The Peaks …
Arkle – photo by Bert Barnett
The Society primarily promotes an interest in climbing British hills that are Prominent relative to their surroundings. Predominantly, these are the Marilyns which were researched and listed in Alan Dawson’s 1992 book, ‘The Relative Hills of Britain’ (RHB). There are currently 1,557 Marilyns in Britain which range from Ben Nevis (1344m) to Muldoanich (153m), a small island off the coast of Barra in the Outer Hebrides. All have a prominence of at least 150m (P150) relative to the adjacent land or sea.
Subsequently, further lists have been developed, mainly by Mark Jackson who firstly researched the Humps with a prominence of 100m (P100) and then the Tumps with a prominence of 30m (P30). There are currently 2,988 of the former and a whopping 17,068 of the latter!
Further afield, the pre-eminent mountains are the Ultras with a prominence of 1500m (P1500). As of 2019, there are 1539 of these but many are in remote areas where mapping is sketchy so there could be more. P1000 Ribus and P600m Majors are also popular with international peakbaggers.
The People …
Members on the summit of Dun, St Kilda
The Society was formed in 2016 from a nucleus of members of the RHB Group which had been running since the late 90s. It currently has around 200 Members spread from Cornwall to Caithness as well as a smattering from Overseas.
RHSoc has a regular programme of core events, comprising an Annual Dinner/AGM and the infamous Bagger Rambles meets in autumn and spring at hostels or countryside centres. RHSoc also organises trips to St Kilda and other islands with difficult access. Other events are organised by the members, including summit gatherings to celebrate Hall of Fame entries or List completions, usually fuelled by whisky and cake. Members also organise ad hoc hostel bookings or cottage rentals to allow like-minded people to share costs and enjoy good company for mutual bagging objectives.
Members receive an annual Journal, Relative Matters as well as regular Newsletters throughout the year keeping them up to date with events as they occur.