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See all of the cols and passes of the British Isles (on a map)Goldenslack, Macclesfield (Google Maps).jpg

See all of the cols and passes of the British Isles (on a map)

What exactly is a col? Maybe not precisely what you think
by Alex Bowden
Fri, Jan 05, 2018 15:56
36

Back in 2016, we reviewed Cols and Passes of the British Isles by Graham Robb. He’s now released the data, so you can go and take a look at ’em all on a map.

The first thing to note is that a col does not equate to a climb – it is actually the lowest crossing of a ridge.

The Col du Tourmalet is the saddle between two peaks, not the summit of a mountain, and the same principle applies (albeit on a smaller scale) here in the UK. According to Robb, a col 'provides the most efficient route from one valley to the next'.

Because there is a precise geographical definition, the catalogue is therefore not a personal selection of climbs but a complete list of such features.

It makes for an interesting alternative to categorised Strava segments and the like and gives you a different way of appreciating your local landscape (except maybe in the large parts of the country where there aren’t any cols).

To view the map, you’ll need to do a bit of copy-pasting.

First, head to colsandpasses.com and open the relevant Word doc midway down the page (cols and passes of England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland).

Next, head to GPS Visualizer and remove ‘desc’ from the ‘Or paste your data here’ box. After that, paste in the contents of the Word doc, click ‘Draw the map’ and you’re away.

The paperback version of Cols and Passes of the British Isles is due out in April.

Graham Robb
Cols and Passes of the British Isles
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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36 comments

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rjfrussell replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
1 like

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Our language is more Germanic than it is Latin based and instead of sickly titles like 'cote de jenkin road hill' or cote de wincobank hill just omit the massively superfluous 'cote de', it's just pathetic.

 

Though, of course, somewhat ironcially "pathetic" is itself derived from late Greek/ Latin.

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don simon fbpe replied to rjfrussell | 6 years ago
1 like

rjfrussell wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Our language is more Germanic than it is Latin based and instead of sickly titles like 'cote de jenkin road hill' or cote de wincobank hill just omit the massively superfluous 'cote de', it's just pathetic.

 

Though, of course, somewhat ironcially "pathetic" is itself derived from late Greek/ Latin.

Irony being the Anglicisation of the Welsh name.

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crazy-legs replied to don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
4 likes

don simon wrote:

Irony being the Anglicisation of the Welsh name.

No, irony is like goldy or bronzey only it's made of iron!

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Chris Hayes replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
0 likes

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Col originates from the Latin word collum meaning neck. I'm not found of using the word Col in the uk with respect to climbs (i'd rather use 'hals) nor the horrendous preposing the name of a hill with 'Cote de' that has crept in over the last few years. Our language is more Germanic than it is Latin based and instead of sickly titles like 'cote de jenkin road hill' or cote de wincobank hill just omit the massively superfluous 'cote de', it's just pathetic.

Hals is Norwegian for throat 1 

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Paul J replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
0 likes
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Col originates from the Latin word collum meaning neck.
I'm not found of using the word Col in the uk with respect to climbs (i'd rather use 'hals)

The old germanic for "neck" would be something like "nek" (as it is in dutch today). Neck is an english word from old germanic.

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CygnusX1 replied to Paul J | 6 years ago
1 like

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Col originates from the Latin word collum meaning neck. I'm not found of using the word Col in the uk with respect to climbs (i'd rather use 'hals)

Not to be confused with cul - meaning bottom (from the Latin "culus") - as in cul-de-sac, which is where this etymological discussion has ended up 1

 

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