THE COUNTY TOPS OF THE BRITISH ISLES
By Paddy Dillon
Published by Gastons West Col Publications
No ISBN
Price £8.95

Some things seem like a good idea at the time, such as climbing to the highest point in every county in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The research for this guidebook was done by hitch-hiking to the foot of almost every one of these heights, then walking to the summits. The hitch-hiking alone took 512 separate lifts and covered in excess of 14,000 miles (22,500 kilometres), completed in a series of short trips spread over nine months. There were 95 County Tops visited, based on the post 1974 arrangement of counties, regions and islands areas in the United Kingdom, plus all the counties in the Republic of Ireland. They were covered in the following order: South West England, North West England, North East England, Southern Scotland, Peak District, Isle of Man, Eastern Scotland, Ben Nevis, East Anglia, North Wales, South Wales, Scottish Highlands, South of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Irish Midlands, and Scottish Islands. In recent years the county structure has been changed again, so the list is basically academic, though the routes remain valid. It was a good excuse to get around and see the rich and varied countryside. In a review in High magazine the book was described by Chris Townsend as "daft enough to be popular."

THE COUNTY TOPS

Avon - SE of Pitt Farm; Bedfordshire - Dunstable Downs; Berkshire - Walbury Hill; Borders - Broad Law; Buckinghamshire - Wendover Woods; Cambridgeshire - The Hall Great Chishill; Carlow - Mount Leinster; Cavan - Cuilcagh; Central - Ben More; Cheshire - Shining Tor; Clare - Glennagalliagh; Cleveland - Guisborough Moor; Clwyd - Moel Sych; Cork - Knockboy; Cornwall - Brown Willy; Cumbria - Scafell Pike; Derbyshire - Kinder Scout; Devon - High Willhays; Donegal - Errigal; Dorset - Pilsdon Pen; Dublin - Kippure; Dumfries & Galloway - Merrick; Durham - Mickle Fell; Dyfed - Fan Foel; East Sussex - Ditchling Beacon; Essex - Chishall Common; Fife - West Lomond; Galway - Benbaun; Gloucestershire - Cleeve Common; Grampian - Ben Macdhui; Greater London - Waylands; Greater Manchester - Featherbed Moss; Gwent - Chwarel y Fan; Gwynedd - Yr Wyddfa; Hampshire - Pilot Hill; Hereford & Worcester - Black Mountain; Hertfordshire - West of Hastoe; Highland - Ben Nevis; Humberside - Garrowby Hill; Isle of Man - Snaefell; Isle of Wight - St Boniface Down; Isles of Scilly - Telegraph Hill; Kent - Betsom's Hill; Kerry - Carrauntoohil; Kildare - Cupidstownhill; Kilkenny - Brandon Hill; Lancashire - Gragareth; Laois - Arderin; Leicestershire - Bardon Hill; Leitrim - SE of Truskmore; Limerick - Galtymore; Lincolnshire - N of Normanby le Wold; Longford - Cornhill; Lothian - Blackhope Scar; Louth - Slieve Foye; Mayo - Mweelrea; Meath - Carnbane East; Merseyside - Billinge Hill; Mid Glamorgan - Carn Foesen; Monaghan - E of Slieve Beagh; Norfolk - The Roman Camp; Northamptonshire - Arbury Hill; Northern Ireland - Slieve Donard; Northumberland - The Cheviot; North Yorkshire - Whernside; Nottinghamshire - Herrod's Hill; Offaly - Arderin; Orkney - Ward Hill; Oxfordshire - Whitehorse Hill; Powys - Pen-y-Fan; Roscommon - SE of Seltannasaggart; Shetland - Ronas Hill; Shropshire - Brown Clee Hill; Sligo - Truskmore; Somerset - Dunkery Beacon; South Glamorgan - E of Pant-glas; South Yorkshire - Margery Hill; Staffordshire - Oliver Hill; Strathclyde - Ben Cruachan; Suffolk - SE of Elms Farm; Surrey - Leith Hill; Tayside - Ben Lawers; Tipperary - Galtymore; Tyne & Wear - Currock Hill; Warwickshire - Ilmington Downs; Waterford - Knockmealdown; Western Isles - Clisham; West Glamorgan - Cefnffordd; Westmeath - Mullaghmeen; West Midlands - Turner's Hill; West Sussex - Black Down; West Yorkshire - Black Hill; Wexford - Mount Leinster; Wicklow - Lugnaquillia; Wiltshire - Tan Hill and Milk Hill

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