3A The County Tops of England & Wales (and Scotland)
Claims for the County Tops of England & Wales may be based on the traditional (pre-1974) counties, the counties as they existed between 1974 and 1996 (or so), or the current counties. Some claimants do all three eras to make sure! A 'county' is regarded in its traditional form - it is not necessary to visit all the high points of urban Administrative Areas. Some walkers do, but in your Recorder's personal opinion that is a rather boring waste of time.
Claimants must state the list used for their completion. The following published lists are acceptable: Pre-1974: Moss (1951), Bridge (1973), Post 1974: Climber & Rambler magazine (1975), Dillon (1985), Strider magazine, (1990), Dawson (1992), Dewey (1995), Dawson (1997) and Hardy. A copy of any other list used (a full list of top names and grid references), including the claimant's own, must be forwarded with all applications for inclusion in the Register.
At the end of 2017 there were 63 walkers who had submitted a claim for Register 3A.
There ia a marker on Register 3A so that walkers who have completed the County Tops of England & Wales and also the County Tops of Scotland could record that achievement. (Note that there is no register for the County Tops of Scotland alone.) At the end of 2017 there were 12 walkers so marked, 8 of whom had also completed the County Tops of Ireland (Register 3B), and so all the County Tops in the British Isles - quite an achievement !
3B The County Tops of Ireland
The list according to Dillon (1985) is acceptable. More up-to-date and useful information on the Irish County Tops is also contained within Clements (1997) and Gribbon (Ireland's County High Points, 2012). See also http://mountainviews.ie. Please state whether or not you included the six counties of Northern Ireland in your completion of the Irish County Tops, or whether you simply bagged the highest point of the Province of Northern Island, that is, as it were, counting Northern Ireland as a single "county". The latter is acceptable, even though it is not entirely satisfactory for a full completion of all the County Tops of Ireland. A copy of any other list used (a full list of top names and grid references), including the claimant's own, must be forwarded with all applications for inclusion in the Register. The HR Annual Report will note any progress that has been reported.
For a copy of the Claim Form, click here.
At the end of 2017 there were 25 walkers who had submitted a claim for Register 3B. However the mountainviews.ie site has details of many more completers of the Irish County Tops.
References
By far the most reliable source, for all three eras, is now the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH) described in the Introduction to the Hillwalkers' Register. If you wish to be sure that you have visited all the County Tops, use this one! However claims based on other sources are still accepted.
