Rucksack
Club Journal Vol. VI, No. 3, 337-344 (1929)
Original
Optical Character Read with corrections, not necessarily complete. Names of
mountains have not been corrected.
TWENTY-FIVES
By .J. Rooke CORBETT
Minor was the first to take up the idea of
ascending every mountain top in England and Wales over 2500 ft. in altitude, and when his task was
approaching completion it occurred to some of the younger members of the Rucksack
Club to make sure that he did it properly. We spent quite a lot of time
searching the map for fresh tops, and if any point was above the 2500 ft. line
contour and was marked on some reputable map such as Bartholomew’s or
the one inch Ordnance Map down it went on the list. If it afterwards
turned out to be only a shoulder or even a hollow we could console ourselves
with the thought that we and Minor had spent a pleasant weekend investigating
the facts. In this way was compiled the list of ‘twenty-fives’ which was printed in the Rucksack
Club Journal in 1911.
Much has happened since then. Several other
members of the Club besides Minor have visited every top on the list and quite
a lot of members have been up most of them. The tops which were not tops have been
duly reviled and on the other hand the ridges in
A good opportunity for revising the list is now
given by the completion throughout
THE CHEVIOT. One of the greatest surprises to me on the
new map was that the 2656 top above Bellyside Crag has a separate
contour line while Cairn Hill, 2545, has not. I remember the former as a
flat point or a plateau and the latter as a distinct peak. The only time I
found the top of the Cheviot in a mist I first walked up-hill to the cairn on
Cairn Hill, and then made a careful approach from there by compass. Of course a
contour ring round a 2656 ft. top does not necessitate a rise of much more than 6 ft. while the
absence of a ring round a 2545 ft. top is not inconsistent with a rise
of nearly 45 ft. The tops are—
The
Cheviot (38) ... ... 2676
Bellyside
Crag (1) ... ... 2656
(Not named on new map.)
Cairn
Hill (0) ... ... ... 2545
The 2547
point on the older maps is rightly ignored on the new one. It is only a
spot level on a sloping plateau.
THE CROSS FELL or
Cross
Fell (43) ... ... 2930
*Little Dun Fell (4) .,. ... 2761
*Great
Dun Fell (5) ... ... 2780
Knock
Fell (4)... ... ... 2604
Mickle
Fell (13) ... ... 2591
*(Otherwise
called
THE LAKE DISTRICT with its pointed hills forms a great contrast
to the Cross Fell plateau and here the improved map gives additional tops
instead of reducing the number.
The Skiddaw group contains
Skiddaw (47) ... ... ... 3053
Little Man (4) ... ... ... 2837
Saddleback (30) ... ... 2847
Knowe
Crags (1) ... ... 2600+ (new top)
The group of hills between
Grizedale Pike (14) ... ... 2593
Sand Hill (5) 2525
Crag Hill (7) 2749
Grassmoor (32) 2791
Wandope (2) 2533
Sail (1) 2530 (six-inch map)
Eel Crag
2649 is hardly a top.
The
summits in the area to the West of Sty Head are
High Stile (24) 2643
Green Gable (4) 2603
Great Gable (27) 2949
Kirk Fell, E. Top (2) *2579 (new top)
Kirk Fell, W. Top (12) 2631
Pillar (22) 2927
Pillar Rock (1) 2500+
*Black Crag (2) *2689
(new top)
*Little Scoat Fell (6) 2760
Steeple (2) 2687
*Great Scoat Fell (2) 2750+
Red Pike, N. Top (5) 2707
Red Pike, S. Top (0) 2629
Haycock (7) 2619
The
names and heights marked * are only given on the six-inch map.
In the Scafell group between
Slight
Side (1) 2501
*Long
Green (1) 2750
(new top)
Scafell
(10) 3162
Lingmell
(6) 2649
*Rough
Crag, W. Top (1) 2500+ (new
top)
*Rough
Crag, E. Top (1) 2500+ (new
top)
Broad
Crag (3) *3054
*Ill
Crag (2) 3000+
Great
End (4) 2984
The names
and heights marked are onlv found on the six-inch map. The new maps shew a spot
level 2499 Slight Side, but as it also shews a 2500 ft. contour ring it seems
as though the figure 2501 given on the Bartholomew map may fairly be retained.
East of Esk Hause and between Three Shires
Stone and Dunmail Raise are
Crinkle Crags, South Top (1) 2733
Crinkle Crags, Long Top (9) 2816
Shelter
Crags (2) ... 2667
Shelter Crags, N. Top (1) 2544 (new top)
Bowfell (10) 2960
Bowfell, N. Top (1) 2827 (new top)
Esk Pike (7) 2903
Allen Crags (4) 2572
Glaramara, S. Top (1) 2514 (new top)
Glaramara, N. Top (8) 2560
High White Stones (19) 2500
(2500.6 on six-inch map)
The North Top of Shelter Crags is only shewn on
the six-inch map, on which it has a separate 2500 contour ring.
Esk Pike is a guide-book name not marked on the Ordnance maps. The name
Hanging Knott does not refer to this top but to the lower rocks overhanging
Angle Tarn.
