Hill list
Corbett
Definition
A Corbett is a Scottish hill between 2,500ft (762m) and 3,000ft (914.4m) with at least 500ft (152m) of drop on all sides. The 500ft re-ascent rule separates Corbetts from subsidiary summits along the same ridge. There are 222 Corbetts in total.
Etymology & origin
Compiled in the 1920s by John Rooke Corbett, an Englishman who worked through Ordnance Survey maps systematically to identify every qualifying Scottish hill. Corbett was the fourth person to complete all the Munros (in 1930) and the first to complete all the Munros, Corbetts and the English 2,000-footers. The list was formally adopted by the SMC after Corbett's death and has remained largely stable since.
Context & usage
Corbetts are often described — by people who have done both — as better hill days than Munros. The reasons are structural rather than aesthetic: because the Munro list dominates Scottish hillwalking culture, the Corbetts stay genuinely quiet. It's common to see no one else on a Corbett day twenty minutes from a busy Munro car park. The list also includes some of the most striking peaks in Scotland — Stac Pollaidh, Quinag, The Cobbler, Goat Fell, Beinn Bhan in Applecross — that compete with any Munro for quality.
Compared to Munros, Corbett days typically involve longer walk-ins (because Corbetts are tucked further from major roads), more pathless terrain, and more variety in the hill experience. You'll do more bog, more stalkers' paths, more proper navigation. You'll also see more red deer, more ptarmigan, and more summit views that don't have other walkers in the foreground.
The Corbett list excludes some genuinely-prominent 700-800m hills because they technically qualify as Tops (insufficient drop). The Marilyn list captures those — Suilven and Ben Loyal are Marilyns rather than Corbetts despite their summit drama.
Related terms
Munro
A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3,000ft (914.4m) in height with sufficient prominence to be considered a separate hill rather than a subsidiary summit. The current list contains 282 Munros, ranging from Ben Nevis (1,345m) to Beinn Teallach (915m). The list is maintained by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.
Graham
A Graham is a Scottish hill between 2,000ft (610m) and 2,500ft (762m) with at least 150 metres of drop on all sides. Currently 231 Grahams. Some older guidebooks call them Fionas after the original compiler.
Marilyn
A Marilyn is any British or Irish hill with at least 150 metres of topographic prominence — meaning it rises at least 150m above the lowest contour that separates it from any neighbour. Marilyns have no minimum height: a 200m coastal stack qualifies. 625 Scottish Marilyns; 2,011 in the full British and Irish list.
Where to next
Reviewed 2026-05-28