Note that many of the references given below, which are arranged in chronological order, are now out-of-print, but some of these can be acquired from specialist second-hand book suppliers. The principal references that are currently in print or otherwise relatively easily available are given in bold. These reference lists are not intended to be exhaustive. A variety of hill lists is also available on the Internet, or by email attachment from various hill list experts; details of these sources are often given in the HR Annual Report.
| MOSS: | The County Tops of England and Wales by E. Moss. Rucksack Club Journal (1951) pages 319 – 327. |
| BRIDGE: | The Mountains of England and Wales by George Bridge. Gastons/West Col. (1973). |
| CLIMBER and RAMBLER: | Climber and Rambler magazine. (Jan. and Feb. 1975). Lists of the post-1974 County Tops of England and Wales. |
| DILLON: | County Tops of the British Isles by Paddy Dillon. Gastons/West Col. (1985). |
| STRIDER: | Strider magazine (journal of the LDWA) Volume 56, pages 34 – 35 (April 1990) and Strider Volume 57, page 24 (August 1990). Lists of English and Welsh County Tops. |
| DAWSON: | The Relative Hills of Britain by Alan Dawson Cicerone Press. (1992). A list of County Tops is included. |
| DEWEY: | Mountain Tables by Michael Dewey. Chapter 4. Constable. (1995). |
| DAWSON: | The Hewitts and Marilyns of Wales by Alan Dawson TACit Press. (1997). A list of Welsh Council Tops is included. |
| DAWSON: | The Hewitts and Marilyns of England by Alan Dawson TACit Press. (1997). A list of English County Tops is included. |
| CLEMENTS: | The Hewitts and Marilyns of Ireland by E.D. "Clem" Clements TACit Press. (1997). Irish County Tops are included. |
| HARDY: | High Points by Ian Hardy. A list of the County Tops in the UK (i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) is included. This is a useful source for the post-1974 and the current County Tops. |
| MOUNTAIN VIEWS: | A Hillwalking Resource for Ireland. Includes a list of the County Tops of Ireland. |
| MUIR: | The UK's County Tops. Inspiring guide to 82 walking routes reaching the tops of the UK's 91 historic counties in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| No. | Name |
Sex | List(s) | Last Summit | Scottish CTs | Rnds | First Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edward Moss | M | Moss | The Ashes, Buckminster | 1 | 28 Jul 1961 | |
| 2 | Charles W Baldey | M | C&R | 1 | 17 Aug 1976 | ||
| 3 | Philip H Cooper | M | C&R | The Cheviot | Yes | 1 | 1 Mar 1977 |
| 4 | Paddy Dillon | M | Dillon (C) | 1 | 3 Jul 1982 | ||
| 5 | Ken Hay | M | Dillon (C), C&R, Bridge | Holyhead Mountain | Yes | 1 | 3 May 1985 |
| 6 | Tom Anderson | M | Bridge | 1 | Nov 1992 | ||
| 7 | Bryan Haycox | M | Bridge | Milk Hill & Tan Hill | 1 | 8 Aug 1997 | |
| 8 | Pauline Haycox | F | Bridge | Milk Hill & Tan Hill | 1 | 8 Aug 1997 | |
| 9 | Barrie Trigg | M | Bridge | Mickle Fell | 1 | 31 Aug 1998 | |
| 10 | David Cainey | M | Dawson | St Boniface Down | 1 | 21 Sep 1998 | |
| 11 | Mike Jacobs | M | Dawson, Bridge | St Boniface Down | 1 | 19 Dec 1998 | |
| 12 | Frank Meachem | M | Dawson | Bardon Hill | 1 | 29 Jun 1999 | |
| 13 | Richard Aust OBE | M | Dawson | Snowdon | 1 | 14 Nov 1999 | |
| 14 | David Purchase | M | Dawson, Dewey, Bridge, Moss | Tan Hill | Yes | 1 | 31 Dec 1999 |
