A short distance south of Ben Nevis is a hidden sanctuary encircled by mountains. This hanging corrie has a single outlet which drains into Britain’s second highest waterfall. A full circuit of the ring of mountains involves 4 Munros and 7 peaks in total.
Read moreMunros
Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, via the CMD Arête
An estimated 160,000 people climbed Ben Nevis last year, but it has a not-so-secret route around the back that follows a stunning ridge, and if you’re lucky you’ll have it to yourself. It was the obvious choice for Edita’s first ascent of Britain’s highest peak.
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 moreWhy I’m supporting the BMC’s Mend Our Mountains appeal
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has just launched a new appeal, Mend Our Mountains, with the ambitious target of raising £1 million to repair footpaths in UK mountain areas. Here’s why I’m happy to dip my hand in my pocket for this worthwhile cause.
Read moreSore bums and saddlebags: cycling the North Coast 500
It was four years since my last visit to Scotland, and I ended up returning in a most unexpected way. A few months ago I’d never even heard of the North Coast 500; now I’ve only gone and cycled it. The adventure took me beyond exhaustion, but somehow I got round. Here’s how.
Read moreThe truth about the first Lithuanian ascent of Sgurr a’ Chaorachain
False summit claims were back in the news when a Swedish mountaineer retracted his summit claim after studying photographs and realising he hadn’t reached the very top. He was praised for his refreshing honesty, but a similar story of mountaineering integrity also deserves attention.
Read moreThe peat-bog method of training for a big adventure
In the last three weeks I’ve cycled 830km across 1273 hills, hiked up 8 Munros and 4 Corbetts, and scratched 253,953 midge bites 37 times per day. I camped for 20 consecutive nights and have lost count of the number
Read moreMonti Ernici: a taste of the Scottish Highlands a short drive from Rome
A couple of weekends ago I visited Monti Ernici, a group of hills little more than an hour’s drive from Rome, that reminded me so much of the Scottish Highlands that I just had to write a blog post about them.
Read moreA winter wonderland above the Bridge of Orchy
It might be April and the beginning of spring, but the conditions on Scotland’s hills are still distinctly wintry. I checked the avalanche forecast before spending Easter in the hills above Bridge of Orchy, home of the poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre, famous for composing an Ode to Trousers.
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