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Hill list

Graham

Also called: Fiona

Definition

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.

Etymology & origin

Originally compiled in the early 1990s by Fiona Torbet (later Fiona Graham), the first woman to compleat the Munros and the Corbetts. Fiona built the list by hand from Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps before computer-aided survey made the process trivial. After her death in a car accident in 1993, the list was named after her — though Fiona herself preferred the term Fiona. Both names are accepted; the SMC uses Graham.

Context & usage

The Graham list is the most underrated in Scottish hillwalking. Stac Pollaidh (Graham, 612m) is the most-photographed peak in Scotland after the Cuillin; Suilven (731m, Graham) is one of the most distinctive mountains in Britain; Beinn an t-Sneachda above Glen Sligachan is the best Cuillin view that doesn't require scrambling. Yet because of the Munro-list dominance, Grahams see a fraction of the traffic that goes up Ben Lomond.

The 150m drop rule is more relaxed than the Corbett's 500ft rule, meaning the list includes more hills clustered around shared ridges. This makes Graham-bagging more about variety than commitment: many Graham days are shorter than the equivalent Munro day, and the list rewards regional exploration (the Outer Hebrides Grahams, the Skye Grahams, the Mull Grahams) more than the Munro grind.

Grahams are often the right answer for walkers building winter experience. Lower summits + shorter days + less serious avalanche terrain make them a better classroom for crampon and ice-axe technique than the higher Munros.

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Reviewed 2026-05-28

Graham — common questions

Are Grahams the same as Donalds?
No. Donalds are Lowland-only (south of the Highland Boundary Fault); Grahams can be anywhere in Scotland that meets the 2,000-2,500ft + 150m prominence criteria. A few Lowland hills appear on both lists.
Why are some books called Fionas?
The original compiler, Fiona Torbet, preferred Fiona as the list name and used it in her early publications. After her death the SMC formally adopted Graham as the standard term. Older guidebooks (pre-2000) often still call them Fionas; modern OutdoorSCOT and Walkhighlands convention is Graham.