Mapping Mountains - Hill Reclassifications - The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

 

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England - Hill Reclassifications

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England are the English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop.  Accompanying the main list are three sub lists; these are the 400m Sub-Fours, 390m Sub-Fours and 390m Double Sub-Fours.  With their criteria detailed in the Change Registers which are linked in the above titles.

The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and the posts that have appeared on Mapping Mountains detailing the additions, reclassifications and deletions to the main P30 list and the sub lists appear below presented chronologically in receding order.

Postscript:  On the 10^th July 2024 the final group of hills in the updated version of this list were published on the Mapping Mountains site.  It was also announced that the sub hills accompanying the main listing of The Fours – The 400m Hills of England now take in just one category, this category is entitled the Sub-Fours. 

Therefore, the 390m Sub-Fours and 390m Double Sub-Fours have been dispensed with and the criteria for the 400m Sub-Fours that included English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 20m and more and below 30m of drop, have been amended to include English hills at and above 400m and below 500m in height that have 15m and more and below 30m of drop and their title changed to the Sub-Fours.

Mapping Mountains - Hill Reclassifications - The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

Brand Side (SK 041 687) – Sub-Four exclusion (107th reclassification)

Significant Name Changes post for Brand Side

There has been an exclusion from the listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Brand Side (SK 041 687)

The criteria for the list that this exclusion applies to are:

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England - English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list is a sub list entitled the Sub-Fours, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 15m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is available to download in Google Doc format from the Mapping Mountains site.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The name the hill is now listed by is Brand Side, and this was derived from the Ordnance Survey series of Six-Inch maps, and it is adjoined to the Axe Edge group of hills, which are situated in the Peak District, and it is positioned with minor roads to its north, west and east, and the A53 road farther to its west, and has the town of Buxton towards the north north-east.

When the Introduction to the first group of hills for the updated and revised listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was published by Mapping Mountains on the 10^th September 2022, it was announced that the accompanying sub lists were being revised with the two 390m categories dispensed with and the criteria and name of the 400m Sub-Fours revised.  The one accompanying sub list is now named the Sub-Fours with its criteria being all English hills 400m and above and below 500m in height that have 15m and more and below 30m of drop.

Prior to this revision this hill was listed with an estimated c 15m of drop, based on the 448m summit spot height that appears on the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map and an estimated c 433m col height, based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 430m – 435m. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the exclusion of this hill from Sub-Four status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 447.7m summit height and a 433.4m col height, with these values giving this hill 14.3m of drop, which is insufficient for it to be classified as a Sub-Four. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Axe Edge

Name:  Brand Side

OS 1:50,000 map:  119

Summit Height:  447.7m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SK 04171 68737 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  433.4m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SK 03870 69471 (LIDAR)

Drop:  14.3m (LIDAR)

 

For the additions, deletions and reclassifications to The Fours – The 400m Hills of England reported on Mapping Mountains since the December 2013 publication of the 1^st edition of this list by Europeaklist please consult the following Change Registers:

 

The Fours

 

Sub-Fours 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (December 2025)

Mapping Mountains - Hill Reclassifications - The Fours - The 400m Hills of England

Eldon Hill Quarries (SK 115 815) – Sub-Four addition (106th reclassification)

Significant Height Revisions post for Eldon Hill Quarries

There has been an addition to the listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England, with the summit height, col height and their locations, the drop and status of the hill derived from LIDAR analysis conducted by Myrddyn Phillips. 

LIDAR image of Eldon Hill Quarries (SK 115 815)

The criteria for the list that this addition applies to are:

The Fours – The 400m Hills of England - English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 30m minimum drop, accompanying the main list is a sub list entitled the Sub-Fours, the criteria for which are all English hills at or above 400m and below 500m in height that have 15m or more and below 30m of drop.  The list is co-authored by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams and is available to download in Google Doc format from the Mapping Mountains site.

The Fours - The 400m Hills of England by Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams

The name the hill is listed by is Eldon Hill Quarries, and it is adjoined to the Kinder Scout group of hills, which are situated in the Peak District, and it is positioned with a minor road to its north-west and the A623 road to its south, and has the town of Chapel-en-le-Frith towards the west.

When the Introduction to the first group of hills for the updated and revised listing of the The Fours – The 400m Hills of England was published by Mapping Mountains on the 10^th September 2022, it was announced that the accompanying sub lists were being revised with the two 390m categories dispensed with and the criteria and name of the 400m Sub-Fours revised.  The one accompanying sub list is now named the Sub-Fours with its criteria being all English hills 400m and above and below 500m in height that have 15m and more and below 30m of drop. 

Extract from the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer map

Prior to this revision this hill was not listed, with subsequent interpolation giving it an estimated c 16m of drop, based on the 413m summit spot height that appears on the DataMapWales and an estimated c 397m col height, based on interpolation of 5m contouring between 395m – 400m. 

Extract from the DataMapWales

However, it was not until LIDAR became available that the details for this hill could be accurately re-assessed.  The LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) technique produced highly accurate height data that is now freely available for much of England and Wales.

Therefore, the addition of this hill to Sub-Four status is due to LIDAR analysis, resulting in a 415.9m summit height and a 396.7m col height, with these values giving this hill 19.1m of drop, which is sufficient for it to be classified as a Sub-Four. 

 

The full details for the hill are:

Group:  Kinder Scout

Name:  Eldon Hill Quarries

OS 1:50,000 map:  110

Summit Height:  415.9m (LIDAR)

Summit Grid Reference:  SK 11562 81552 (LIDAR)

Col Height:  396.7m (LIDAR)

Col Grid Reference:  SK 11624 81555 (LIDAR)

Drop:  19.1m (LIDAR)

 

For the additions, deletions and reclassifications to The Fours – The 400m Hills of England reported on Mapping Mountains since the December 2013 publication of the 1^st edition of this list by Europeaklist please consult the following Change Registers:

 

The Fours

 

Sub-Fours

 

Myrddyn Phillips and Aled Williams (December 2025)