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PREFACE

View northeast from Goatfell. Left to right: Cir Mhor, Caisteal Abhail, the deep notch of the Witch’s Step and North Goatfell (Walk 45)

I’m a Londoner by birth (well, no one’s perfect). Naturally I took my early steps in hillwalking down south. Snowdonia’s rugged grandeur and the manageable idyll of the Lake District both felt familiar before I’d ever ventured north of the border. At the age of 15 or so my first trip to the Highlands didn’t just expand my horizons – it blew them away. Here were the hills I’d always dreamed of – elemental, austere and just a bit hostile. Their scale was liberating. Roadless empty spaces splayed across map after map, offering the limitless scope of a blank canvas.

As I recall we climbed only five or six Munros that week. We spent a lot of the time knee-deep in bogs or stumbling through low cloud; we hardly set foot on a decent path, and I don’t think we met another walker on the hills the whole trip. We really earned those summits – and that’s the way it should be. I instinctively feel that the less accommodating a hill, the greater its rewards; and by that measure Scotland’s take some beating.

From the Alps to the Andes, I’ve been lucky to spend time in the major ranges of most continents, yet some of my most memorable days have been enjoyed closer to home. There remains something uniquely special about the Highlands and Islands, and 20-odd years after that first trip they still give me a thrill every time.

Working on this book has been a pleasure and a privilege, taking me the length and breadth of Scotland and even unearthing some hitherto unfamiliar gems along the way. I’m gradually filling in my canvas; but, happily, more blank space still remains than I’ll ever have time to cover. Whether you follow the descriptions in this guide to the letter or simply use them as a springboard for other things, I hope these 50 routes inspire you to enjoy many great days of your own in Scotland’s very special mountains.

Dan Bailey 2012

Sgurr Mór (right), Loch Quoich and Gleouraich from Ben Aden’s northeast ridge (Walk 21)