Sixteen years ago, I set out on a 5-day winter backpacking trip to climb three Munros in Knoydart, a remote peninsula in northwest Scotland. It turned into an epic that I was lucky to survive. Earlier this year, unexpectedly, I found myself with a chance to make amends.
Read moreMunro Bagging
The Ben Lawers Five: peak-bagging perfection
You’ve heard of the Famous Five and the Jackson Five, and you may even remember the Dave Clark Five, but if you’ve never heard of the Ben Lawers Five then you’re missing out – it’s one of the great days out for Munro baggers.
Read moreThe Glen Spean Nine: peak bagging and bet hedging in Central Scotland
Glen Spean is a good place “for those who want to hedge their bets with the weather” said the Walkhighlands guidebook. Given that the weather in the Highlands of Scotland is famous for being unreliable, this sounded like a pretty good recommendation.
Read moreWhen reaching the summit is just a tick in the box
Binnein Beag is probably a peak that most Munro baggers leave till last because it’s not worth climbing until you have to. Squirming up its rubble felt like a tick in the box. But would I taste fulfilment when I reached the summit?
Read moreBeyond the Nevis watershed, part 2: the Grey Corries
Our plan for the second day of our backpacking trip beyond Glen Nevis was to climb the Grey Corries on the north side of the valley. We had a long day ahead of us, and an ambitious plan to complete a full traverse of the ridge across four Munros and eight summits.
Read moreBeyond the Nevis watershed, part 1: the eastern Mamores
When I hiked the Ring of Steall last year, I saw an emerald valley to the east, accessible only by foot and surrounded by Munros. I imagined wild camping in that idyllic location, and picking off the mountains one by one. Barely a year later, my dream came to fruition.
Read moreWhat I’m learning from Robert Macfarlane’s reading group about Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain
As coronavirus lockdown takes hold, the nature writer Robert Macfarlane has started running a reading group on Twitter about Nan Shepherd’s classic nature book The Living Mountain. It was a no-brainer for me to join, and it’s helping me to see the world differently.
Read morePeak bagging the Cuillin ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye
Our aim was to climb as many of the 11 Munros on the main Cuillin ridge as we could in a series of day hikes, including the infamous Inaccessible Pinnacle, the only Munro that’s a technical rock climb. But the weather forecast was dreadful, and I knew from experience that would make a big difference on these peaks.
Read moreBanished to Room 101: the Inaccessible Pinnacle
If you asked a group of UK hill walkers to nominate items for Room 101, some of them might suggest the Inaccessible Pinnacle, a narrow shark’s fin of rock that crowns the summit of Sgurr Dearg, a 978m mountain on the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland.
Read moreA return to the Black Cuillin of Skye
For the first time ever, I’ve hired a guide to go hill walking in the UK. Our aim is to visit the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland and polish off all eleven Munros on the Cuillin Ridge in the space of a week.
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