Introduction
If readers would like to contribute an article for the Guest Contributor
page heading please contact me, my email address appears on the About Me page heading. The 0nly two things I ask is that the article
should be hill related and importantly I should not end up in court through its
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About the Author; Alan Dawson
 |
| Alan has compiled some of the most important British hill lists, including the Marilyns, Grahams, Hewitts and Simms. Many people consider him Britain's pre-eminent mountain surveyor and published hill list author. With the Simms list he unified the 600m hills of Britain. He is now busy working on his next publication. |
How
accurate was Munro?
by Alan Dawson
Hugh Munro's original
list of hills has been described by eminent historian Robin Campbell as a
"hurried stab in the dark". The
numerous subsequent revisions, extensively catalogued in Campbell's book The
Munroist's Companion, support the impression that Munro's list was
inaccurate and incomplete owing to the speed of his work and the inadequacy of Ordnance Survey maps
available at the time.
The
clarity and detail of OS maps have improved vastly in the past hundred years. The accuracy of spot heights has not improved
to the same extent, but current map heights are remarkably accurate considering
that most of them have been obtained by taking photographs from a plane. However, heights on OS maps are far surpassed
in accuracy by heights obtained from surveying using GNSS (Global Navigation
Satellite System).
In this article my aim is to use the scientific
evidence now available to assess the accuracy and completeness of Munro's work. My starting point for this analysis is the
October 1921 issue of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Guide, pages 109 to 144. The full title of this section is:
MUNRO'S TABLES
OF THE
3000-FEET MOUNTAINS OF SCOTLAND
(Revised by the Compiler, the late SIR HUGH T. MUNRO, BART., OF LINDERTIS,
and Re-arranged by Mr J. GALL INGLIS, F.R.S.E.)
This attribution makes it clear that it is
Munro's work, so it is as close as we can get to his judgments. In the introductory note, W. N. Ling wrote:
It is to be much regretted that Sir Hugh
Munro did not live to carry through the press this revised edition of his
Tables, for which he had been collecting material for many years. As he always welcomed information on the
subject, and had himself visited all the 3000-feet tops in Scotland except one
or two, his knowledge of them was probably second to none. Unfortunately, his revision was only
partially completed at the time of his death, and no definite information has
been found as to his views on many facts that had been brought to his notice. In these circumstances, it has been thought
desirable simply to reissue the Tables substantially as he left them, leaving
the debatable questions of inserting additional tops, or of deleting old ones,
to be settled when more complete information is available… The
reclassifications of the new tops, cancelled tops, and separate mountains are
all from Sir Hugh's card index, with only a few exceptions.
As Munro had 28 years available to work on his
revisions, it is fair to assume he did not make them lightly. In fact he removed only fifteen hills from
his original list and added only twenty, taking the total from 538 to 543. In order to
assess Munro's work with clarity, I have cleared away the clutter by applying
these rules:
–
The original 1891 list
has been disregarded in favour of the 1921 list.
–
All updates to Munro's
list since 1921 have been disregarded.
–
The distinction between
tops and separate mountains has been disregarded.
–
Differences in hill
names and spellings have been disregarded.
–
Heights
are given in feet, as in 1921, with surveyed summit heights rounded to the
nearest foot.
It is then simply a case of judging what Munro would have done if he had
had more accurate information.
Summits
under 3000 feet
Munro
did not intend to include any hills under 3000 feet high. Only five of the 543 hills are now known to be
too low to qualify:
–
Am
Bathaich near Kinloch Hourn, 2949 feet
–
Beinn
an Lochain, south of Glen Kinglas, 2958 feet
–
Creag
Dhubh, Beinn Eighe, 2976 feet
–
Faochag,
south of Glen Shiel, 2982 feet
–
Glas
Leathad Beag West Top, Ben Wyvis, 2986 feet
This leaves 538 hills,
the same number as in the 1891 list. Thanks
to the initiative of The Munro Society, we now know that Beinn a' Chlaidheimh
and Sgurr nan Ceannaichean are also under 3000 feet, but these were not listed
by Munro and so can be excluded from this analysis. We also know that Creag na Caillich, west of
Meall nan Tarmachan, does not qualify. It
has been surveyed three times, twice by me in 2014 and once by GJ Surveys in
2015. The result was 2999.7 feet on each
occasion, so Munro was correct in omitting it.
