JOHN and ANNE NUTTALL

PREVIOUS NEWS ITEMS
December 2001 Pillar Rock
Mike Baker wrote to say he had forgotten about Pillar Rock when claiming the ascent of all the 2000ers and asks to be removed from the list. How honest! But then the LDWA permits claims excluding Pillar Rock. It seems a shame to strike out his name, so we are leaving him on and hope to hear soon that he has had an excellent day out.
November 2001 Photographic library
Photographic library added to this website.
May 2001 Peak District CD
The July issue of Computer Shopper has a sample version of our new multimedia CD The Peak District on the cover disc.
May 2001 Derbyshire has re-opened 90% of its footpaths
Great to be back in the Peak District now that Derbyshire has re-opened 90% of its footpaths. Some summits in North Wales are open and even the Lake District should have summits available by June.
April 2001 Where to go
Where to go during the Foot and Mouth outbreak - The Countryside Agency has a useful map showing who's responsible for each area, with links to the relevant local websites - www.countryside.gov.uk See also our weekly column every Saturday in The Manchester Evening News for short walks in the north west.
February 2001 Moel Hebog
Parking for the ascent of Moel Hebog, as described in Volume 1, is no longer permitted at the Beddgelert Forest campsite. A notice at the entrance directs you 400m up the road, but although we squeezed onto a forest road verge (a lot more than 400m away) we couldn't find any other indication anywhere of a car park. It may well be better now to start from Beddgelert.
February 2001 Another completer
Aled Owen writes to say that he completed the ascent of all 432 tops from the old list way back in May 1993. His name has been duly added to the list.
July 2000 Iron Crag
Nigel & Veronica White write with an update on Iron Crag. The wall running north from Caw Fell has been rebuilt from the col and is now higher than normal and topped with a barbed wire fence ("quite unlike any other wall I have seen in Lakeland"). Thus to reach the summit cairn of Iron Crag it is necessary to continue along the west side of the wall until a small gate is reached where the bridleway crosses (although this appears to be further north than indicated on the OS Map). There is a cairn to the east of the gate, which is obviously lower than the summit. To reach the summit, if following walk 3.4, a double out and back each side of the wall is required.
June 2000 Great Dun Fell
Ross Lockley writes with some notes on access to Great Dun Fell. There are 2 signs saying "private road - no unauthorised vehicles beyond this point" on the radar service road north of Knock village. Access is discouraged north of the quarry entrance at 685288. The locked gate has been moved from the entrance to the Silverband Mine track. It is now located where the Pennine Way leaves the road towards Dunfell Hush at 717316. There is no access through the grounds of the radar station -walkers are diverted round the northern perimeter of the station fence.
May 2000 Flinty Fell / Nenthead
The mine ruins in Nenthead have been opened as a heritage site. You can still get through the site on footpaths, but there is a lot of work going on to preserve the industrial archaeology.
May 2000 Lakeland Two Thousanders
Tom Bowker has written an interesting article in the April issue of the magazine Cumbria about completing all the Lakeland Two Thousanders.
April 2000 New edition of Wales now available
There seem to be rumours that we keep adding yet another Welsh top just to give everyone something to do. Not so! All new tops proposed for inclusion have been visited and surveyed by us, the revision of our original list is now complete and the second edition of Wales is due shortly. January 2000 Lake District CD
Computer Shopper magazine (January issue) has a sample of our CD "The Lake District" and an article on its development.
November 1999 New edition of Wales
We have just received the proofs for the new edition of Volume 1 Wales. It is to be published in January. All new tops are included as well as major changes such as missing trig points.
Oct 1999 Waun Garnedd-y-Filiast
After checking Waun Garnedd-y-Filiast again we agree with Myrddyn Phillips, Dewi Jones and Harold that it should be included. This brings the new total of Welsh tops to seven.
September 1999 Napes Needle
Rob Woodall writes to say he has climbed Napes Needle and, by a process of trigonometry using a rope, concludes it rises by only 44 ft. September 1999 Access page added to website
New page "Access" added to site giving details of the Tir Cymen scheme, which has improved access on the Arans and elsewhere.
September 1999 New top
Another new top has been verified, bringing the total new tops to six. Several more proposed new tops have also been surveyed and ruled out, but two more remain to be visited. This flurry of activity is because Cicerone Press has agreed to a revised version of Volume 2 of The Mountains of England and Wales.
