If bagging all of the UK Historic and Present-Day County tops plus the Unitary Authorities isn’t enough for you, there’s also the high points of the National Parks, National Landscapes (AONBs) and National Scenic Areas (NSAs).
Contact me if you spot any mistakes and I’ll donate £1 to one of my supported causes for each correction made.
UK National Parks High Points
Of the 15 UK National Parks 10 have a high point that is also an Historic County Top. One other, Whernside is the high point of the Ceremonial County of North Yorkshire and was the high point of the Administrative County of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The highest National Park Peak that’s not also a County Top is Ben More (not to be confused with Ben More Assynt) in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Cairngorms National Park (Scotland): Ben Macdui (1,309 metres).
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (Scotland): Ben More (1,174 metres).
Snowdonia National Park (Wales): Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa (1085 metres).
Lake District National Park (England): Scafell Pike (978 metres).
Brecon Beacons National Park (Wales): Pen y Fan (886 metres).
Northumberland National Park (England): The Cheviot (815 metres).
Yorkshire Dales National Park (England): Whernside (736 metres).
Peak District National Park (England): Kinder Scout (636 metres).
Dartmoor National Park (England): High Willhays (621 metres).
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (Wales): Foel Cwmcerwyn (536 metres).
Exmoor National Park (England): Dunkery Beacon (519 metres).
North York Moors National Park (England): Urra Moor - Round Hill (454 metres).
South Downs National Park (England): Black Down (280 metres).
New Forest National Park (England): Pipers Wait (129 metres) or Telegraph Hill (127 metres).
The Broads National Park (England): Strumpshaw Hill - South Slope (40 metres).
England, Wales and Northern Ireland National Landscapes High Points
National Parks and National Landscapes are both protected areas in the United Kingdom, but they have different designations and management structures. National Parks are designated by the UK government for their outstanding natural beauty, cultural heritage and recreational opportunities. They are managed by National Park Authorities and have specific planning policies to protect their landscapes and wildlife. On the other hand, National Landscapes are also designated by the government for their outstanding natural beauty but are managed by local authorities and partnerships. They have different planning policies compared to National Parks. National Parks tend to be more remote and wilder, while National Landscapes are often found close to populated areas and include cultural heritage and agricultural landscapes. Both National Parks and National Landscapes are intended to be enjoyed and appreciated by the public but the management, planning policies, and protection of the areas can differ.
National Landscapes were previously called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) until On 22 November 2023.
There are 46 National Landscapes in the UK of which 16 are the county tops of the Historic Counties that they are in. St Boniface Down is the high point of both the Ceremonial County of the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Wight National Landscape.
There were 2 National Landscapes that I couldn’t find a high point for when researching this: Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Landscape and Lagan Valley National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Let me know if you know what these high points are and I can update the list.
North Pennines National Landscape (England). Cross Fell (893m).
Mourne Mountains National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Slieve Donard (850m).
Nidderdale National Landscape (England). Great Whernside (704m).
Sperrins National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Sawel Mountain (678m).
Ring of Gullion National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Slieve Gullion (576m).
Forest of Bowland National Landscape (England). Ward's Stone (561m).
Llŷn Peninsula National Landscape (Wales). Yr Eifl (561m).
Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape (Wales). Moel Famau (555m).
Antrim Coast and Glens National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Trostan (550m).
Shropshire Hills National Landscape (England). Brown Clee Hill (540m).
Malvern Hills National Landscape (England). Worcestershire Beacon (425m).
Cornwall National Landscape (England). Brown Willy (420m).
Binevenagh National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Binevenagh (385m).
Tamar Valley National Landscape (England). Kit Hill (334m).
Cotswolds National Landscape (England). Cleeve Common (330m).
Mendip Hills National Landscape (England). Beacon Batch (325m).
Blackdown Hills National Landscape (England). Staple Hill (315m).
Wye Valley National Landscape (England / Wales). Trellech Beacon (313m).
North Wessex Downs National Landscape (England). Walbury Hill (297m).
Surrey Hills National Landscape (England). Leith Hill (294m).
Dorset National Landscape (England). Lewesdon Hill (279m).
Cranborne Chase and the West Wiltshire Downs National Landscape (England). Win Green (277m).
North Devon Coast National Landscape (England). Berry Down near Combe Martin (269m).
Chiltern Hills National Landscape (England). Haddington Hill (267m).
Somerset - Quantock Hills National Landscape (England). Wills Neck (263m).
East Devon National Landscape (England). Gittisham Hill (259m).
Kent Downs National Landscape (England). Toy's Hill (257m).
Cannock Chase ANational Landscape NB (England). Castle Ring (242m).
High Weald National Landscape (England). Crowborough Beacon (242m).
Isle of Wight National Landscape (England). St Boniface Down (241m).
