete. Let me know if you spot any mistakes in the data below and I’ll donate £1 per correction to one of my causes.

London’s High Points and OS Trig Pillars

Greater London Boroughs High Points

Click on the links below to see my post on each High Point. Some are simple drive-bys, others part of a walking route. Also includes High Holborn.

London’s Natural High Points vs its Buildings & Structures

Westerham Heights was the highest point in London until the completion of The Shard in 2012. The Observation Deck at the Shard is at 244m, just 1m lower than Westerham Heights. When 22 Bishopsgate was completed in 2020, it relegated Westerham Heights to 3rd place.

At the time of writing there’s now 17 buildings and structures in London with heights between those of Westerham Heights and Sanderstead Plantation, London’s 2nd highest Borough High Point

Parent Peaks of The Greater London Boroughs

The Parent Peaks of the London Borough High Points have a distinct north/south split. All High Points north of the Thames have Haddington Hill in the Chilterns as their parent. Botley Hill in Kent is the parent for all London High Points south of the Thames. The Nearest Higher Neighbour, according to Peakbagger also keeps to this north/south split with the exception of Heston The Vale.

The graphic below shows the Borough High Points in descending order from left to right with peaks north of the river on the top half and south of the river on the lower half.

Other Resources

More County Tops

UK County Tops

English County Tops

Scottish County Tops

Welsh County Tops

Northern Ireland County Tops

Richard gower1 January 2021Trek, UK County Tops, Trig Pillar, London, Middlesex, EnglandComment

Twmpa & Rhos Dirion Circular Walk

Start & Finish: Gospel Pass Car Park, Capel-y-ffin, Abergavenny, NP7 7NP
Distance: 13 km (8.1 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 376m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): None
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 42
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Gospel Pass, Vale of Ewyas

Rhos Dirion:

Member of: None
Parent Peak: Waun Fach
Elevation: 713m
Date climbed: 24th December 2020
Coordinates: 51° 59' 36'' N, 3° 8' 59'' W
OS Trig Pillar: TP5658 - Rhos Dirion
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger

Twmpa:

Member of: None
Parent Peak: Waun Fach
Elevation: 690m
Date climbed: 24th December 2020
Coordinates: 52° 2' 7'' N, 3° 6' 17'' W
OS Trig Pillar: None
Links: Wikipedia / Peakbagger

In the third of three winter walks in the Vale of Ewyas we did a circular trek to the summits of Twmpa and Rhos Dirion.

From the free parking at Gospel Pass take the westerly path up to the summit of Twmpa, also called Lord Hereford’s Knob. Trig Baggers will be disappointed as there’s no pillar at the top. By continuing west for another 1.8 km you’ll reach the patriotically painted pillar at the top of Rhos Dirion. We were there on a cold but clear winter’s day and had a great view of Pen y Fan in the distance. After bagging Rho Dirion, retrace your steps down to the col between the two summits. Rather than climb back up to Twmpa, take a right to head in a south-easterly direction down the valley. Navigation is easy following a well worn path tracing the course of Nant Bwch.

The valley path turns into a farm track then a single-track road to Capel-y-ffin. Rather than stick to the road follow the path that curves round the side of the nose of the mountain half way up its elevation. On the southern-most point you’ll get a great view over Capel-y-ffin and the southern part of the Vale of Ewas.

Continue on the mountain pass as it curves anti-clockwise around the mountain. You’ll now be heading north back towards the Gospel Pass. After ~2 km the path will join the valley road which you can follow back to the car park.

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Richard gower24 December 2020Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Brecknockshire, WalesComment

Llanthony Priory and Rhiw Arw Trig Pillar Circular Walk

Start & Finish: Llanthony Priory Hotel, Llanthony, Abergavenny, NP7 7NN
Distance: 8.2 km (5.1 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 364m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Offa’s Dyke Path, Beacons Way
Other routes touched (cycle): None, although NCN 42 passes by the road entrance to Llanthony Priory
Pubs / Cafes on route: Coffee Shop at Llanthony Priory. The Half Moon Pub is near the Priory but not on the route
Trig Pillar: TP5648 - Rhiw Arw
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Llanthony, Llanthony Priory, River Honddu, Offa’s Dyke, Vale of Ewyas

In the second of three winter walks in the Vale of Ewyas we did a circular trek to the Rhiw Arw Trig Pillar.

