BY HEIGHT
The Munros
Scottish mountains of 3,000 feet and over, first listed in 1891. Munro never defined how separate a summit must be. There are now 282 Munros and 226 Tops.
See the numbersStart
HILL LISTS, EXPLAINED
Height above the sea,
or above the rest?
Not every hill list asks how high a summit is.
Munros are Scottish mountains of 3,000 feet and over. Marilyns can be any height at all, as long as they stand 150 metres above the land around them. Between them sit dozens of lists, each with its own rule for what counts.
282Munros on the current list
Compare the listsKeep in mind
- Height above sea level
- Drop on all sides
- Or simply a book
- Every list has a rule
THE SHORT ANSWER
Two ways to rank,
dozens of lists.
A summit can be a Munro, a Marilyn, both or neither.
It depends whether the list counts height or prominence.
BY PROMINENCE
The Marilyns
A Marilyn is any hill with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides, regardless of absolute height. The list was set out in a 1992 book, The Relative Hills of Britain.
Compare the lists
BAGGING
Ticking them off
Hill bagging is climbing every peak on a list. Those who finish all the Munros are known, by old SMC tradition, as compleaters.
Pick a listA QUICK LIST CHECK
How much drop
does each list need?
Pick a list. The bar shows how far a summit must rise above its surroundings on all sides to qualify.
Based on the OS GetOutside guide to hill lists and The Relative Hills of Britain.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
A famous few,
a prominent many.
One figure from the best-known height list,
one from the best-known prominence list.
282
Scottish mountains of 3,000 feet and over
Munro's 1891 tables listed 283 separate mountains and 255 subsidiary Tops. After revisions, most recently in 2012, there are 282 Munros and 226 Tops.
MUNROS · WALKHIGHLANDS
1,556
Hills with a 150 m drop on all sides
Across the UK and Ireland, with over 1,200 of them in Scotland. Because the rule is about relative height, a Marilyn need not be especially high, only distinct from its neighbours.
MARILYNS · OS GETOUTSIDE
The Database of British and Irish Hills, which underpins many of these lists, records over 20,000 British and Irish hills, and its Hill Bagging site has details of 2 million logged ascents.
FOUR WAYS INTO HILL LISTS
Start with a list
that fits you.
You do not need to know your Nuttalls from your Grahams to enjoy a walk, but a list can give your outings a purpose.
Step 1
Go by a book
The 214 Wainwrights are the Lake District fells in Alfred Wainwright's guides. They range from Castle Crag at 291 m to Scafell Pike at 978 m.
Step 2
Go by height
Munros, Corbetts and Grahams step down in height bands in Scotland. Furths are the 34 summits of 3,000 ft or over in the UK and Ireland outside Scotland.
Step 3
Go by prominence
Marilyns, Humps and Tumps ignore height above sea level and count only how far a hill stands above the land around it.
Step 4
Log your ascents
Hill Bagging, the official site of the Database of British and Irish Hills, lets walkers register free to log the hills they have climbed.
WHY PROMINENCE MATTERS
High is not
the same as distinct.
Alan Dawson argued in 1992 that Munro's tables were not a satisfactory list of British hills: Munro ignored England and Wales, never defined his criteria, and the tables were revised several times.
He settled on a drop of about 500 feet as what makes a separate hill, and used 150 metres (492 feet) because Ordnance Survey maps now have metric contours. The Corbetts already used a 500-foot drop.
Questions
Questions on the way
What is a Munro?
A Scottish mountain of 3,000 feet (914.4 m) or more. Sir Hugh Munro first listed them in 1891. There are currently 282 Munros and 226 subsidiary Tops.
What is the difference between a Munro and a Corbett?
Corbetts are Scottish mountains between 2,500 and 3,000 feet, and each must have at least 500 feet of descent on all sides. Munros have no precise separation rule.
What is a Marilyn?
Any hill, of any height, with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides. The term was defined in The Relative Hills of Britain in 1992. There are 1,556 in the UK and Ireland.
What does 'compleater' mean?
Following old Scottish Mountaineering Club tradition, it is the name for someone who has climbed all the Munros. The first round was completed in 1901.
When is a hill a mountain in the UK?
There is no single rule, but OS GetOutside says mountains in the UK are generally considered to be summits over 2,000 ft or 600 m.
Destination
Where the facts come from
- OS GetOutside (Ordnance Survey): Hill names explained
- Alan Dawson, The Relative Hills of Britain (1992), Chapter 1: Mountains, Munros and Marilyns
- Walkhighlands: Munros and Munro bagging
- Walkhighlands: The Corbetts
- Hill Bagging: official site of the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH)
Updated