Uncertain summit locations
We can assume that Munro
would have listed the highest point of a hill if he had known exactly where it
was. The following hills had incorrect
summit locations in 1921:
–
Carn
Ballach, Monadhliath
–
Beinn
a' Chaorainn, Glen Spean
–
Slioch,
Loch Maree
Assessing these is not simply a question of
changing a grid reference, because we also have to consider whether there should
be one or more separate tops. Slioch is
the simplest case, for Munro listed it as only one summit. Its location is now the northern top (3219
feet), which I have confirmed is higher than the base of the trig pillar.
In 1891 Munro listed two tops on Carn Ballach
but in 1921 the wrong one was removed. In
line with the 1921 list, only one summit should be included but it is the SW
one, now known to be 3018 feet. In 2014
I surveyed six points on this inconspicuous hill and found five of them to be
within two and a half feet of each other in height, so confusion was
inevitable.
In 2019 I was finally able to settle the
longstanding uncertainty about Beinn a' Chaorainn. The central summit is the highest, at 3442
feet, but it is only two feet higher than the South Top, not ten feet higher as
shown on current OS maps. Munro listed
both in 1891 but for 1921 he removed the one now known to be the highest point. As the North Top has always been listed,
Munro evidently judged that Beinn a' Chaorainn warranted only two summits, not
three. However, he probably would have
retained the South Top for balance if he had known it was lower, because he
liked to include summits near the end of ridges or plateaus, as on Ben Avon and
elsewhere. In the case of Beinn a' Chaorainn,
the location of the highest point determined whether the hill merited two or
three listed summits.
Another hill that has caused uncertainty is An
Riabhachan, north of Loch Mullardoch. Munro
listed two tops but appeared to change the location of the highest one with a
note in the 1921 list. As I have not
surveyed this hill, there is still uncertainty about its highest point, but we
can assume that Munro intended to list the highest one, wherever it is. Further north, beyond Loch Monar, lie Maoile
Lunndaidh and Creag Toll a' Choin. Munro
listed both these summits but changed the highest point to Creag Toll a' Choin
for the 1921 revision. He was right
again.
The only change to the number of hills from this
analysis is the extra one on Beinn a' Chaorainn, taking the total to 539. Other hills with variable summit locations
include Beinn Eibhinn and Meall Garbh by Glen Lyon, but these have only had one
point listed and so minor relocations do not affect the total of summits.
Summits
over 3000 feet
To assess these summits it is necessary to
incorporate the concept variously known as dip, drop, prominence, re-ascent and
relative height. All mean the same
thing. It is an important measurement
for assessing the separation of one hill from another. Only four of the hills omitted from the 1921
list can be regarded as separate mountains according to Munro's undefined but
inferred criteria. There are three
obvious additions:
Beinn Teallach, Glen Spean, height 3001 feet,
drop 998 feet
Beinn Tarsuinn, Fisherfield,
height 3064 feet, drop 679 feet
Ruadh Stac Mor,
Fisherfield, height 3014 feet, drop 557 feet
Munro could not have known these hills were over
3000 feet and would undoubtedly have included them. The fourth omission is Mullach na Dheiragain,
located SW of Loch Mullardoch. Its
current mapped height is 3222 feet, making it 26 feet higher than nearby
Mullach an Sithidh and 49 feet higher than Carn na Corn Dhu, both of which were
listed. I have not surveyed any of these
summits so we have to assume that current OS figures are reasonably accurate. These height differences are fairly small,
but Mullach na Dheiragain can be regarded as one of Munro's few errors, for he
omitted a significant summit. It is over
two and a half miles from a higher peak and has a drop of about 470 feet, so it
can be assumed that Munro would have regarded Mullach na Dheiragain as a
separate mountain.
