Instead, the Reverend A. E. Robertson became the first to complete the summits, in 1901. The final mountain reached was Meall Dearg (on the Aonach Eagach) - where the Revd famously kissed first the cairn, and then his wife. Recently some doubt has been cast as to whether Robertson was truly the first to complete the round as some researchers believe he may have missed the summit of Ben Wyvis. In 1923 another Reverend, Ronald Burn, became the second Munroist as well as the first person to climb all the subsidiary Tops. Now as a much more experienced Munro bagger I can appreciate the routes in the old SMC book but I far prefer the look and details found in the latest edition. It took me 5 years to follow up the Munros with their associated Tops. I decided to start doing Tops roughly half way through the Munros which led me on to longer walks than anticipated. However it was only after completing the Munros that things became more mentally difficult. Attempting a single Top almost inevitably required a second go at the Munro so the walk was often repetitive but with ‘a little bit extra added on’ I did attempt alternative routes but these were often longer – at least I did provide some companionship for Alistair who was still going for his first set of Munros. Completion of the South Glen Shiel ridge. Low cloud and poor weather made this disappointing but off the final summit I did feel better as I led a loss sole out the cloud who frankly was out of his depth. 1994 North Mullardoch The figure then turns to face north-east with the merciless wind now thankfully behind him. The manic, turbulent gusts are now whipping up snow

Three to go. From the Glenfinnan monument we aimed up Sgurr nan Coireachan. The crossing to Sgurr Thuilm was achieved with little fuss and nothing memorable happened. We camped at the coll between Thuilm and Steap which was a good spot. Day 2 The most recent revision of the list found Beinn a'Chlaidheimh in Fisherfield to be under the 3,000ft height, therefore bringing the current total to 282 Munros.Over the years the lists have been tampered with by the Scottish Mountaineering Club and its associates either due to errors in the actual heights of the hills recognized by the Ordnance Survey or a more arbitrary re-classification based upon ‘fairness’. Whether we have all approved of these changes is almost irrelevant but we are now left with 282 Munros and 225 Tops. Loch Torridon from Liathach The Tops When I first started walking Munros with my (now) husband, it was Gordie that showed me the routes in his 3rd edition (revised in 2006) of the SMC’s The Munros book. He would plan every walk after poring over the routes and descriptions. (The book is now quite tatty but it looks great because it is obviously well-used.) Database of British and Irish Hills - not just Munros, Munro Tops and Murdos, but lots of hill-lists throughout the UK and Ireland.

The Munros were first listed by Sir Hugh Munro (1856 - 1919) in his 'Munros Tables', published in the Journal of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) in 1891. Sir Hugh divided the summits into 283 seperate mountains (now known as the Munros), whilst 255 further summits over 3000 feet were considered to be only subsidiary 'Tops'. His list caused quite a stir at the time, as it had previously been thought that there were only around 30 mountains of that height.An excellent day on Beinn Eighe with JP. Again we headed north in to the coire to the north, the only obvious route up Eighe. An extra Munro had been added since our last visit and we also aimed to ‘walk the ridge’ which involved a scrambled top at the west end (Sail Mhor) and then a long hike along the ridge towards Kinlochewe. The clearest memory of this walk was the clearance as we descended towards Kinlochewe – one of those spectacular moments. Day 4 The total to aim for varies, as re-surveys and reclassifications add a hill here and take one away there, but the total as we write is 282 and won’t vary by more than a few. This book provides a compendium of maps including coverage of every Munro (hill over 3000'). It will assist the planning of countless days of hillwalking. By its nature it is a picture of the upland topography of Scotland. Rab Anderson edited the previous SMC guidebook to The Munros, as well as The Corbetts. He has written or contributed to various guidebooks for the SMC, most recently the Climbers’ Guide to the Outer Hebrides (co-author) and the acclaimed Hillwalkers’ Guide to The Grahams & The Donalds (co-author and co-editor). Rab lives in Edinburgh. A long drive over to Fort William preceded a long slog up Carn mor Dearg. I was pretty tired before we summited, again the weather was cloudy but not bad. The crossing on to the Aonachs was simple though. As we were in cloud all the time there was no appreciation of the height and scale of the hills although Barry did have an Eureka moment on the crossing. I know what he meant – they do not happen that much. We had a long, steep descent in to Glen Nevis which was enlivened by winding the dog up by taking different courses down and calling her from one to another. She loved it Day 3

The view northwest from the summit of A’ Mhaighdean – perhaps the finest view from any Munro. Photo: Andrew Dempster I parked on the north side of the Linn of Dee and started the long walk in past Derry Lodge to Derry Cairngorm. Even at this stage it was clear that water was going to be important as the weather was sunny and getting hot. The Plateau can be a very dry place. Once on Derry Cairngorm the scale of the walk was evident. I crossed to Beinn Mheadhoin and then spent a further hour circulating to one of the tops. The long climb up to the summit of Ben Macdui also took a while but in reality I did not need to summit it apart from the fact it was on the way to a top I needed. The summit of Ben Macdui is vast but I was really pleased to view it all in good weather – I am a fortunate person! I dawdled on the long descent towards Carn a Mhaim, at this stage the day looked like it was coming to an end with plenty to spare. Hamish’s Mountain Walk by Hamish Brown. Although published in 1975 this was my inspiration. Hamish climbed the Munros in a single journey and the book captures all the flavour and pleasures of walking Scotland’s higher lands. The Munros – and the 227 subsidiary ‘Tops’ – were originally listed by Sir Hugh Munro, who published his first tables of mountains over 3,000 feet in 1891. Climbing the Munros can easily become a passion. Starting off on the right foot with suitable equipment, understanding the skills required and taking time to get necessary training, information and safety skills will lay the foundation for many enjoyable and safe days in the hills.The book was published in 2019 by map-makers HARVEY Maps to mark the centenary of the death of Sir High Munro, the founder of the Munros List. It includes an interesting introductory section that informs the reader what to expect in the book, as well as map symbols and scales; details about HARVEY Maps; and how the maps are created.

To begin logging your ascents or writing your own account of your experiences on the Munros and other walks, or to also show Munro Tops, Login or Register now - it's free! Just now, when so many people can’t reach the Munros due to the Covid pandemic restrictions, it’s a book that will be longingly lingered over and browsed through. The final tour to complete the Munros on my 40th birthday. We overnighted in Glenfinnan below Streap and after the Corbetts before travelling down to the Kingshouse for the final and 184th Munro. Day 1 Alistair introduced to the Munros on ‘the Sea’ near Glencoe but two long days on the Aonachs and over Ben Avon were the main features of the visit. It was becoming very difficult to stay in one basic venue as the remaining Munros were becoming spread out. Day 1I use the SMC hillwalkers guide books for both the Munros and the Corbetts & other Scottish hills as well as information from walk reports on WH when planning walks. I'd also highly recommend Ralph Storer's ultimate guides. Great wee books which include helpful pictures showing cols, weaknesses in crags etc that are described in the route descriptions. Sir Hugh had been planning to revise his list of Munros, and after his death the SMC took over the job of keeping the list upto date. The first revised edition was publised in 1921, and several further changes were made - the most recent revision being in 2012. There are currently 282 Munros and 226 Tops. Looking at a few guidebooks maself so folk can buy me crimbo presents I've had the Munros by Cameron Mcneish for years. Hardly look at it. I also have "The Grahams, Andrew Dempster. Only volumes 1 and 2 are out the now... issue 3 has been delayed for release but currently covering Southern Highlands, Central Highlands South and 3rd volume is Central Highlands North.