Anglesey National Landscape (Wales). Holyhead Mountain (220m).
South Devon National Landscape (England). Blackdown Camp (199m).
Gower Peninsula National Landscape (Wales). The Beacon at Rhossili Down (193m).
Howardian Hills National Landscape (England). Yearsley Cross (174m).
Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape (England). Wolds Top / Normanby Hill (168m).
Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape (England). Warton Crag (163m).
Strangford and Lecale National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Scrabo Hill (161m).
Causeway Coast National Landscape (Northern Ireland). Carnduff Hill (114m).
Norfolk Coast National Landscape (England). Beacon Hill (105m).
Northumberland Coast National Landscape (England). South Hill (75m).
Dedham Vale National Landscape (England). Broom Hill (69m).
Solway Coast National Landscape (England). Pudding Pie Hill (56m).
Isles of Scilly National Landscape (England). Telegraph on St Mary’s (49m).
Chichester Harbour National Landscape (England). c. two locations with 9m spot height (9m).
To be verified … couldn’t find these originally but have been identified by Joel Adcock.
Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Landscape (England): Holbrook Park, (~44m)
Lagan Valley National Landscape (Northern Ireland). In garden of private property on Tullyard Rd, Lisburn BT27 5JN (164m)
Scottish NSA High Points
National Landscapes and National Scenic Areas (NSA) are both designations used in the United Kingdom to protect and promote areas of exceptional natural beauty. However, there are some key differences between the two. National Landscapes are designated by the UK government and are considered to be the most important landscapes in the country, with the highest level of protection afforded to them. NSAs, on the other hand, are designated by the Scottish government and, while they also offer protection to areas of exceptional natural beauty, they do not have the same level of legal protection as National Landscapes. Additionally, National Landscapes are managed by local authorities, while NSAs are managed by Scottish National Parks. Both National Landscapes and NSAs are intended to be enjoyed and appreciated by the public, but the management and protection of the areas can differ.
There are 40 National Scenic Areas (NSA) in Scotland, of which 8 are the county tops of the Historic Counties that they are in. There were 12 NSAs that I couldn’t find a high point for when researching this (scroll down to see). These are mostly in coastal areas without notable high points. Let me know if you know what these high points are and I can update the list.
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA: Ben Nevis (1344m).
Cairngorm Mountains NSA: Ben Macdui (1309m).
Loch Rannoch and Glen Lyon NSA: Ben Lawers (1214m).
Glen Affric NSA: Càrn Eige (1183m).
Deeside and Lochnagar NSA: Lochnagar / Beinn Chìochan (1156m).
Glen Strathfarrar NSA: Sgùrr a' Choire Ghlais (1083m).
Kintail NSA: Sgurr Fhuaran (1068m).
Wester Ross NSA: An Teallach (1062m).
Knoydart NSA: Sgurr na Cìche (1040m).
Assynt-Coigach NSA: Ben More Assynt (998m).
Loch Lomond NSA: Ben Lomond (974m).
Cuillin Hills NSA: Sgùrr nan Gillean (964m).
North West Sutherland NSA: Foinaven (909m).
Loch Shiel NSA: Beinn Odhar Bheag (882m).
The Trossachs NSA: Ben Ledi (879m).
North Arran NSA: Goat Fell (873.5m).
Upper Tweeddale NSA: Broad Law (840m).
Small Isles NSA: Askival (812m).
South Lewis, Harris and North Uist NSA: Clisham (799m).
Jura NSA: Beinn an Òir (785m).
Trotternish NSA: The Storr (719m).
South Uist Machair NSA: Beinn Mhòr (620m).
Hoy and West Mainland NSA: Ward Hill (481m).
Knapdale NSA: Cruach Lusach (466m).
Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs NSA: Scarba (449m).
St Kilda NSA: Conachair (430m).
Eildon and Leaderfoot NSA: Eildon Hill (422m).
Lynn of Lorn NSA: Barr Mòr (127m).
To be verified … couldn’t find these originally but have been identified by Joel Adcock.
Dornoch Firth NSA: unnamed summit (387m)
East Stewartry Coast NSA: Bengairn (391m).
Fleet Valley NSA: Ben John (354m)
Kyle of Tongue NSA: Ben Hope (927m)
Kyles of Bute NSA: Meallan Riabhach (484m).
Loch na Keal, Isle of Mull NSA: Ben More (967m)
Loch Tummel NSA: Meall Tairneachan (787m)
Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan NSA: Meall nan Each (490m)
Nith Estuary NSA: Criffel (569m).
River Earn (Comrie to St. Fillans) NSA: Either slope of Beinn Fuath (~650 metres) or Mor Beinn (640m)
River Tay (Dunkeld) NSA: Creag Dhubh (498m)
Shetland NSA: The Sneug (418m)