Author Archives: Roddy Urquhart

UK Prominent Peaks tables and maps updated

A new release of the UK Prominent Peaks tables and maps is now available. This follows the announcement of survey results for Glyder Fawr in Snowdonia which demonstrate that it is more than one thousand metres high.

Posted in General, Mountains | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New metric “Super Mountain” revealed in Wales

A new metric “Super Mountain” was revealed by G & J Surveys at a press conference in Maentwrog, Snowdonia yesterday. The vast majority of the UK’s mountains with summits of over 1 000 metres are in the Scottish highlands with … Continue reading

Posted in General, Mountains | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

A 21st Century Approach to UK Peaks

Walking has never been so attractive. It’s cheap, it keeps you fit and it gets you away from the crowds. Yesterday’s launching of a new interactive website on Ben Nevis draws together for the first time a UK-wide peak challenge … Continue reading

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Twother or twaddle?

One area where metric units have been banned in the UK is draught beer and cider. This is despite the fact that bottled or canned beer and cider is mainly available in round metric quantities. Compared with most countries the … Continue reading

Posted in Consumer affairs, Health, Law | 13 Comments

What is a “Mountain”? Mynydd Graig Goch and all that…

Today’s news media gave a lot of attention to the resurvey of Mynydd Graig Goch which supposedly reclassified its summit from a “hill” to a “mountain”. Does this really make sense?

Posted in General, Media | 9 Comments

Are Imperial units based on 12s?

It is often claimed that imperial is based on 12s (duodecimal) and that this has advantages over decimal. But is this truth or myth?

Posted in General, Myths | 15 Comments

Are imperial feet “natural” units ?

With the slow transition to metric in the UK, a lot of myths have emerged regarding metric and imperial. With a New Year it is an appropriate time to examine some of these myths starting with the claim that imperial … Continue reading

Posted in General, Myths | 11 Comments

Enjoy a healthy Christmas turkey! Roast for 40 minutes per kg at 190°C

Many families in the UK will roast a turkey on Christmas day. Preparing a traditional Christmas dinner challenges most people as they are cooking much larger quantities of food than normal. As a result thawing and cooking times are much … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Recipes | 8 Comments

How British metallurgists made the first international kilograms and metres

The introduction of metric units in the UK has been controversial and much of the opposition has been on the basis that it ‘betrays our heritage’  or is a ‘foreign imposition’.  However as a schoolboy then engineer – who has … Continue reading

Posted in History, Technical | 4 Comments

Improving Numeracy – Why joined-up government is needed

Yesterday, Gordon Brown stressed the importance of improving numeracy skills when talking to the news media and the CBI. A modern, competitive UK clearly requires a numerate workforce. Numeracy is a lifeskill that eveybody needs whether for managing your bank … Continue reading

Posted in Education | 4 Comments