Britain's tallest mountain higher than estimated

London, March 18: Britain's highest mountain has "grown" by one metre in the last 65 years, a media report said on Friday.

A new Ordnance Survey (OS) -- Britain's national mapping agency -- calculation has recorded the height of Ben Nevis at 1,345 metres, rather than the previous 1,344 metres, The Guardian reported.

The change, which will be displayed on all new OS digital and paper maps, is not down to a geological movement but is simply due to improvements in technology that allow a more accurate reading than when the mountain was last surveyed in 1949.

The new measurement was made by positioning a survey-grade GPS receiver at the summit of Ben Nevis for two hours. Data was constantly fed to satellites and then checked by OS experts before being confirmed.

In 1949, it took a team of seven surveyors 20 nights to obtain their calculation, OS said.

The new height is exactly 1,344.527 metres but is rounded up to 1,345 metres officially.

OS marketing director Nick Giles said: "In reclassifying the height of Ben Nevis, our map becomes even more precise."

"Now it's officially taller, I wonder how many will feel tempted to revisit its summit," he noted.

IANS