September 1999 New top in Wales
A fifth new top in Wales and another has moved! (See Notes page)
August 1999 Two Thousanders wall chart
In case anybody has missed it there is a wall chart of all the two thousanders in England and Wales published by Harveys based on our books.
July 1999 Measuring
Alun-Peter Fisher e-mails that due to rounding errors 15m rise tops indicated by OS maps mean that the true rise could be anywhere between 14m & 16m. Referring to Myrddyn's note below he asks "How on earth can they be so sure to the nearest 5mm?! standing on a peaty summit might depress it by that amount or more! You're likely to have a summit that misses out by an inch or two wherever that limit is set".
July 1999 Imperial or metric?
Ed Humphreys, a friend of Myrddyn who finished Wales a year ago, suggests there should actually be two lists, an Imperial and a Metric, so Waun Garnedd-y-filiast goes IN the Metric list but OUT of the Imperial. The Metric List, he says, should be the modern working list, but if you have completed it you will also have completed the earlier Imperial List.
July 1999 15m or 50ft?
Myrddyn Phillips, Dewi Jones and friend Harold plus theodolite have surveyed Waun Garnedd-y-filiast in the Arenigs (GR 875453). The result - after 3 hours hard work - was 15.1295m or 49ft 7.5in. In or out? That is the question. After all there are several tops already in the list by virtue of the OS having allotted them 15m of rise, so how many of these have under 50ft?
June 1999 Ten rounds
Myrddyn Phillips writes to say that when he has climbed Llwytmor he will have completed TEN rounds of the Welsh tops (and this includes all the new tops). Will this record ever be equalled?
June 1999 New owner of Cicerone Press
Cicerone Press now has a new owner, Jonathon Williams. Perhaps this presents an opportunity for a new edition of the Welsh Mountains including the four new tops.
June 1999 Fiends Fell
Chris Crocker reports that when climbing Fiends Fell a farmer told him there were a lot of break-ins to cars parked on the A686 and suggested leaving the car at the Hartside Cross café.
June 1999 Burnhope Seat
Chris Crocker thinks that the trig point and spot height are not at the highest point. He has now completed the English Mountains, finishing with the Old West Route on Pillar Rock.
June 1999 Arans Access
Chris Crocker met a Snowdonia Park Ranger on 2/8/1998 who said there was now unrestricted access on the south and east sides. Eight out of the ten local farms had signed a 10 year access concordat.
May 1999 Napes Needle
Rob Woodall suggests Napes Needle has between 40 and 50ft of reascent and is probably over 2000ft.
April 1999 Pumlumon Cwmbiga
Alun-Peter Fisher writes that the recent Explorer map shows a 620m spot height for Pumlumon Cwmbiga. Myrddyn Phillips also thinks this may be a new top.
April 1999 Black Hill in the Black Mountains
Alun-Peter Fisher suggests it appears to rise by more than the amount shown on the OS map.
March 1999 Chwarel y Fan
Kevan Hubbard tells us that the small forest near the summit has been felled.
January 1999 Y Garn, Rhinogs
Andrew Currie reports that it is now difficult to cross the wall at the top of the National Trust land. Alternative crossing place is at 710231, a short distance after crossing Nant Las.
January 1999 Tarren Hendre
Andrew Currie reports that the "wide gap in the trees" is no longer evident. The path is now on the far edge of the evergreens which have filled the gap.
December 1998 Mickle Fell
Another report (from Kevan Hubbard) that permission to visit the area of Mickle Fell, Little Fell and Murton Fell was refused.
November 1998 Completer
Deborah Seed wrote to say she completed the 2000ers on her 40th birthday, a couple of years ago and celebrated with a cake made by her sister which was decorated with 251 flags each bearing the name of a mountain.
September 1998 What's on top?
Myrddyn Phillips sent a fully comprehensive list of "what now adorns the tops of the Welsh 2000ft mountains". It really deserves a page all to itself.
August 1998 More possible tops?
Dewi Jones is compiling a list of all Welsh 2000ers with 10m of reascent. So far 288 have come to light and this does not include the 181 originals, but does include the four new tops.
May 1998 Calf Top
Ann Bowker has heard a rumour that someone has found a hump on Calf Top (1999ft) which is higher than the trig point!
May 1998 Seven rounds!
Myrddyn Phillips of Welshpool completed his SEVENTH round of all the Welsh tops, celebrating with champagne and strawberries on his new-found top of Foel Meirch. He completed the English tops in August 1995, finishing with Pillar Rock. (He's only done 5 Munros!)
