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Scottish Mountains and Hills

A brief guide to the munros of Scotland

  • What is a munro?
  • A munro is classed as a Scottish mountain which has a minimum height of 3000 feet (914.4 metres). Named after Hugh Munro who published the original list in 1891 with 283 mountains listed. Since this time the list has been regularly updated following OS map revisions resulting in some munros being reclassified as tops and some tops being classed as munros. The 1997 revision lists 284 munros. Hugh Munro was recompiling the list at the time of his death in 1919. His original intention as to what defined a munro was a "sufficient separation" from neighbouring tops. He did not in fact note a precise definition as to what a munro was. Since this time various competing ideas have sprung up to define a munro. (Rather than go into the competing ideas refer to the Scottish Mountaineering Club for further background information.)

  • What is a Corbett?
  • A Corbett is a Scottish hill between 2500 and 3000 feet (762–914.4 m) with a relative height of 500 feet (152m) or more.

  • What is a Marilyn?
  • A hill in Britain with a relative height of 500 feet (152 metres) or more.

  • What is the difference between a top and a munro?
  • This is a point of contention. Essentially a top is a subsidiary summit (3000 feet of more) of a munro. There seems to be no rigid criteria to distinguish betwen a munro and a top. Consequently since the original publication of The Munro Tables in 1891 the number of munros has varied, with munros being reclassified as tops and vice versa from one edition of the Tables to the next. The 1997 revision lists 284 Munros and 511 tops.

    1997 list of the 284 Munros

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