EASY AND AMAZING
Six more little hills with views out of all proportion to the effort…
SHUTLINGSLOE, Cheshire
This distinctive flat-topped hill guards the far western edge of the Peak District. It’s sometimes known as ‘Cheshire’s Matterhorn’ if seen from the north, but from most other angles its summit is reminiscent of that Yorkshire giant, Ingleborough. Ascents aplenty, but for the best walk, strike out from the remote valley of Wildboarclough and head up via the pleasingly named hamlet of Bottom-of-the-Oven, through the pines of Macclesfield Forest and across the moors to Shutlingsloe to soak up some truly epic views from its modest 1660ft summit.
WALK HERE: Download Shutlingsloe at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
BANAVIE HILL, Highland
As a rule, the Highlands don’t really do little hills, but here’s one that hides in plain sight. Hovering above the flight of locks known as Neptune’s Staircase near Fort William, Banavie Hill (or Meall Bhanbhaidh) is the one nobody sees because they’re all looking the other way, at Ben Nevis. But not only is Banavie Hill a gentle climb over grassy slopes to a 1072ft summit, but it also offers a far better view of the big Ben than almost any viewpoint around. (For context, Ben Nevis is more than four times its height.) The return route along the Caledonian Canal is divine.
WALK HERE: Download Banavie Hill at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
CRIMPIAU, Snowdonia
One of the best viewpoints in Snowdonia – and reached with a fraction of the effort required to climb the famous giants you’ll be staring at. Rising 1560ft above Capel Curig, Crimpiau sits at the junction of the Ogwen and Mymbyr valleys, offering a staggering panorama of superstars including Moel Siabod, Tryfan, the Glyderau, the Carneddau and Snowdon itself. Don’t forget to spin round to check out the much quieter Crafnant valley; a reminder than Snowdonia isn’t all about wall-to-wall rugged savagery.
WALK HERE: Download Crimpiau at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
ARNSIDE KNOTT, Cumbria Sometimes billed as the Lake District’s little brother, Arnside Knott (522ft) is a sweet little limestone dome separated from the Lakes by the estuary of the River Kent, on the edge of Morecambe Bay. The gentle paths are secluded in woodland for most of the way up, but at the top, an immense view opens out over the bay and across to the southern fells of the Lakes, particularly the Old Man of Coniston and its neighbours.
WALK HERE: Download Arnside Knott at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes
ROSEBERRY TOPPING,
Cleveland Hills
Perhaps the flagship for the Little Hills fleet, Roseberry (1050ft) is a little diamond. It was almost a perfect cone until 1912, when over-mining caused its sandstone cap to collapse, turning it into the distinctive micro-Matterhorn that hovers over Great Ayton and Teesside today. Climbable in 45 minutes from Newton under Roseberry, it’s the perfect starter mountain, and a lovely evening climb too. In fact it’s so popular, it even has its own little spur of the Cleveland Way, whose main route passes just to the east of the peak.
WALK HERE: See Walk 27 in this issue.
ST MARTHA’S HILL, Surrey
A little bit of Tuscany in the North Downs? St Martha’s Hill is really special: a steep-sided, woody-fringed hill rising above the village of Chilworth and topped by a tiny church which can only be accessed on foot. This is classic pilgrimage country; the summit is crossed by both the North Downs Way and the much older Pilgrims’ Way which gave rise to it. The hill’s name either refers to Martha, sister of Biblical Lazarus, or may be a corruption of ‘saints and martyrs’ hill’, which suits the holy heritage of the area. It’s a short, sharp pull to the top (especially if you take the direct path from Chilworth), but the view from the graveyard at the summit is just magnificent.
WALK HERE: Download Newlands Corner at walk1000miles.co.uk/bonusroutes