These
four additions take the total back to 543 hills. Next in line for assessment are summits that
were not listed by Munro but are now known to have a drop of between 100 and
400 feet. There are twelve of these:
Name
|
Area
|
Height
|
Drop
|
Sgurr nan Saighead
|
North Glen Shiel
|
3048
|
353
|
Toman Coinnich
|
Fannich Forest
|
3068
|
236
|
Stob Choire a' Mhail
|
Mamores
|
3248
|
217
|
Stob an Duine Ruaidh
|
Loch Etive
|
3012
|
217
|
Sgurr Dubh
|
Fisherfield
|
3003
|
160
|
Druim Shionnach West Top
|
South Glen Shiel
|
3077
|
138
|
Stob Coire na Cloiche
|
Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan
|
3002
|
128
|
Mullach nan Coirean East Top
|
Mamores
|
3007
|
127
|
Stuc Fraoch Choire
|
Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan
|
3012
|
118
|
Meall nan Tarmachan South Top
|
Tarmachan ridge
|
3024
|
106
|
Meall Buidhe East Top
|
Knoydart
|
3086
|
103
|
Carn na
Caim South Top
|
Drumochter
|
3001
|
100
|
Most
of these summits are not much over 3000 feet.
We cannot be certain about Stob
Coire na Cloiche, Stuc Fraoch Choire and Stob an Duine Ruaidh because they have
not been surveyed using GNSS. Munro's omission of Stob Choire a' Mhail is puzzling
because its height was probably known at the time. Perhaps he disliked the somewhat exposed
narrow ridge south of Sgurr a' Mhaim or perhaps it was a rare oversight.
Munro
did not have accurate information about relative height so he could not have
used it as a basis for selection even if he had wanted to. However, we can draw conclusions from the
revisions he made to his original list. Carn
Ballach and Beinn a' Chaorainn were removed on the basis of summit location,
but the other thirteen were removed on the basis of subjective judgment. All thirteen have less than 100 feet drop. As he did not remove any summits with over
100 feet drop, it is reasonable to infer that he would have included the twelve
summits shown above had he known their height.
What about summits with less than 100 feet drop? Munro included lots of these, 118 of them, so
it is worth reviewing those he left out to assess whether there are any he
would have included if he had known their height. Starting with the most prominent summits,
there are only nine with 80-100 feet drop that were not included in Munro's
1921 list:
Name
|
Area
|
Height
|
Drop
|
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair East Top
|
Fisherfield
|
3208
|
96
|
Blabheinn South Top
|
Skye
|
3040
|
92
|
Meall Dearg East Top
|
Glen Coe (Aonach Eagach)
|
3028
|
90
|
Beinn Bhrotain East Top
|
Cairngorms
|
3641
|
89
|
Glas Mheall Mor West Top
|
An Teallach
|
3011
|
87
|
Ceum na h-Aon-choise
|
Kintail
|
3034
|
86
|
Ben Oss North Top
|
Strath Fillan
|
3088
|
84
|
Ben More Assynt West Top
|
Assynt
|
3195
|
83
|
Luinne
Bheinn East Top
|
Knoydart
|
3071
|
81
|
This is an interesting and varied set. I have surveyed all of them so the figures
are certainly accurate to the nearest foot.
If it were not for summit cairns, I could claim accuracy to within three
inches. The GNSS technology really is
that good.
We know that maps of the Fisherfield area were
inaccurate at the time, which is why Munro missed Beinn Tarsuinn and Ruadh Stac
Mor. There was no contour ring shown for
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair East Top, but Munro would
probably have included it if he had known its height and drop. Even now, heights on OS maps of Fisherfield
are not very accurate. Beinn Tarsuinn,
Sgurr Dubh, Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair and its East Top are all at least
nine feet lower than their mapped heights.
Perhaps OS is over-compensating for earlier errors.
Blabheinn
South Top is an odd anomaly in Munro's work, because he included it in 1891 but
removed it during his revisions. There
is no topographic reason for removing it, so it is tempting to speculate that
Munro did not like the awkward ridge between the main summit of Blabheinn and
its South Top. Whatever the reason, the
fact that he removed Blabheinn South Top shows we should be cautious about
summits with a drop of 90 feet or less. They
have to have a strong case for inclusion on other grounds. Two of the remaining seven do have such a
case.
Beinn
Bhrotain East Top stands out from the rest owing to its height, which gives it
a strong case for inclusion. However, if
Munro knew about it, that makes its case for inclusion weak, because it
suggests he considered it and rejected it.
The fact is, we don't know why he omitted it.
Munro
is unlikely to have known the height of the other six hills. The only one that I can confidently assert he
would definitely have included is Ceum na h-Aon-choise. Munro could not have known its height because
no-one did until I surveyed it in 2017. Current
OS maps show it to be 891m, which is 2923 feet.
