The Munros And Tops

The Munros and Tops

When Chris Townsend reached the summit of Ben Hope in Sutherland, he walked his way into the record books. After 118 days in which he had covered more than 1,700 miles and climber over 575,000 feet, he had completed the first single continuous journey of all 277 Munros and 240 Tops in the Scottish Highlands.This is the story of that remarkable walk from the start on Ben More on the Isle of Mull through to the finish, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest 18 times. For the author, the real enjoyment of the walk was not in counting up the summits or the miles but in spending week after week in the hills and living in the wilds. In THE MUNROS AND TOPS, Chris Townsend recalls the joys of observing the birds and animals, the trees and flowers, the changing shapes of the hills and the play of light on their slopes. He writes about the complexities of route-finding and the challenge of rugged terrain and of coping with often atrocious weather conditions. Illustrated with photographs taken during the walk, this is a stirring account of a unique achievement.

The Munros

The Munros

The mountains provide the spiritual nourishment so essential to a truer understanding of the hills and, ultimately, ourselves. Munro bagging is a headily addictive pursuit, with the holy-grail of 'compleation' the ultimate aim, currently achieved by around 7,000 Munroists. It all began in 1891 when Sir Hugh Munro's Tables of 3,000-foot Scottish mountains appeared in The Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. Since then, this innocent compilation of hills has become a hallowed hit-list. Andrew Dempster traces the meandering course of this cult activity, which has gone from trickle to torrent in the space of a century. From early map-makers to current record-breakers, from the why and the wry to wildness and well-being, The Munros: A History explores the compulsions and philosophies underpinning the Munro phenomenon.