The Doctor and the Apprentice: the Jeeves and Wooster of mountaineering literature

February 26, 2025 Reviews and tributes book reviews, geoff dutton, ken wilson, mountain literature, mountain rescue, mountaineering ethics, scotland, scottish highlands, the ascent of rum doodle 2 Comments

A few years ago on this blog, I posed the question Where are the humorous mountaineering books?. Towards the end of last year, I discovered a hidden gem of witty mountaineering literature quite by chance: a collection of whimsical short stories that I believe would have had P.G. Wodehouse chuckling appreciatively.

The Scottish coastline and the secret village across the loch

January 12, 2022 Trip reports britain, scotland, scottish highlands 8 Comments

I’d never previously considered the far north of Scotland as a Christmas and New Year holiday destination. According to the daylight indicator on my Garmin watch, the sun rises at 9.07am on the summit of Ben Hope, Scotland’s most northerly

Review: The Farthest Shore by Alex Roddie – hiking the Cape Wrath Trail

November 12, 2021 Reviews and tributes alex roddie, cape wrath trail, hill walking, long-distance trails, mountain literature, nature writing, scotland, scottish highlands, travel writing 1 Comment

Back in September my editor Alex Roddie was launching his own book The Farthest Shore, about his winter hike of the Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, at the Highland Bookshop in Fort William. I attended the launch and then read the book.

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

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?

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 Ring of Steall: a Scottish hill walking classic

August 14, 2019 Trip reports am bodach, an gearanach, ben nevis, britain, hill walking, mamores, munros, ring of steall, schiehallion, scotland, scottish highlands, sgurr a mhaim, stob coire a chairn 5 Comments

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.

My journey along the Great Glen Way on a mountain bike

July 24, 2019 Trip reports britain, cycling, edita, great glen way, north coast 500, scotland, scottish highlands, ticket to ride 5 Comments

Edita wanted to do another bike ride in Scotland. I suggested the Great Glen Way because it went along a glen rather than over hills, so it should be pretty flat. I was surprised when the cycle hire shop recommended a pair of mountain bikes.

Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, via the CMD Arête

June 19, 2019 Trip reports andy hogarth, ben nevis, britain, carn mor dearg, edita, hill walking, munros, scotland, scottish highlands, viewranger, walkhighlands 5 Comments

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.

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