UKC

What book would people recommend for someone looking to tick off the Munros. Must have;

List at the front
Map of Scotland with hills marked
Some more smaller scale maps of 'areas'
Ideally one described route on each hill.

In anticipation of this being a terrible winter, contrary to goose-wisdom, and me having to tick Munros to stop from going nuts.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

The SMC Munros book is probably my choice. Prior to that Irvine Butterfield's Bumper Book of Fun. Disclaimer being that I haven't done any bagging for 10yrs or so so haven't kept up with the current literature but the hills don't change that much, only the access!

b

In reply to Roberttaylor:

If you want to go the tops then Irvine Butterfields is best. If not SMC or Cameron McNeish's.

Alternatively you could do what I've done and get all of them.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

If you just follow McNeish's book, you'll often find yourself taking the least interesting way up the hill. Ralph Storer or one of the Cicernones give more interest.

In reply to Y Gribin:

Interest? Pah, it's just the wee red triangle I'm after.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Thank you for this thread, I had it in mind to ask the same question! For armchair Munro-dreaming at the moment I use the Walkhighlands website, but I'd like to have one or more books.

Oh, and I'd also like to have the time to go and bag them, but that is not something I can put on my Christmas prezzie list!

L

In reply to Roberttaylor:

One not much in mind appears to be "The Munros, a walk highlands guide" by Paul and Helen Webster from Pocket Mountains, but is a good read; although it is in the mode of armchair walker's dream book,as practically it is too fat and the spine will break if not looked after. PM's other books, such as "Central Highlands" are really pleasant books and not so fat. They include other hills and do circular walks. All of their books are modestly priced.

I would buy all of them too. In fact I think that I have bought all of the versions bar 1 of the SMC guides. I use the original one as a log book, by writing around the text when I have done a hill or two.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

I'm amazed no one has yet mentioned the delightful series of guides by Nick Williams in which, over a series of 5 or so pocket-friendly volumes he covers every one of the Munros and a good selection of the more interesting Corbetts, often on less travelled routes. As a guide to the easiest ascents there are better choices but these are excellent pointers to off-beat approaches to many favourite mountains.

In reply to BnB: Veteye did give them a mention. The full set of Pocket Mountains (West Highlands, Northern Highlands etc, all by Nick Williams) books do give you all the Munros, quite a few of the better Corbetts, and a lot of less-obvious route options versus, say McNeish's book. They are very compact, which is good for taking them up a hill (does anyone actually do that with a book?), but on the downside that means the text is on the minimal side, and pics are small, making them less of a lovely object to browse at home for inspiration than, say, the SMC guide. That's not to say they are not attractive and well produced - they are.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

One thing I need from a Munros book is an indication of what I can realistically do on my own. I'm a competent hillwalker and enjoy walking alone, but would always prefer to have company for scrambling or for any route where navigation is not straightforward.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:


The Butterfield book is definitely the best*, if you can get a copy, but I'm not sure it' still in print. If not, I'm sure AbeBooks will have copies.

The SMC book is good, and Cameron McNeish's is less good - he usually follows the most common route, regardless of how interesting or dull it might be.


And sit with them and suitable maps and spend many hours comparing and contrasting routes and making plans.

*The disclaimer being that since I completed 6 years ago, I haven't bought any of the newer book, so you'd have to spend some time in a bookshop comparing them all. What a bummer.

In reply to Roberttaylor:

In my opinion the best guide book(s) for the Munros are the "Ultimate Guide to the Munros" by Ralph Storer, albeit he's still to produce those for the NW. They have maps with multiple routes described and are small enough to stick in your rucksack so you have a backup map if you choose. They've got good coverage of the Tops. They are quite simply the mutts nutts though the downside may be the cost of the complete series and the lack of that complete series. In the big scheme of things the cost of those produced so far was easily lost in my hillgoing spend.

Irvine Butterfield's book is very good and I like leafing through it but it's getting out of date now (yes the hills are still there but there's been changes to lists, access etc), the SMC is more of a one hillwalk, one route and the maps are simplistic, at least in the edition I have. I'm not a fan of Cameron McNeish's book at all. Out of these 3 I think only Butterfield's covers the Tops.

Website wise I prefer Scottishhills.com. I use the info for background/history and like to pick my own way up a hill from the map but often as not I'll end up on a known route. I do like a dry path, I don't often find one off the beaten track. I don't often find a dry path on the beaten track either

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Another liker of the High Mountains book by Irvine Butterfield book, followed by the SMC guide. Not used Ralph Storer's.

If you're a real ticker, Harvey's Munro & Corbett Chart gives you a visual representation as you colour in the summit triangles. Obviously it would be sad to admit to owning one of these...

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Many an alternative route to be found here;

http://www.scottishhills.com/html/modules.php?name=Hills

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Butterfield is best, but not if you're after a single described route for each hill. He dopes this, but the routes are often extremely long! He also gives a mention to alternative approaches etc, to help you devise your own routes. As someone's already said, he also lists the Tops. In my copy (don;t know if it's been updated) he uses old lists, so includes several deleted tops and the occasional long-deleted "Munro" (eg Beinn an Lochain).

If you just one a single route to tick each hill then the SMC book may be a better choice, though it can sometimes suffer from a bit of a "ticker" mentality.

McNeish's book is a bit of a mish-mash. Some routes are obviously copied from elsewhere (including repeated errors), so are on the dull side (shortest route only), but others are much better than the routes given elsewhere (eg Stuchd an Lochain and Meal Buidhe, which others describe as short there-and-back routes, McNeish suggests a much better round of Loch an Daimh with a couple of Corbetts thrown in for good measure).

If you want just one book I'd go for Butterfield - it's out of print but easy to find on the likes of abe.com or Amazon.

In reply to Mal Grey:

I have both, very handy to have the readable size overview of all options when you are away from a computer and find yourself last minute planning.

When I finished the Munros , I put it up on my wall in my spare room, along with my favorite photos of my outings.
(not just photos of Munros or Corbetts , of course cycle touring and general exploring.)

So Sad, but not as sad as some

In reply to Roberttaylor:

Go for Butterfield...

It's a brilliant book for poring over during a dark evening.

And who can forget his description of An Teallach as a "castellated mountain citadel"