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.

ANDREW DEMPSTER has 40 years of hillwalking experience. He has climbed all of the Munros (twice) and the Corbetts, and wrote the only guidebook to the Grahams. He has also walked, trekked and climbed in many more locations, including the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Himalayas, Africa, Iceland and Greenland. However, the Highlands of Scotland are his first love, and he lives in rural Perthshire with his wife and son.