I have some empathy with J Burns, I have frequently missed out an actual summit when I find it irrelevant to the terrain I am walking. Once sitting and enjoying where we were, Mrs BWW and I, were approached by a guy somewhere high up on Aran. He asked where we were going and we told him we would descend via Glen Sannox, he pointed back along the ridge he had come from and told us that we could bag another Munroe if we nipped down there. I thanked him but we did not nip down there.
Do I regret not following his advice? A resounding NO.
Yet it saddens me when I recall the owner of Billings Ring, an Iron Age Fort named on a tump or hump in south Shropshire saying that access to it would never be allowed in his lifetime, despite serving on the Shropshire LAF for nearly 20 years. Together with a number of other such objectives closely positioned they might serve to motivate local young people to get out and explore.
Richard1005's topic on Horseshoe Walks might have tempted me for the very same reason that 'Quality of Way' did not feature in the replies to the extent that size, quantity and distance were the main, for the very reason that Ninthace's humorous quip demonstrates.
I find myself drawn to following natural lines in the mountains, especially 'horseshoe' walks around a valley.
It is this terrain that where a feature worth walking for can be found, I call it the 'Golden Contour' and more rarely the 'Platinum Contour'. Had I been blessed with more spare time in my lifetime I might perhaps be able to delve more deeply into the sense of awe that this feature endows, when found.
It was my reaction to the Billings ring incident that motivated me into viewing the Hill Bagging site, amusing that they can describe horrendous yomps through bad terrain just to reach their precious goals and yet not look more carefully at the map to see how the underlying geology might add to the 'Quality of Way' that might introduce to network a route with other more worthwhile features and destinations.