The weirdness of a Highland heatwave: 3 strange incidents on Beinn Liath Mhor

September 15, 2021 Trip reports beinn liath mhor, britain, dehydration, glen carron, hill walking, munros, scotland, scottish highlands 5 Comments

Edita stood atop a pile of rocks, waving her trekking pole frantically in celebration. But I was in no position to celebrate. Between us lay about 100m of unspeakable, ankle-twisting boulder field. But it was the summit, and in a

The Glen Spean Nine: peak bagging and bet hedging in Central Scotland

August 20, 2021 Trip reports binnein beag, britain, creag meagaidh, glen roy, glen spean, hill walking, munro bagging, munros, peak bagging, scotland 1 Comment

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.

When reaching the summit is just a tick in the box

June 30, 2021 Trip reports ben nevis, binnein beag, hill walking, mamores, munro bagging, munros, peak bagging, ring of steall, scotland, scottish highlands 3 Comments

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?

Sgurr nan Gillean and Am Basteir: the Black Cuillin’s hair-raising finale

November 25, 2020 Trip reports alexander nicolson, am basteir, andy hogarth, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, scotland, sgurr nan gillean 2 Comments

We were facing a full day out in the Black Cuillin under sunny skies. Yes, that’s right. Beautiful sunshine in the Black Cuillin of Skye. I can’t believe I’m saying that. After two satisfying days on the ridge and another one to come, things were turning out well.

Sgurr na Banachdich to Sgurr a Ghreadaidh: touching cloth in the Black Cuillin

November 11, 2020 Trip reports britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, norman collie, scotland, sgurr a ghreadaidh, sgurr na banachdich 1 Comment

I had injured my leg and didn’t know if I had time to recover for the next day of scrambling. What should I do: an easy walk to test it out, or a long day out I’d been looking forward to for a long time? Luckily, our guide Dave had a cunning plan.

Sgurr Alasdair to Sgurr Mhic Choinnich: the secret of Collie’s Ledge

October 28, 2020 Trip reports alexander nicolson, britain, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, isle of skye, munros, norman collie, scotland, sgurr alasdair, sgurr mhic choinnich 3 Comments

In last week’s post, I explained how we had hired a mountain guide to do Skye’s infamous Cuillin traverse, over 11 Munros with many technical sections. I had injured my knee backpacking the previous week, but I was determined to give it a try. Would I cope?

The Cuillin Traverse – to do or not to do?

October 21, 2020 Trip reports andy hogarth, britain, cicerone guides, cuillin ridge, dave fowler, edita, hill walking, inaccessible pinnacle, isle of skye, mamores, munros, scotland 7 Comments

We’d hired a mountain guide to do the Cuillin traverse, a 12km ridge on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, which takes in 11 Munros and many subsidiary peaks. But with injuries in both legs and a knee that couldn’t bend more than 90 degrees it seemed inconceivable for me.

Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 2: the Grey Corries

October 7, 2020 Trip reports backpacking, grey corries, hill walking, mamores, munro bagging, munros, scotland, scottish highlands, weather, wild camping 0 Comment

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.

Beyond the Nevis watershed, part 1: the eastern Mamores

September 30, 2020 Trip reports backpacking, grey corries, hill walking, mamores, munro bagging, munros, ring of steall, scotland, scottish highlands, wild camping 5 Comments

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.

The world’s most stupid navigational error

September 23, 2020 Humour britain, edita, grey corries, hill walking, munros, navigation, scotland, stob choire claurigh, weather 3 Comments

After a promising start to the day, the clouds moved in and the rain started pounding against them as they ascended the south ridge of Stob Choire Claurigh, the highest point in the Grey Corries, a ridge of quartz-laden peaks