High And Dry

LETJOG PEAK No 11: Cleeve Hill, Gloucestershire (330 metres)

Walk Date: Wednesday 19 April 2023

Scotland has its Munros, peaks of over 3,000 feet (about 915 metres) that total 282 in number at the last count, all embodied in a list originally conceived in 1891 by Sir Hugh Munro during an era of great wilderness exploration and conquest. South of the border our summits are generally more modest, but nonetheless their beauty is worthy of an appropriate moniker. And so, in 1992, stepped up Alan Dawson, coining, within his book ‘The Relative Hills of Britain’, the title ‘Marilyn’ to denote hills within the British Isles enjoying a prominence of 150 metres or more, regardless of their absolute height. The ironic name acknowledges the caledonian precedent (Marilyn Monroe being a homophone of Munro), and these peaks number 2,011 in total, of which over 1,200 are in Scotland and just 175 are in England.

I say all of this because today’s County Top, Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire, my highest summit to date, is only the second Marilyn of my LETJOG Peaks challenge. My first, Ditchling Beacon in East Sussex (see my Blog ‘Can’t Stop Now’ of 22 March that also defines the concept of topological prominence, for those interested), was shrouded in mist and pelted with driving rain, and so the views associated with such a peak of Marilyn status were absent on that occasion. Today was different: high, dry, and with views to match as the early mist lifted.

After the solitude of yesterday’s downland hike in Wiltshire, on this walk it was marvellous to have the company of Phil Cox, an old schoolfriend who many of you might recognise from our travels around northern Scotland during our ‘Ride & Stride’ adventure last September. Phil is resident of Cheltenham and kindly took on the navigation for me today, leading our ramble from his front door, through the town, and up to the County Top on Cleeve Hill. We chose the date well, as the sunny intervals provided intermittent warming from the gusty wind and dispersed some of the morning haze as the day wore on. Here’s how we fared:

Fine weather, a fine walk, and very fine company – it was great to see you Phil, and thank you for being my guide for the day. Cleeve Hill, at 330 metres is my highest summit attained to date, and ranks 18 on the list of the highest English County Tops. All those shires above Gloucestershire on my list have tops of over 400 metres – I must soon start planning for the highlands of northern and western England as my LETJOG Peaks challenge moves towards its second quarter.

Brian Jones, founding member of the Rolling Stones was, to a great extent, the band’s leader through its formation in 1962 as a ‘British Blues’ outfit and throughout the group’s early success. He hails from Cheltenham and is an appropriate inspiration for today’s Blog heading ‘High and Dry’, written by bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, that appears on the Stones’ April 1966 album ‘Aftermath’. Jones, primarily a vocalist and guitarist, also contributed the varied experimental instrumentation on the album, and on ‘High and Dry’ he features on harmonica alongside his guitar work. Jones’ struggles with drink and drugs are well documented, and he was an unfortunate member of the ‘27 Club’, passing away at that tender age, shortly after his dismissal from the band in 1969.