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It's probably been done before but I can't find the topic by using "search", so;-
What is the U.K.'s most frequently ascended summit?
My guess would be the Wrekin.
What is the U.K.'s most frequently ascended summit?
My guess would be the Wrekin.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Shap Summit on the M6 ? you might have to narrow the criterium down a bit
Shap Summit on the M6 ? you might have to narrow the criterium down a bit
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I'd have thought there were plenty of other little local summits that probably see more traffic than the wrekin (my ma in law lives in Wellington- I've been up this hill a LOT!) - Malverns for a start - probably depends more on local population density
So what's your criteria- more than 250/ 500m? Distance from other distinct summits?
I'd have thought there were plenty of other little local summits that probably see more traffic than the wrekin (my ma in law lives in Wellington- I've been up this hill a LOT!) - Malverns for a start - probably depends more on local population density
So what's your criteria- more than 250/ 500m? Distance from other distinct summits?
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Pen y Fan has a constant stream of people heading up from Pont ar Daf/Storey Arms
Pen y Fan has a constant stream of people heading up from Pont ar Daf/Storey Arms
In reply to spearing05:
I would think Snowdon is stil a contender even if you discount train passengers. Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis must be up there too. Of more minor summits, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh seems to have someone on the top almost every time I look.
I would think Snowdon is stil a contender even if you discount train passengers. Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis must be up there too. Of more minor summits, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh seems to have someone on the top almost every time I look.
In reply to toad:
Better make it Marilyns and upwards or the Wrekin won't get in!
I only chose The Wrekin because last year on my first and only visit I was staggered at the volume of traffic on a September Saturday. People were arriving at the summit at the rate of 5 or 6 a minute which I thought was a lot, considering it wasn't some sort of sponsored walk
Better make it Marilyns and upwards or the Wrekin won't get in!
I only chose The Wrekin because last year on my first and only visit I was staggered at the volume of traffic on a September Saturday. People were arriving at the summit at the rate of 5 or 6 a minute which I thought was a lot, considering it wasn't some sort of sponsored walk
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Don't know the Wrekin but would say Snowdon as well. If nothing else it is the most popular summit amongst people wearing Crocs.
Otherwise my mom, according to some people I don't really know.
Don't know the Wrekin but would say Snowdon as well. If nothing else it is the most popular summit amongst people wearing Crocs.
Otherwise my mom, according to some people I don't really know.
In reply to spearing05:
There may be a constant stream of people but I don't think it's anything like the volume of people you get walking up Snowdon on a Saturday. I think for Wales, it is inarguably Snowdon, as for the rest of the UK I'm not too sure.
> (In reply to Tom V)
> Pen y Fan has a constant stream of people heading up from Pont ar Daf/Storey Arms
> Pen y Fan has a constant stream of people heading up from Pont ar Daf/Storey Arms
There may be a constant stream of people but I don't think it's anything like the volume of people you get walking up Snowdon on a Saturday. I think for Wales, it is inarguably Snowdon, as for the rest of the UK I'm not too sure.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I think that any summit on the Pennine Way will easily beat that (300 people/hour); Kinder Scout, Pen-y-Ghent or maybe even Mam Tor (not on PW, but hey). I think I have seen 500 people/hour* on PyG, probably 300/hour* on KS on a rainy day. And more than that on Snowdon.
* Numbers come directly from my hat
> People were arriving at the summit at the rate of 5 or 6 a minute
I think that any summit on the Pennine Way will easily beat that (300 people/hour); Kinder Scout, Pen-y-Ghent or maybe even Mam Tor (not on PW, but hey). I think I have seen 500 people/hour* on PyG, probably 300/hour* on KS on a rainy day. And more than that on Snowdon.
* Numbers come directly from my hat
In reply to GrahamD:
Or Latrigg (you can push a buggy to the top of that one)
> I would have thought Cat Bells was the Lakes' most frequented summit.
Or Latrigg (you can push a buggy to the top of that one)
In reply to drolex:
Extrapolating a bit, that makes around 2.6 million people a year (because people are walking the same in winter as in July, of course), 78 million in 30 years. So every one aged 30 or more, including myself, must have climbed the Wrekin at least once.
(Yeah yeah I know this is stupid)
Extrapolating a bit, that makes around 2.6 million people a year (because people are walking the same in winter as in July, of course), 78 million in 30 years. So every one aged 30 or more, including myself, must have climbed the Wrekin at least once.
(Yeah yeah I know this is stupid)
In reply to GrahamD:
>> Seconded
> I would have thought Cat Bells was the Lakes' most frequented summit.
>> Seconded
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I'd have thought Arthur's Seat would be even busier than the Wrekin (although I was up the Wrekin in the dark a couple of times in early 2012 and it was still heaving then).
