The Munros consist of 277 Scottish mountains over 3000 feet in height. They are enjoying unprecedented popularity as hikers and vacationers flock to the area to enjoy the magnificent scenery. It has been estimated that most good weekends, even in the winter, attract close to 50,000 visitors. Cameron McNeish, editor of The Great Outdoors magazine, provides an essential reference for readers either planning a trip to the region or wishing to relive the adventures they enjoyed there.

This guide is for anyone who wants to climb the Munros, the 282 Scottish peaks over 3000ft.

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.

When Chris Townsend reached the summit of Ben Hope in Sutherland, he walked his way into the record books. After 118 days in which he had covered more than 1,700 miles and climber over 575,000 feet, he had completed the first single continuous journey of all 277 Munros and 240 Tops in the Scottish Highlands.This is the story of that remarkable walk from the start on Ben More on the Isle of Mull through to the finish, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest 18 times. For the author, the real enjoyment of the walk was not in counting up the summits or the miles but in spending week after week in the hills and living in the wilds. In THE MUNROS AND TOPS, Chris Townsend recalls the joys of observing the birds and animals, the trees and flowers, the changing shapes of the hills and the play of light on their slopes. He writes about the complexities of route-finding and the challenge of rugged terrain and of coping with often atrocious weather conditions. Illustrated with photographs taken during the walk, this is a stirring account of a unique achievement.

'The winter completion of the Munros in a single push was not only a tremendous team effort but also Martin and Joy's great love story. It was an amazing Odyssey and The Munros in Winter is a superb account.' Sir Chris BoningtonIn 1984 Martin Moran became the first person to conquer the Munros in a single winter journey. In this gripping narrative he recounts his legendary achievement.

Moonwalker is a unique story, the memoir of a man whose love of Scotland's mountains would override his body-clock and all conventional notions of health and safety. When Alan Rowan finished his shifts as a sub-editor at a national newspaper at midnight, he knew he was too jacked up on deadline adrenaline to attempt sleep. At the same time, he was starting to worry if he would ever complete his ambition to reach the summit of every Munro in Scotland those peaks of over 3000ft. One crazy night, he decided upon a single solution to both problems. He would begin his ascents in the middle of the night, see the sun rise above the clouds and then come down the mountain just as everyone else was going up. We see Alan's transformation from desk jockey to midnight mountaineer, meet dodgy car salesmen, rabid sheepdogs, charging deer, superstitious Germans and crooked confectioners - all the while seeing the best of Scotland in a unique light. Moonwalker is funny and touching; at once a deeply personal memoir and a riotous travelogue.