| 15 | Alan Castle | M | Dawson, Strider, Dillon (C), C&R, Bridge | St Boniface Down | Yes | 1 | 2 Jan 2000 |
| 16 | Charles R Knowles | M | Dawson, Dillon (C), Bridge | Foel Cwmcerwyn | Yes | 1 | 20 May 2000 |
| 17 | Ken Crawford | M | Dawson | St Boniface Down | 1 | 22 Oct 2000 | |
| 18 | Clive Menzies | M | Dawson | Moel Famau | 1 | 26 Oct 2000 | |
| 19 | Lisa Menzies | F | Dawson | Moel Famau | 1 | 26 Oct 2000 | |
| 20 | Ian White | M | Dawson | St Boniface Down | 2 | 19 Nov 2000 | |
| 21 | Andy Mohun-Smith | M | Dawson, Dewey | Black Hill | 1 | 30 Dec 2000 | |
| 22 | Rob Woodall | M | Dawson | Tair Onnen | Yes | 1 | 17 Aug 2002 |
| 23 | Chris Pearson | M | Dawson, Dewey, Bridge | St Boniface Down | 1 | 30 Oct 2002 | |
| 24 | David Hoyle | M | Dawson, Dillon (C), C&R, Bridge | Beacon Hill (Cromer) | 1 | 31 Oct 2002 | |
| 25 | Chris Doughty | M | Dawson, Dillon (C), Moss | Bushey Heath | 1 | 17 Nov 2002 | |
| 26 | Ursula Stubbings | F | Dawson | Ward's Stone | 1 | 8 Jan 2003 | |
| 27 | George Edward Ross | M | Dewey, Bridge | Hampstead Heath | 1 | 23 Jan 2003 | |
| 28 | Bob Garrett | M | Dawson, Strider | St Boniface Down | 1 | 8 Jul 2003 | |
| 29 | Peter Collins | M | Dawson | Silverhill Wood | 1 | 11 Feb 2004 | |
| 30 | David Findel-Hawkins | M | Dawson, Dewey | Fan Foel | 1 | 15 Jul 2006 | |
| 31 | Merrian Lancaster | F | Dawson, Dewey | Gisborough Moor | 1 | 18 Aug 2007 | |
| 32 | John Arthur Edwards | M | Dawson | Black Down | 1 | 27 Jan 2008 | |
| 33 | Jim Rousell | M | Dawson, Bridge | Snaefell | 1 | 29 Jul 2008 | |
| 34 | Judy Nickerson | F | Dawson | Turner's Hill | 1 | 25 Oct 2008 | |
| 35 | Brian Richard Graves | M | Bridge | Pilsdon Pen | 1 | 31 Dec 2008 | |
| 36 | Michael Earnshaw | M | Dawson | Newtonwood Lane | Yes | 1 | 15 Mar 2009 |
| 37 | Judith Colman | F | DoBIH, Muir, Private List | Scafell Pike | 1 | 31 Jul 2009 | |
| 38 | John Leese | M | DoBIH, Muir, Private List | Scafell Pike | 1 | 31 Jul 2009 | |
| 39 | Steven Turnbull | M | Dawson, Dewey | Mickle Fell | 1 | 30 Aug 2009 | |
| 40 | Martin Grass | M | Dewey | Gisborough Moor | 1 | 19 Sep 2009 | |
| 41 | Nicola Grace Grass | F | Dewey | Gisborough Moor | 1 | 19 Sep 2009 | |
| 42 | Ian Hardy, MVO | M | Hardy, Dawson | Turner's Hill | Yes | 1 | 3 Jun 2010 |
| 43 | Martin Richardson | M | Dawson | Milk Hill | 1 | 17 Sep 2010 | |
| 44 | Martin Pearson | M | Fan Foel | 1 | 4 Oct 2010 | ||
| 45 | Stephen Dixon | M | Dawson | Beacon Hill (Cromer) | 1 | 27 Aug 2011 | |
| 46 | Dave Irons | M | Dawson, Bridge | Beacon Hill (Cromer) | Yes | 1 | 25 Sep 2011 |
| 47 | Howard Mann, OBE | M | Dawson, Dewey, Bridge | Snaefell | 1 | 6 Oct 2011 | |
| 48 | Tony Davies | M | Private List | Brown Clee Hill | 1 | 14 Jan 2012 | |
| 49 | John Warren | M | Dawson | Craig Llysfaen | 1 | 8 Mar 2012 | |
| 50 | Ted Richards | M | Dawson | Brown Willy | 1 | 7 Sep 2012 | |
| 51 | Nick Down | M | Dawson | Brown Willy | Yes | 1 | 14 Sep 2012 |
| 52 | Dave Evans | M | Dawson | St Boniface Down | 1 | 8 May 2013 | |
| 53 | Keith Lowthian | M | Private List | Mickle Fell | 1 | 5 Oct 2013 | |
| 54 | Finlay Lowthian | M | Private List | Snowdon | 1 | 23 Oct 2013 | |