I'd have thought Arthur's Seat would be even busier than the Wrekin (although I was up the Wrekin in the dark a couple of times in early 2012 and it was still heaving then).
In reply to malky_c:
Having lived at the bottom of the Wrekin, Snowdon, Mam Tor & Arthur's Seat at various times I reckon the order would be Arthur/Mam/Snowdon/Wrekin. I did some surveys on Snowdon in the early 80's and reckoned around 300,000 a year got to the top (about 80,000 on the railway)- there were over 1000 on the Pig Track some days.
Having lived at the bottom of the Wrekin, Snowdon, Mam Tor & Arthur's Seat at various times I reckon the order would be Arthur/Mam/Snowdon/Wrekin. I did some surveys on Snowdon in the early 80's and reckoned around 300,000 a year got to the top (about 80,000 on the railway)- there were over 1000 on the Pig Track some days.
In reply to drolex:
I can tell you directly from my hat that Black Hill, the summit I am most familiar with and an unavoidable part of the PW, does not get 300 an hour even on the most glorious of days.
Of course, one factor could be that (in spite of what it says on Viewfinderpanorama) you can't actually see much from the summit.
I can tell you directly from my hat that Black Hill, the summit I am most familiar with and an unavoidable part of the PW, does not get 300 an hour even on the most glorious of days.
Of course, one factor could be that (in spite of what it says on Viewfinderpanorama) you can't actually see much from the summit.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Have just seen this and I'd agree with Mark, Malky and Iain that Arthur's Seat is a very strong contender - whenever I'm in Embra in clear weather it always seems to be hoaching. Quite aside from tourists and dogwalkers there are a fair number of people who either walk or run up it during their lunchbreak on a regular basis, as a kind of high-quality uphill constitutional.
More generally, another factor that perhaps ought to be considered is whether or not people actually go to the top. In the case of at least two very popular larger hills - Helvellyn and the Cobbler - a lot of people don't go to the top, so there'll be quite a large difference between the actual summit figure and that for the summit area.
Have just seen this and I'd agree with Mark, Malky and Iain that Arthur's Seat is a very strong contender - whenever I'm in Embra in clear weather it always seems to be hoaching. Quite aside from tourists and dogwalkers there are a fair number of people who either walk or run up it during their lunchbreak on a regular basis, as a kind of high-quality uphill constitutional.
More generally, another factor that perhaps ought to be considered is whether or not people actually go to the top. In the case of at least two very popular larger hills - Helvellyn and the Cobbler - a lot of people don't go to the top, so there'll be quite a large difference between the actual summit figure and that for the summit area.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
catbells is a good contender i'd have thought but as noted above, i think there needs to be a few more parameters.
catbells is a good contender i'd have thought but as noted above, i think there needs to be a few more parameters.
In reply to Dave Hewitt:
As is Conic hill, as it is on the West Highland Way,( or at least the path is very short distance from the top, I guess a good number take in the summit. )
And of course, Ben Lomond the most Southerly Munro and many of the baggers coming North will do that early on.
Both are also close to Glasgow, but probably AS will win on the tourist count.
> Have just seen this and I'd agree with Mark, Malky and Iain that Arthur's Seat is a very strong contender -
As is Conic hill, as it is on the West Highland Way,( or at least the path is very short distance from the top, I guess a good number take in the summit. )
And of course, Ben Lomond the most Southerly Munro and many of the baggers coming North will do that early on.
Both are also close to Glasgow, but probably AS will win on the tourist count.
In reply to drolex:
Very few people indeed ever go to the actual summit of Kinder Scout, most just skirt around the edge of the plateau.
> I think that any summit on the Pennine Way will easily beat that (300 people/hour); Kinder Scout, .... >
Very few people indeed ever go to the actual summit of Kinder Scout, most just skirt around the edge of the plateau.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I would've thought Cat Bells and if not Snowdon. Never been up Cat Bells myself but i'm often in Keswick and it always looks chocka. Whenever you talk to people in the pubs they've always been up there earlier on.
I would've thought Cat Bells and if not Snowdon. Never been up Cat Bells myself but i'm often in Keswick and it always looks chocka. Whenever you talk to people in the pubs they've always been up there earlier on.
In reply to nedmoran:
I think Scafell Pike must be up there for the Lakes. I have been up Cat Bells a couple of times with hardly anyone there, but I have never been up Scafell Pike without a coach party up there (and many times have seen the same from a distance).
I think Scafell Pike must be up there for the Lakes. I have been up Cat Bells a couple of times with hardly anyone there, but I have never been up Scafell Pike without a coach party up there (and many times have seen the same from a distance).