The map height is wrong by 111 feet, the greatest anomaly I have found
anywhere. I have informed OS of the
correct height and expect their maps to be updated in due course. I ought to have spotted the error sooner,
because the 1:50000 map shows an 891m height within a 910m contour ring. I had not noticed this and nor had anyone
else. The summit meets all the criteria
known to be used by Munro. It is almost
two miles from its parent peak (Beinn Fhada), it is a distinctive and
impressive-looking peak, it is at the end of a long undulating ridge and it is
over 3000 feet high. All boxes ticked,
but the summit itself has not been ticked by many Munroists, unless they have
approached Beinn Fhada via the steep direct climb from Glen Croe and over the
equally rocky but lower summits of Faradh Nighean Fhearchair and Sgurr a'
Choire Ghairbh.
 |
| West ridge of Beinn Fhada from slope above Morvich. Ceum na h-Aon-choise is the highest point visible, to the right of the notch. Photo: Alan Dawson |
As
usual, there are complications. Munro
did list a summit called Ceum na h-Aon-choise, but he was referring to the more
rounded summit now known as Meall an Fhuarain Mhoir (3133 feet). There is yet another peak in between the two,
Ceum na h-Aon-choise South Top, which is 3025 feet with 68 feet drop. I have no
idea what Munro would have made of that one if he had known its height. Ronald Burn, the first person to climb all
the hills in Munro's list, reckoned that Ceum na h-Aon-choise referred to a
feature lower down the hill. He may be
right, but the map is clear about the name.
It translates rather charmingly as "step of the one foot".
 |
| Ceum na h-Aon-choise (right) from the path up to Bealach an Sgà irne. Photo: Alan Dawson |
Finally, there are those
summits with less than 80 feet drop that Munro did not include. There are hundreds of them, but the ones of
most interest are those with 60-80 feet drop.
There are 38 of these and I have surveyed most of them. The two that I find most notable are the
pinnacles on An Teallach to the east of Bidean a' Ghlas Thuill. One of these is 3421 feet (drop 74 feet) and
the other is 3289 feet (drop 65 feet). These are striking summits, easier to
climb than they look. I do not know why
they have been overlooked by Hugh Munro and all subsequent revisionists,
considering that a nearby pointed peak south of Sgurr Fiona has similar
credentials (3384 feet, drop 69 feet) and has always been a prized inclusion.
Seven of these 38 hills are currently classed as
Munro Tops, for no apparent topographic or historical reason. Two more have been added and then removed
since 1921, and the other 29 have never been listed. Munro would probably have included some of
them if he had known their height, but there is no way of knowing so it seems
best not to add any more. In my opinion,
any list that bears Munro's name should be as faithful to his work as possible,
taking into account his judgments as well as survey findings.
Conclusions
The scientific evidence shows that Munro's list
was remarkably comprehensive considering the maps and information available at
the time. His only significant omissions
that could be regarded as errors are those of Mullach na Dheiragain and Stob Choire a' Mhail, while his removal of Blabheinn
South Top is puzzling.
The
amendments outlined above would bring Munro's work fully up to date with recent
survey findings and current mapping, while remaining faithful to his judgments. Removing the five hills under 3000 feet and
adding five separate mountains over 3000 feet leaves his total at 543. Adding the twelve summits with a drop of
between 100 and 400 feet drop takes the total to 555. Adding two more with a drop of over 80 feet –
Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair East Top and Ceum na h-Aon-choise – takes the
total to 557. No further updating is
needed, unless a survey shows one of the 557 to be under 3000 feet. If Munro were around today I would argue the
case for Blabheinn South Top, Beinn Bhrotain East Top and the pinnacles of Bidean a' Ghlas Thuill, and I would submit evidence about several of the tors
on Ben Avon, but in view of his continued absence, I accept his final judgments
on these summits.
It
would be interesting to know how many people have climbed all 557 hills. I am not one of them, as there are two or
three in Munro's list that have so far eluded me – A' Chioch on Beinn a'
Bhuird, the awkwardly located Creag a' Choire Aird East Top and possibly Stob Coire an Lochain, which I cannot be sure I visited on
my way from Braeriach to Cairn Toul. We
know that Munro intended to climb all the hills in his list but had three remaining
when he died. If I do not quite manage
the last couple then at least I will be in good company, and 555 would be a
fine number to finish on.
Alan Dawson
Article originally published in The Munro Society Journal No. 5 2020
