What is the official difference between a hill and a mountain in the UK?

There is no single official Ordnance Survey cut-off. Two thousand feet, or 609.6 metres, is a widely used convention in British and Irish hill lists, but local names such as hill, fell, ben and mountain do not automatically change at that height.

What does fell mean, and is it only used in the Lake District?

Fell comes from Old Norse fjall and is used for hills or high rough ground. It is strongly associated with Cumbria and the Pennines but also appears elsewhere in northern England and in other northern place-name traditions.

Why is Scafell Pike called a pike?

Pike often refers to a pointed or prominent feature, but the name is not a route grade. It does not by itself tell you the steepness, exposure or difficulty of the path, so check the map and route description.

Why is it called that?

Is it a hill, is it a fell, is it a mountain?

The UK’s names for high places—hills, fells, mountains and tors—reflect language and local custom, while the familiar 2,000-foot line is a hill-list convention rather than an official OS rule.

9 August 20269 min read