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I imagine it'd be hard to come up with a definitive answer as there's no reliable standard way to measure numbers of ascents. But if we're making guesses then I bet it's a close race between:
Cat Bells
Scafell Pike
Snowdon
Ben Nevis
Arthur's Seat
I imagine it'd be hard to come up with a definitive answer as there's no reliable standard way to measure numbers of ascents. But if we're making guesses then I bet it's a close race between:
Cat Bells
Scafell Pike
Snowdon
Ben Nevis
Arthur's Seat
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Recent estimates from the National Park are 400,000 going up Snowdon on foot.... highest in Wales, café to aim for, major paths from all directions and popular in winter too.
In the Lakes, I suspect Cat Bells ranks highly.
Elsewhere, some pimples on the Downs probably get loads. Box Hill?
Recent estimates from the National Park are 400,000 going up Snowdon on foot.... highest in Wales, café to aim for, major paths from all directions and popular in winter too.
In the Lakes, I suspect Cat Bells ranks highly.
Elsewhere, some pimples on the Downs probably get loads. Box Hill?
In reply to nedmoran:
On a par with that, if you ever talk to tourists in a pub in Fort William, the usual line is "we were going to go up Ben Nevis, but it looked a bit cloudy so we went up Cow Hill instead"
On a par with that, if you ever talk to tourists in a pub in Fort William, the usual line is "we were going to go up Ben Nevis, but it looked a bit cloudy so we went up Cow Hill instead"
In reply to Tom Valentine:
From Snowdon-Active .....If so, the recently compiled Snowdonia National Park 2011 visitor figures should help you. The quietest route turned out to be the Snowdon Ranger Path with 12186 walkers, while Mondays saw the fewest walkers on the mountain with 42182 pairs of boots on that day over the whole year.
The Llanberis Path is the most popular (124745) and unsurprisingly, being at the height of the school and summer holidays, August is the busiest month as 71056 people were drawn to Snowdon's slopes.
The total footfall figure (one-way) on Snowdon's main paths for 2011 was 404188 walkers - these figures don't include train passengers. This is a 6% decrease on 2010's total of 430258.
From Snowdon-Active .....If so, the recently compiled Snowdonia National Park 2011 visitor figures should help you. The quietest route turned out to be the Snowdon Ranger Path with 12186 walkers, while Mondays saw the fewest walkers on the mountain with 42182 pairs of boots on that day over the whole year.
The Llanberis Path is the most popular (124745) and unsurprisingly, being at the height of the school and summer holidays, August is the busiest month as 71056 people were drawn to Snowdon's slopes.
The total footfall figure (one-way) on Snowdon's main paths for 2011 was 404188 walkers - these figures don't include train passengers. This is a 6% decrease on 2010's total of 430258.
Post edited at 18:44
In reply to Tom Valentine:
From Hill-Bagging - top 20 - http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/
Small sample and probably more representative of folks who seek out the hills so may not include casual walkers or tourists who summit a listed peak occasionally.
Pos. Hill name Number
of logs
1 Helvellyn 1079
2 Scafell Pike 1071
3 Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa 1041
4 Skiddaw 903
5 The Old Man of Coniston [Coniston Old Man] 875
6 Blencathra - Hallsfell Top 842
7 Fairfield 803
8 Catbells 775
9 High Street 729
10 Harrison Stickle715
10 Hart Crag 715
12 Dove Crag 707
13 Great Gable 705
14 Great Rigg 682
15 Pavey Ark 677
16 Skiddaw Little Man 666
17 Heron Pike (Rydal) 662
17 Pike of Stickle 662
19 Nethermost Pike 654
20 Dale Head 651
From Hill-Bagging - top 20 - http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/
Small sample and probably more representative of folks who seek out the hills so may not include casual walkers or tourists who summit a listed peak occasionally.
Pos. Hill name Number
of logs
1 Helvellyn 1079
2 Scafell Pike 1071
3 Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa 1041
4 Skiddaw 903
5 The Old Man of Coniston [Coniston Old Man] 875
6 Blencathra - Hallsfell Top 842
7 Fairfield 803
8 Catbells 775
9 High Street 729
10 Harrison Stickle715
10 Hart Crag 715
12 Dove Crag 707
13 Great Gable 705
14 Great Rigg 682
15 Pavey Ark 677
16 Skiddaw Little Man 666
17 Heron Pike (Rydal) 662
17 Pike of Stickle 662
19 Nethermost Pike 654
20 Dale Head 651
In reply to Tom Valentine:
The bottom 20 as posted by folks on Hill Bagging.
