The first list of Scottish mountains dates tot he early 1900s when Sir High Munro (1856 to 1919) decided to collate all the summits in Scotland with a height of more than 3000ft. Back then, he did not have access to modern GPS and complied his Munros Tables by referencing maps or visiting the mountains.
His tables, which included 283 separate mountains called Munros and another 255 subsidiary Tops, were first published in the Journal of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1891.
At the time, it has been widely assumed there were only aorund 30 mountains of 3000ft height but Sir Hugh was keen to prove otherwise.
Sadly, he never managed to complete an ascent of all his Munros summits . The first “round” of Munros was completed by the Rev A E Robertson in 1901.
These days, Munro bagging is a popular pursuit although the list has changed over the years and , in particular, since the use of more modern GPS technology.
The SMC takes care of the revised list and there are currently 282 Munros and 226 Munro Tops.
What are the Munros?
The Munros are based on the original list compiled by Sir Hugh Munro and with some revisions over the last century. The mountains must be of a height of at least 3000ft (914.4m) and seen as separate mountains. However, unlike other mountain lists, there is no specific criteria for prominence.
As reported by the SMC: “Hugh Munro did not write down a precise definition of what he meant by ‘sufficient separation’, though the character of a mountain did enter into it. Through regular use these hills have become known as the Munros.”
It’s usually suggested that a Munro should have a prominence of 500ft (152m) but there are some Munros that barely seem to have this prominence. I am thinking of the seven Munros on the South Glen Shiel Ridge, for example, where the drop between the Munro summits is sometimes less than 100m.
There are 282 Munros in the list held by the SMC. If you have completed a round of Munros you are called a Munroist.
What are Munro Tops?
Munro Tops, as defined by the SMC, are a “list of distinct Scottish peaks of 3000ft (914.4m) and over that fail to meet the criteria of ‘sufficient separation’ from their neighbouring peaks”.
There are currently 226 Munro Tops.
What are Corbetts?
Corbetts – named after John Rooke Corbett – are defined as moutains in Scotland with a height of 2500ft (762m) or more and less than 3000ft (914.4m) with a drop of at least 500ft (152.4m) between each peak. (This is also called “prominence”).
Corbett joined the SMC in 1923 and, in 1930, became the fourth person, and first Englishman, to complete the Munros.
There are 222 Corbetts and if you complete a round you are called a Corbetteer.
What are Grahams / Fionas?
Now there is a story about this list of hills. Read more.
The Grahams are a list of all distinct peaks in Scotland which are 600m or more and less than 2500ft (762m) with a drop of at least 150m between each peak and any higher land.
Scottish hills in height range were previously called Elsies (short for Lesser Corbetts, ie LCs).
Then, in 1992, Fiona Torbet (née Graham) published her own, similar, list of these hills. The original list of Elsies, and Fiona’s list were rationalised and combined by Fiona and Alan Dawson and this set of hills became known as the Grahams.
Until 2022, the lower limit on the official list was 2000ft (609.6m) but Alan changed this to 600m. Since Fiona’s death, Alan has taken over “maintenance” of the list of Grahams – see The Relative Hills of Britain website – and his change to the definition led to 12 new Grahams being added.
WalkHighlands has decided to call the old Grahams the Fionas and the SMC also states that to complete a round of Grahams it’s not necessary to add in the extra 12 now listed in Alan’s list.
There are 219 Fionas and 231 new Grahams.
What are the Donalds?
Donald are defined as elevations in the Scottish Lowlands of at least 2000ft (610m) in height with a drop of at least 50ft (15.2m) between each elevation and any higher elevation. In addition, these elevations need to be separated from higher elevations by a drop of less than 100ft (30.5m) are required to have “sufficient topographical merit”.
There is more! The SMC states: “Donalds, or Donald Hills, are subsequently defined from Donald Tops, where a Hill is the highest Top with a separation of 17 units or less. A unit is either a twelfth of a mile along a Top’s connecting ridge or 50ft (30.5m) in elevation between the Top and its connecting bealach/col. The separation is the sum of these two measures.”
The current list contains 141 summits, including 89 Donalds and 52 Donald Tops.
What is a Full House
To complete what is known as a Full House, you need ot reach the summit of all Munros, Munro Tops, Corbetts, Graha,s/Fionas and Donalds. In addition, the Full House includes Furths, which are defined as mountains that are Munro height in England, Ireland and Wales.
There are six Furths in England, 15 in Wales and 13 on Ireland.