This dataset is free to download without registration. It is reviewed and updated twice annually, normally in March and September, with stable column names wherever possible.
SHA-256: 34477dfbbf426aed46ddc1e28b8c0b3016d148f7a752e00cd99cfed011df0cba
Data preview
| distance band miles | rank | lower place | higher place | elevation difference metres | distance miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | Horrabridge | Princetown | 344 | 4.999 |
| 5 | 2 | Llanfoist | Blaenavon | 339 | 3.103 |
| 5 | 3 | Tenbury Wells | Cleehill | 328 | 4.969 |
| 5 | 4 | Ludlow | Cleehill | 309 | 4.995 |
| 5 | 5 | Chudleigh Knighton | Haytor Vale | 303 | 4.337 |
Data dictionary
- distance_band_miles
- Maximum pair distance for this ranking group.
- rank
- Rank within the distance band.
- lower_place
- Lower-elevation place.
- lower_county
- County of the lower place.
- lower_elevation_metres
- Recorded elevation of the lower place.
- higher_place
- Higher-elevation place.
- higher_county
- County of the higher place.
- higher_elevation_metres
- Recorded elevation of the higher place.
- elevation_difference_metres
- Absolute elevation difference.
- distance_miles
- Great-circle distance in miles.
- distance_kilometres
- Great-circle distance in kilometres.
- elevation_change_metres_per_mile
- Elevation difference divided by distance in miles.
- lower_latitude
- Lower-place latitude.
- lower_longitude
- Lower-place longitude.
- higher_latitude
- Higher-place latitude.
- higher_longitude
- Higher-place longitude.
- lower_place_url
- Permanent lower-place page.
- higher_place_url
- Permanent higher-place page.
Methodology and sources
Every unique pair among the built-up places is tested against 5, 10 and 25 mile great-circle thresholds. Within each threshold, the 500 pairs with the largest absolute difference in recorded elevation are retained. A pair can appear in more than one band.
- Postcodes UK towns and places directory
- Open-Meteo elevation data
Source datasets change over time and can contain omissions or revisions. Verify operational, admissions, financial or safety-critical decisions with the responsible authority.
Licence and suggested attribution
You may use this compilation for research, analysis and publishing with attribution to Postcodes UK and compliance with the applicable underlying source licences. The download does not transfer or override third-party rights.
Suggested attribution:
Source: Postcodes UK (postcodesuk.com), “Largest Elevation Contrasts Between Nearby British Places”, September 2026, https://postcodesuk.com/data-downloads/nearby-place-elevation-contrasts. Derived from Postcodes UK location data and the named source datasets; underlying source rights and attribution statements apply.
Office for National Statistics and other public-sector information is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcode geography may contain Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail rights. HM Land Registry aggregates are derived from Price Paid Data. School fields derive from Department for Education and Ofsted sources.
Elevation values were obtained through Open-Meteo and remain subject to applicable source terms.