| 55 | Jamie Lowthian | M | Private List | Snowdon | 1 | 23 Oct 2013 | |
| 56 | Andrew W Armstrong | M | Muir | Foel Cwmcerwyn | 1 | 12 Nov 2013 | |
| 57 | Philip Massey | M | DoBIH | Lewesdon Hill | Yes | 1 | 22 Mar 2014 |
| 58 | Gerry Bowes | M | Private List | Bald Hill | Yes | 1 | 8 Apr 2014 |
| 59 | Alan Kent | M | DoBIH | Hampstead Heath | 1 | 10 Nov 2014 | |
| 60 | Joanne Wood | F | Bridge | St Boniface Down | 1 | 21 Nov 2015 | |
| 61 | Peter Wood | M | Bridge | St Boniface Down | 1 | 21 Nov 2015 | |
| 62 | Neil Rawlins | M | Muir | Burnhope Seat (trig point | 1 | 30 Aug 2016 | |
| 63 | Victoria Morris | F | DoBIH | Brown Willy | 1 | 28 Sep 2017 | |
| 64 | Carole Engel | F | DoBIH | Corfe Hills | 1 | 20 Feb 2018 | |
| 65 | Liz Nicholas | F | Dawson | Great Wood (Suffolk) | 1 | 18 Nov 2018 | |
| 66 | Derek Snaith | M | Dawson | Great Wood (Suffolk) | 1 | 18 Nov 2018 | |
| 67 | Jacqui Wakelam | F | Dawson | Margery Hill | 1 | 8 Apr 2019 | |
| 68 | Nick Wakelam | M | Dawson | Margery Hill | 1 | 8 Apr 2019 |
| No. | Name |
Sex | List(s) | Last Summit | Rnds | First Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip H Cooper | M | C&R | Corn Hill | 1 | 27 Aug 1976 |
| 2 | Paddy Dillon | M | Dillon (C) | 1 | 28 Aug 1982 | |
| 3 | Ken Hay | M | Dillon (C) | Mweelrea | 1 | 24 Apr 1989 |
| 4 | Pat Lynch | M | Dillon (C) | Carrauntoohil | 1 | 26 Nov 1996 |
| 5 | Paul Clements | M | Slieve Donard | 1 | 31 Jul 2002 | |
| 6 | Bob Garrett | M | Clem, Dillon (C) | Benbaun | 1 | 7 Apr 2004 |
| 7 | George Edward Ross | M | Dillon (C) | Kippure | 1 | 21 Jun 2004 |
| 8 | Rob Woodall | M | Clem | Eshbrack | 1 | 9 May 2005 |
| 9 | David Purchase | M | Clem, Dillon (C), C&R | Truskmore | 1 | 12 Sep 2005 |
| 10 | Dave Watson | M | Clem | Moylussa | 1 | 17 Aug 2006 |
| 11 | Gwen Watson | F | Clem | Moylussa | 1 | 17 Aug 2006 |
| 12 | Willie Hamilton | M | Private List | Mweelrea | 1 | 30 Sep 2010 |
| 13 | Ali Round | F | Mweelrea | 1 | 30 Sep 2010 | |
| 14 | Jim Bloomer | M | Kippure | 1 | 24 Sep 2011 | |
| 15 | Michael Earnshaw | M | Clem | Trostan | 1 | 19 Apr 2012 |
| 16 | David Findel-Hawkins | M | Gribbon, Clem | Slieve na Calliagh | 1 | 14 Jul 2013 |
| 17 | Merrian Lancaster | F | Gribbon, Clem | Slieve na Calliagh | 1 | 14 Jul 2013 |
| 18 | Alan Castle | M | M-V, Dillon (C) | Knockboy | 1 | 21 Jun 2014 |
| 19 | Gerry Bowes | M | DoBIH, Gribbon | Errigal | 1 | 2 Apr 2015 |
| 20 | Philip Massey | M | DoBIH, Gribbon, Clem | Errigal | 1 | 2 Apr 2015 |
| 21 | Brendan Fahy | M | DoBIH | Knockmealdown | 1 | 22 May 2015 |
| 22 | Michelle Ryan | F | DoBIH | Knockmealdown | 1 | 22 May 2015 |
| 23 | Ian Scott | M | Clem | Mweelrea | 1 | 3 Sep 2015 |
| 24 | Nicky Wood | F | Clem | Mweelrea | 1 | 3 Sep 2015 |
| 25 | Thomas Morris | M | DoBIH | Trostan | 1 | 21 Jul 2016 |
Abbreviations
| Bridge: | Bridge's County Tops list |
| C&R: | Climber & Rambler mag County Tops List |
| Dawson: | Dawson's County Tops list |
| Dillon (C): | County Tops of British Isles (Gastons/West Col 1985 |
| Dewey: | Dewey's County Tops list |
| Moss: | Moss' County Tops list |
| Strider: | Number 56 (August 1990) |
| Clements: | TACit Press (1997) |