April 1998 New top
Moelwyn Mawr North Ridge Top, in the Moelwyns is the latest addition, found by Myrddyn Phillips. This rises by just 50ft and makes a new total of 185 Welsh tops.
Feb 1998 Castell y Gwynt
A letter in Trail Walker spurred us to re-surveying Castell y Gwynt. Delicate measurement still leaves it with only 49ft of re-ascent.
October 1997 Error
Alun-Peter Fisher wrote to point out the erroneous attribution of Carnedd y Filiast to the Carneddau (It's really in the Glyders). He also queried Castell y Gwynt, Pumlumon Cwmbiga, Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion and insists Pen y Gadair Fawr looks higher than Waun Fach.
September 1997 New top in Wales?
Foel Meirch, in the Carneddau, was proposed by Myrddyn Phillips of Welshpool. It has now been surveyed by us and rises by 53ft so has been added to the list.
September 1997 Craiglwyn
Craiglwyn in the Carneddau was proposed by Dewi Jones, and by several other people. It was omitted originally as the OS map showed insufficient height difference. However having surveyed it ourselves in Oct we agree that it does indeed rise by 68ft and has therefore been added to the list.
May 1997 What is a mountain?
John Perry, from Prestatyn, wrote to Rambling Today commenting that the Concise Oxford Dictionary defined a mountain as a large natural elevation, especially one over a thousand feet high.
February 1997 Windy Gyle
The start and finish point Windy Gyle from Kidland Forest is no longer accessible to vehicles. Robin Griffin of Northampton suggested starting at Barrowburn. (Sadly Robin, the son of Harry Griffin, died in 1998).
September 1996 Trum y Gwrgedd Dewi
Jones of Porthmadog reckons Trum y Gwragedd is the correct spelling of this top, and means Ridge of the Wives. Must be an OS error.
August 1996 Completers
Wales completed by Geoff and Vivien Crowder of Macclesfield. They had 175 of the 181 summits to themselves (including Snowdon!). The Crowders reported that Trail magazine states Castell y Gwynt drops 50ft on every side.
June 1996 Craig Rhiew-erch
Professor Tim Jones, of Liverpool, wrote to say he thinks Craig Rhiew-erch is higher that Maesglase (We have not yet been to check this).
June 1996 Cnicht North Top
Cnicht North Top was proposed by Dewi Jones of Porthmadog when we met him while backpacking on the Brecon Beacons. We subsequently surveyed the top which proved to rise by just over 60ft from the col.
June 1996 All the Welsh 2000ers in one walk
Ann Bowker wrote to say she had completed a solo continuous walk over all the Welsh 2000ers.
May 1996 Burnhope Seat
Chris Crocker, from Frodsham, wrote to say the height of Burnhope Seat is given as 747m on the latest Landranger map (The height 746m in the book is from the 1:10,000 maps which has the latest survey data for spot heights). He also queried Pen on the Scafells, which we surveyed the following July and measured as 10m of ascent.
October 1995 England completion
England completed by Geoff and Vivien Crowder of Macclesfield with an ascent of Pillar Rock. They also pointed out that the Imperial height of Arenig Fawr South Ridge Top should be 2336ft, and Red Screes 2546ft.
June 1995 Great Knoutberry Hill
Clive Wright of Congleton writes to say Great Knoutberry Hill has a new waymarked ascent from the bridleway, beside a new fence, but the descent remains the same.
October 1994 England completion
Jim Beattie, from Brampton, wrote to say he had completed all the English tops, bar Pillar Rock.
July 1993 Mickle Fell
Jim Beattie of Brampton writes that there is now a proceedure for visiting the summit of Mickle Fell, but there is still no public access to the Warcop Training Area. April 1993 Foel Gron
Derek Buckle of Montford Bridge writes to say that he was stopped by a pleasant farmer who told him that the ascent of Foel Gron must be via Foel Goch to remain on the Access Land.
August 1992 Foel Cwm Sian Llwyd
David Truslove of Winchester reports that the ruined cottage at the start of the path to Foel Cwm Sian Llwyd is no more. July 1992 Cross Fell Access
D B Fieldhouse of Grange Over Sands was asked not to park on the private road to Great Dun Fell, but at the end of the public road, thus adding 5 miles to the walk. When we wrote the book we were told there was no local objection to parking there.
April 1990 Garreg Lwyd
Geraint Owen of Swansea wrote to point out that the summit of Garreg Lwyd is quartzite, not limestone. We hope to get this put right in future editions.
© John and Anne Nuttall 2003