County Tops and Unitary Authorities

Unlike hill lists such as the Marilyns and Nuttalls the County Tops are not measured by minimum height or relative height, instead they are simply the highest point in a man made geographical area. Thus while a county top is often a recognised summit it can also be merely a corner of a boundary fence on the slope of a hill. An example of the latter is Cheeks Hill, the long standing county top of Staffordshire.

There are in effect three different county top lists, each of which is given below. The first list are the so-called 'Historic County Tops'. These are the long standing counties prior to the 1974 adminsitrative changes.

The next list is based on the 1974 administrative changes that saw the creation of metropolitan counties such as Greater Manchester. At the same time the old North, West and East Ridings of Yorkshire were replaced by the very different Humberside, North, South and West Yorkshire. In the late 1990's the more suburban counties were sub-divided into Unitary Authorities - the third list below.

While the county top status of mountains such as Kinder Scout and The Cheviot has remained consistent throughout these changes others have fallen off the list altogether while others have changed their allegiance. For example, prior to 1974 Black Hill was the historic county top of Cheshire, after 1974 it became the county top of the newly created West Yorkshire. More recently it is the county top of the much more prosaic Kirklees Unitary Authority.

There is no denying that the historical county top list is probably more appealing for the peak bagger than the current county and UA list. One of the reasons I am so looking forward to one day climbing Mickle Fell is because it is the 'true' summit of Yorkshire even if it does now reside in County Durham.

The lists below only show the counties and unitary authorities that impinge on the Pennines. For a full list of English, Welsh and Scottish county tops go to the Database of British Hills website.

Cheviot and Pennine County Tops completed: 32 / 38 = 84.21%