In the Coniston group, south of Three Shires
Stone are
Great
Carrs (2) ... ... 2550+
Grey
Friar (5) ... ... 2536
Wetherlam
(10) ... ... 2502
Swirl
How (8) ... ... ... 2630
Brim
Fell (2)... ... ... 2611
Old
Man of Coniston (27) 2635
Dow
Crag (7) ... ... ... 2555
East of
Dunmail Raise and between it and the
Great
Dodd (7) ... ... 2807
Unnamed top(1) ... ... 2600+ (new top
Watson’s
Dodd (0) . - - ... 2584
Stvbarrow
Dodd, N. Top (5)... *2767 (new
top)
*Green
Side (2) ... ... 2600+ (new top)
Stvbarrow
Dodd, S. Top (1)... 2756
Raise
(5) ... - -. ... 2889
White
Dodd (3) 2832
Lower
Man(1) ... ... 3033
Helvellvn
(47) ... ... 3118
Catstye Cam (3) ... ... 2917
Striding
Edge (1) . -. *2832
Nethermost
Pike, N. Top (2)... *2920 (new
top)
Nethermost
Pike, S. Top (1) ... *2896 (new top)
Dollywaggon
Pike (3) ... 2810
Gavel
Pike (0) . .. 2577
Great Rigg (3) ... 2513
Hart
Grag (2)... .. ... 2698
Dove
Grag (4) ... ... 2603
Red
Screes
(or Kilnshaw Chimney) (16) 2541
Names and heights marked * are only found on
the six-inch map. The name of White Dodd does not appear on either map. On the
six-inch map the highest point of Striding Edge is called High Spying How. The
2819 point above Browncove Crags is only a shoulder.
East of Kirkstone Pass are
Stony
Cove Pike (12) 2502
Thornthwaite
Crag (3) 2569
High
Street (25) 2718
Harter
Fell (8) 2539
The
Knowe (0) 2509
Ramsgill
Head (1) 2581 (new top)
High
Raise (6)... 2634
Kidsty
Pike (1) 2560
There are thus 90 tops in
NORTH WALES contains five groups of mountains
of which the first four, sometimes called Snowdonia, are separated one from
another by the three roads running west from Capel Curig through the passes of
Ogwen, Llanberis, and Aberglaslyn, and the fifth lies to the south-east of the
Dolgelly, Bala, and Ruabon railway.
To the north of Llyn Ogwen are
Drum (3) 2528
Llwydmor (2) 2749
Foci Fras (3) 3901
(sic)
Garnedd Uchaf (1) 2950+ (new top)
Yr Aryg (1) 2875
Bera Mawr (1) 2587
Bera Bach (0) 2500+
Foel Grach (2) 3195
Carnedd Llewellyn (49) 3484
Yr Elen (4) 3151
Pen yr Helig-du (5) 2732
Pen Llithrig yr Wrach (8) 2621
Black Ladders (1) 3184 (new top)
Carnedd Dafydd (6) 3426
Pen yr Oleu Wen (3) 3210
Pen
yr Oleu Wen replaces two points marked 3184 and 3169 on the older map, which
are only spot levels on the ridge.
Between the passes of Ogwen and Llanberis are
Carnedd y Filiast (6) 2694
Mynydd Perfedd (1) 2664
Elidyr Fawr (13) 3029
Elidyr Fach (0) 2564
Foel Goch (5) 2726
Y Garn (16) 3104
Glyder Fawr (42) 3279
Glyder Fach (5) 3262
Tryfan (13) 3010
East of Llyn Caseg-fraith (1)..2500+ (new top)
East of Llvn Caseg-fraith (3)..2642
The height 2642 is only shewn on the six-inch
map. Further east is the 2499 ft. top above Gallt yr Ogof, sometimes
called Ghastly Gollywog After much discussion it was agreed that this peak
might he counted as a twenty-five by any climber who, when standing on the
topmost summit, leaped at least one foot into the air.
West of the passes of Llanberis and Aberglaslyn
are
Crib
Goch (4) 3023
Crib
y Ddisgl (4) 3493
Y
Wyddfa (
Lliwedd
(9) 2947
Moel
Hebog (38) 2566
South-east of the Aberglaslyn road are
Mod
Siahod (39) 2860
Moelwvn
Mawr (25) 2527
Arenig
Fawr, N. Top (2) 2650+ (new
top)
Arenig
Fawr, S. Top (33) 2800
South-east of the Bala railway are
Cader
Bronwen (5) 2572
Craig
Berwyn, N. Top (1) 2600+ (new
top)
Craig
Berwyn, S. Top (1) 2600+ (new
top)
Cader
Cader
Mod
Sych (22) 2713
Aran
Benllyn, N. Top (4) 2901
Aran
Benllyn, S. Top (2) 2800+ (new top)
Aran
Mawddwy (44) 2970
Craig y Ffynon (14) 2557
Mynydd
Moel (4) 2804
Cader
Idris (40) 2927
Cyfrwy
(1) 2600
Mynydd
Pencoed (5) 2600+
Brecon
Beacon (44) 2906
Corn
Du (1) 2863
Duwynt
(2) 2704
Bryn
Teg (10) 2608
Waun
Rhydd, N. Top (11) 2504
Waun
Rhydd, S. Top (1) 2502
Waun
Fach (41) 2660
Pen
y Gader Fawr (3) 2624
There are
58 twenty-fives in
Most of the new tops are on ridges which would
be traversed by peak baggers when dealing with the old list, but the attention
of those who think they have finished their twenty-fives should be directed to
Green Side, near Helvellyn, and to the two tops of Rough Crag on Scawfell
Pikes. I can remember being some years ago with a party which arrived
unintentionally in the neighbourhood of the two latter. Perhaps some other
member of the party can recollect whether we actually passed over them.