From the free car parking at Llanthony Priory, take the Beacons way clockwise around the Priory. Leave the Beacons Way at the northern side of the Priory outer wall and follow the footpath signed to Hatterall Ridge as it curves round to the north-west. Keeping to this track you’ll reach the Offa’s Dyke National Trail approximately 2 km from the Priory. Take a right onto the National Trail, heading south-east. Follow Offa’s Dyke for ~2.5 km until you reach the Rhiw Arw Trig Pillar.

After the Trig Pillar continue south-east along Offa’s Dyke for just under 1 km and descend back to Llanthony Priory via The Beacons Way.

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Richard gower22 December 2020Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Monmouthshire, WalesComment

North Daren Trig Pillar from Capel-y-ffin Out-and-Back Walk

Start & Finish: Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Capel-y-ffin, Abergavenny, NP7 7NP
Distance: 8.8 km (5.5 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 325m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Offa’s Dyke Path
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 42
Pubs / Cafes on route: None
Trig Pillar: TP5154 - North Daren
Map: OS Explorer OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park - Eastern area
Links: Capel-y-ffin, River Honddu, Offa’s Dyke, Vale of Ewyas

In the first of three winter walks in the Vale of Ewyas we did an out-and-back trek to the North Daren Trig Pillar.

From Capel-y-ffin village centre, take the track to the right of St. Mary’s Chapel. Continue for ~1 km passing over the River Honddu, the Baptist church on the left and a farm on the right. When you reach the footpath sign for Offa’s Dyke, cross over the stile on the left of the track. From here follow the path at it climbs and zig zags up to to National Trail. The path uphill path was very obvious when we were there in winter but can be obscured by bracken in the summer.

A cairn and a stone sign marks the junction of the uphill path and Offa’s Dyke. Turn right (south-east) onto the National Trail and continue for ~1.6 km until you reach the Trig Pillar. For the return trip, retrace your steps back to the bottom of the hill where the path meets the track. Here you can take a right and follow the track back to Capel-y-ffin or take a left then a footpath shortly on the right. Here you can follow a path across a field, over a wooden bridge and onto the valley road. Take a right when you get to the road to return to Capel-y-ffin.

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Richard gower21 December 2020Trek, Mountain, Trig Pillar, Brecon Beacons, National Park, Brecknockshire, WalesComment

Littlewick Green, Ashley Hill and Knowl Hill Circular Walk

View to Robinswood, north-west of Ashley Hill

Start & Finish: Parking spaces on north-east corner of Littlewick Green, near corner of Gilchrist Way and Jubilee Road, SL6 3RF
Distance: 9.9 km (6.1 miles)
Elevation change: + / - 135m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Chiltern Way Berkshire Loop, Wokingham Way, Hurley and Ashley Hill Circular Walk
Other routes touched (cycle): NCN 4, Round Berkshire Cycle Route 52
Other Routes Touched (horse): Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit
Pubs / Cafes on route: The Cricketers, Littlewick Green
Map: OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East and OS Explorer Map (171) Chiltern Hills West, Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford
Links: Littlewick Green, Knowl Hill, Ashley Hill

Having lived in Littlewick Green for about 15 years I’d walked, ran and cycled pretty much every path around there. This was a return trip after 8 years to see what had changed and for another visit to Ashley Hill.

Public transport options are limited, although there’s a bus stop on the A4 at the junction of Jubilee Road and Green Lane. If you’re drivin, the best places to park are by the big tree on the north-east corner of Littlewick Green or outside the Cricketers. Save the drink at the Cricketers for the end though and start the walk by heading north up Green Lane. At the end of Green Lane continue north onto Burchett’s Green Lane. Here you can either visit The Crown pub or take a short cut left through woods to avoid the village centre. Cross over Burchett’s Green Road and through the Berkshire College of Agriculture land to Honey Lane.

