Cols and Passes of the British Isles

The one and only guide to every col and pass in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland The essential data – to download, use and enjoy!

(see below)

`If you have legs, or a bicycle, or indeed both, you are going to love this book.’
Ian Sampson, Spectator
`a groundbreaking act of reimagining the landscape’
Roger Cox, Scotsman
`a delicious and hypnotically fascinating masterpiece’
Stephen Bayley, Spectator
`Books of the Year’
`You will never read a wittier gazetteer’
Boyd Tonkin, Observer
`a beautiful little book … [it] gently rewires your brain and changes the way you look at the countryside.’
Feargal McKay, http://www.podiumcafe.com

Particular Books (2 June 2016)
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/286670/cols-and-passes-of-the-british-isles/

Penguin paperback out on 5 April 2018
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/286670/cols-and-passes-of-the-british-isles/9780141981451/

The following Word files contain the basic data for all 2002 cols and 105 passes in the United Kingdom and Ireland: the name or names of the col or pass, and the latitude and longitude coordinates.

Full details are given in the catalogue: name(s); elevation; surface; nearest place; region; latitude and longitude; National Grid coordinates; geographical, historical and anecdotal notes.
The book also contains a historical and geographical (and personal) introduction, a glossary of all the different terms for `col’ or `pass’, essays and stories on some of the main col regions, with hand-drawn `col maps’ of each region, a list of `superlatives’ (highest, steepest, remotest, tastiest, etc.).

The catalogue looks like this in the published book:

Once downloaded, these files can be used in Google Earth, Garmin GPS, http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/, etc.

Instructions:
Download Word file; select all and copy; click on gpsvisualizer link; choose `Google Maps’ (for example); paste text into box, removing `desc,’ from header; click on `Draw the map’.

Cols and passes of England

Cols and passes of Wales

Cols and passes of Scotland

Cols and passes of Ireland

A list of all the road cols in the British Isles, starting with the highest (Excel file)
All road cols

Some articles on the book and how it came to be written:

Roger Cox in The Scotsman
https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/roger-cox-cols-and-passes-of-britain-get-the-book-treatment-1-4133860

Boudicca Fox-Leonard in The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/one-mans-quest-to-discover-britains-cols
(paste URL into address bar to complete)

Boyd Tonkin in The Observer
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jun/26/walking-hadrians-wall-secret-uk-history-graham-robb-cols-and-passes

FAQ

“Why isn’t my favourite climb listed in the catalogue?”
Because it isn’t a col or traditionally referred to as a pass.
“Where can I get the raw data?”
Right here (above).