In recent years “Munro bagging” has become an almost addictive sport for some hillwalkers. However, rather than just “ticking off” mountains, there is something tremendously satisfying in standing on the summit of a mountain, admiring the scenery and savouring the peace and tranquility. McNeish’s new edition of The Munros conveys some of this with stunning colour photographs. It is a guide to all 284 mountains in Scotland above 3,000 feet ‐ the Munros, so called after Sir Hugh T. Munro, Bart, of Lindertis who first published his list of mountains in 1891. This new edition of The Munros is a result of the changes made in 1997 by the Scottish Mountaineering Club when it promoted eight mountains to Munro status and deleted one from the existing list. In addition, the Ordnance Survey has revised the heights of several mountains. All of these changes are incorporated into this new edition.
The book begins with a useful listing of all Munros in order of height ‐ from Ben Nevis at 4,409 feet to Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, above Glen Carron, at 3,002 feet. The mountains are then described in geographical sections. Detailed descriptions are given of each mountain together with a route summary, distances and climbing times. Translations of the Gaelic mountain names are given together with their pronounciation. Shaded route maps help to locate the mountains and enhance their descriptions. The book has two main aims: first, to offer a choice of route up the mountains; and second, “to form a good, substantial read which can motivate and inspire people to go out and climb the hills in question”. McNeish, an experienced hill walker and mountaineer, hopes that, by reading this book, people will get to know better the hills they climb rather than climbing and descending by the shortest possible route. He also makes clear his own disagreement with the proposal to have rights of way up the popular hills and where possible, he suggests alternative routes. This is an extremely useful reference tool to be used in planning expeditions into the hills.
The Munro Almanac, on the other hand, is a pocket sized guide to take to the hills with you. It provides concise details on all the Munros, updated again to take account of the changes in Munro status. Most of the route summaries are the same as in The Munros. In addition, information is given on accommodation, public transport options available to the area, grid references of each summit, and details of the most straightforward ascent including approximate times, distances and ascent climbed.
Both volumes are exceptionally useful and interesting guides for both the experienced mountaineer and the occasional hillwalker. They would make useful additions to general reference collections.