2440 Telegraph Hill 2
2440 Toller Down 2
2482 Bryn Brawd 1
2482 Bryn Du 1
2482 Cefn Uchaf 1
2482 Cerrig Gwynion 1
2482 Cnapyn Melyn [Pen Rhiwbie] 1
2482 Darren 1
2482 Erin Crag 1
2482 Esgair Ambor 1
2482 Esgair Cerrig 1
2482 Esgair Fawr 1
2482 Esgair Fraith 1
2482 Fan 1
2482 Gamallt 1
2482 Garn Gron East Top 1
2482 Grongaer 1
2482 Hare Law 1
2482 Mawnog 1
2482 Rusland Heights 1
The bottom 20 as posted by folks on Hill Bagging.
2440 Telegraph Hill 2
2440 Toller Down 2
2482 Bryn Brawd 1
2482 Bryn Du 1
2482 Cefn Uchaf 1
2482 Cerrig Gwynion 1
2482 Cnapyn Melyn [Pen Rhiwbie] 1
2482 Darren 1
2482 Erin Crag 1
2482 Esgair Ambor 1
2482 Esgair Cerrig 1
2482 Esgair Fawr 1
2482 Esgair Fraith 1
2482 Fan 1
2482 Gamallt 1
2482 Garn Gron East Top 1
2482 Grongaer 1
2482 Hare Law 1
2482 Mawnog 1
2482 Rusland Heights 1
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Wainwright in his classic guides estimated Helvellyn to be the most popular. And who are we to argue with the great man? Albeit that his guess is over 50 years old. Your statistics back him up after all. It's certainly the easiest 3000 footer in the Lakes, both in terms of access and effort (from Thirlmere, anyway).
Wainwright in his classic guides estimated Helvellyn to be the most popular. And who are we to argue with the great man? Albeit that his guess is over 50 years old. Your statistics back him up after all. It's certainly the easiest 3000 footer in the Lakes, both in terms of access and effort (from Thirlmere, anyway).
In reply to Tom Valentine:
I'd be amazed if it wasn't Snowdon; Ben Nevis is much harder and rainier. I've no experience of Helvellyn, though, bar a couple of visits while doing the Lakes 3000s, when it didn't seem anything like comparably busy. By contrast Snowdon's normally pretty rammed at 6 am in my experience.
jcm
I'd be amazed if it wasn't Snowdon; Ben Nevis is much harder and rainier. I've no experience of Helvellyn, though, bar a couple of visits while doing the Lakes 3000s, when it didn't seem anything like comparably busy. By contrast Snowdon's normally pretty rammed at 6 am in my experience.
jcm
In reply to johncoxmysteriously:
As mentioned before, the NP reckon 400,000 a year for the Snowdon paths (not all reach the top though, especially on the Miners Track). A survey a few years ago estimated 300,000 for the Helvellyn paths (again, not all to the top). I still reckon Arthur's Seat would top either of them though. Mam Tor has days with several thousand but probably doesn't catch the previous three.
As mentioned before, the NP reckon 400,000 a year for the Snowdon paths (not all reach the top though, especially on the Miners Track). A survey a few years ago estimated 300,000 for the Helvellyn paths (again, not all to the top). I still reckon Arthur's Seat would top either of them though. Mam Tor has days with several thousand but probably doesn't catch the previous three.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
Definitely. You can get to the top in under an hour's brisk walk on a pleasant path, far preferable to the Skiddaw slog. IMO of course.
> Easier than Skiddaw from the Latrigg car park?
Definitely. You can get to the top in under an hour's brisk walk on a pleasant path, far preferable to the Skiddaw slog. IMO of course.
In reply to BnB:
Subjectively, if you think it's easier then it's easier.
I'm sure the map will show that there's more ascent involved in Helvellyn.
Subjectively, if you think it's easier then it's easier.
I'm sure the map will show that there's more ascent involved in Helvellyn.
In reply to Tom Valentine:
There are quite a few more main routes up Helvellyn than there are up Skiddaw, so the numbers are likely to mount up that way. The edges, from Dunmail via Dollywaggon, from Wythburn, from Swirls, all pretty busy whenever I've been on any of them - compared with the busy main path on Skiddaw, the middling-busy Ullock Pike side and the pretty quiet Bakestall approaches.
> Easier than Skiddaw from the Latrigg car park?
There are quite a few more main routes up Helvellyn than there are up Skiddaw, so the numbers are likely to mount up that way. The edges, from Dunmail via Dollywaggon, from Wythburn, from Swirls, all pretty busy whenever I've been on any of them - compared with the busy main path on Skiddaw, the middling-busy Ullock Pike side and the pretty quiet Bakestall approaches.
In reply to Dave Hewitt:
I wasn't querying the number of routes up Helvellyn or the number of people that use them; I just think that Skiddaw from Latrigg is the 3000-er which involves the least amount of effort.
I wasn't querying the number of routes up Helvellyn or the number of people that use them; I just think that Skiddaw from Latrigg is the 3000-er which involves the least amount of effort.
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