From Honey Lane you’ll be following the Chiltern Way Berkshire Extension through Ashley Hill woods and open fields to Warren Row. The summit of Ashley Hill, the highest point in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is in the grounds of a large house. We spent a few minutes looking for a sight of the OS Trig Pillar but there was too much hedging around the property. The green Chiltern Way footpath sign is the closest you’ll get to the summit.

At Warren Row Road you’ll leave the Chiltern Way and join Star Lane through woods down to Knowl Hill and back to the A4. Cross the A4 and follow Knowl Hill Common road and the Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit east back to Littlewick Green.

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Richard gower12 December 2020Trek, Trig Pillar, Berkshire, EnglandComment

County Top Parent Peaks

In my ever-deepening County-Top related geekery I decided that I needed to document the Parent Peaks of every UK County Top. Many are easily findable with a bit of Googling, others are harder to come by. I’ve used the following sources in priority order:

Hillbagging (the online version of the Database of British and Irish Hills)
Peakbagger: if the Parent Peak is shown there but not in Hillbagging
Wikipedia: If the Parent Peak is shown there but not in either Hillbagging or Peakbagger
Peakbagger’s Nearest Highest Neighbour (NHN) field if a Parent Peak is not listed in the above.

Some are disputed and others I’ve had to assume, so here’s my best attempt. Contact me or comment below if you have any corrections and I’ll happily make a donation to one of my causes.

England’s County Top Parent Peaks

Scotland’s County Tops Parent Peaks

Compared to England there’s a lot fewer Parent Peaks listed in my key sources, so the following is largely based on Nearest Higher Neighbours and some assumptions. Likely there will be a lot of corrections to be below.

Wales’ County Tops Parent Peaks

Similar to Scotland, there’s a lot fewer Parent Peaks listed in my key sources, so the following is largely based on Nearest Higher Neighbours and some assumptions. Likely there will be a lot of corrections to be below.

Coming soon: Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland County Top Parent Peaks

UK County Tops on Islands

Goat Fell (843m), Arran, Buteshire, Scotland
Ward Hill (481m), Hoy, Orkney, Scotland
Ronas Hill (450m), Mainland, Shetland
Holyhead Mountain (220m), Anglesey, Wales

“A peak’s line parent is the closest higher peak on the highest ridge leading away from the peak’s “key col”. A col is the lowest point on the ridge between two summits and is roughly synonymous with pass, gap, saddle and notch. The highest col of a peak is its key col. If there is more than one ridge which can be followed to a higher peak then the line parent is the peak closest to the key col. Usually, a line parent must meet some prominence criteria, which might vary depending on the author and the location of the peak.”

— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_parent

Back to UK County Top Index

Richard gower10 October 2020Trek, UK County Tops, Mountain, Country High Points, Trig Pillar, England, Scotland, WalesComment

Surrey Hill

Wakemans Hill Avenue

Highwood Hill

Bournwell Hill-West Slope

Wanstead Flats

Cabin Hill

Marks Gate

Atte Bower Farm

Alternative = Havering Atte Bower Church

Key to abbreviations in the lists below

England’s Historic County Tops

England’s Administrative County Tops

England’s Ceremonial County Tops

England’s Metropolitan Borough Tops

England’s Non-Metropolitan County & Unitary Authority Tops

Defunct Counties

The Rapes of Sussex

More High Points

Scotland’s Historic County Tops

Scotland’s Present Day County Tops

Scottish Counties Prior to 1890 (Shires)

More High Points

Wales’ Historic County Tops

Wales’ Present Day County Tops

Wales’ Preserved Counties

More High Points

Craigairie Fell

Merrick

Kirriereoch Hill-Northwest Slope

Culter Fell

Broad Law

White Coomb

Next sections of the London Loop:

Sudbury Hill

Horsenden Hill

London’s High Points and OS Trig Pillars

Greater London Boroughs High Points

London’s Natural High Points vs its Buildings & Structures

Parent Peaks of The Greater London Boroughs

Other Resources

More London posts

More County Tops

Rhos Dirion:

Twmpa:

England’s County Top Parent Peaks

Scotland’s County Tops Parent Peaks

Wales’ County Tops Parent Peaks

UK County Tops on Islands