Background

As hill walkers in Scotland we have a unique and precious right to roam. Free from a hierarchy of trails, we are privileged to be able to walk at will wherever we choose, with the responsibility to respect the landscape and other users, principally during the stalking season. Fortunately the mountains of Glen Coe are owned by the National Trust for Scotland and there are no access issues throughout the year. Although this freedom to roam is enshrined in law few people actively engage with the concept and most are happy to follow the well made paths on the hill.

Off the beaten track walks

The concept for this new series of guidebooks is to provide a detailed study of some of the iconic mountains of the Scottish highlands which include not just the standard walks on well made footpaths, but also ‘off the beaten track’ routes as well. There are many excellent guide books for climbing and scrambling so it was decided that this book would be a purely walking guide, with the occasional mild scramble to add a little spice. We would include the Munro summits and all the tops with interesting routes to all the subsidiary peaks.

Why Bidean nam Bian?

After much debate, we decided on Bidean nam Bian as the initial publication. It was local to us (Charlotte and Tim live in Ballachulish and David lives in Onich) and it was as complex and interesting a mountain as could be found anywhere in the highlands. The book was to be a pocket field guide, roughly A5 in format and to be made in a classic ‘old school’ manner with black and white photographs, hand drawn illustrations and meticulously hand drawn maps.