Indispensable (The Munro Almanac - Cameron McNeish)

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Product:	The Munro Almanac - Cameron McNeish
Date:	12/02/01 (96 review reads)
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Advantages: Small and compact, a good helping of details for each area and walk, pronunciation & translation of each summit name

Disadvantages: Very brief walk outlines, no overall location map, no individual map for each walk

When it comes to walking in Scotland, the word hot on the tongue of most walkers is "Munro". Named after Sir Hugh T. Munro, the Munros are the Scottish mountains above 3000 feet (914 metres) which are regarded as separate. That's where it gets complicated - there's a lot of debate over what makes a mountain "separate" - the rule I use is at least 250 feet of reascent on all sides.

Whatever it is, it means it's not your average stroll up the hill. Hence the Munros, 285 of them, attract people who like a challenge. But being over 250 tops spread out across everywhere north of Glasgow, it's not easy to plan walks including the big ones. A good example is Glen Shiel - around the valley there are 21 Munros, so if you don't know the area it can be a task just planning a walk. That's where this book comes in.

The Munro Almanac contains all the Munros, grouped together by the area. Each area starts with a small location map, showing the Munros and the main ridges, and local landmarks like roads, towns and lochs. There is a recommended access point (a good place to go from to do most of the walks), information on local public transport, and recommended accomodation in the area.

For each area, the Munros are grouped together in relation to doing walks involving them - for example, if there are three on the same ridge, the same walk will include them. Most of the walks are the "standard" ones - for example, Glen Shiel has the Five Sisters ridge (3 Munros), the South Glenshiel Ridge (7 Munros) and The Saddle & Sgurr na Sgine (2 Munros), as well as a few other popular walks.

The walk outline in the book is only a brief description of the route - it would be completely useless without a good map and the required navigation skills. For each walk, the details include the distance and total ascent in miles/feet as well as kilometres/metres, the expected time it will take to complete the walk (b
ut as a rule of thumb, add at least 2 hours as the conditions get worse, especially winter), the access point (usually from a road layby), and contact details for deerstalking seasons.

Also for each walk, the Gaelic pronunciation of the mountain names (did you know "Duibh" is pronounced "ghoo"? neither did I...) and their English translation are given. The Scottish people have got good imaginations... a lot of the impressive-names translate into something bland like "big red hill"!

Maps required for each walk are stated (using Ordnance Survey Landranger maps, 1:50,000 scale, although there are better maps for some areas) and the six-figure grid reference for each summit.

When it comes to the walk outlines, some bits are left to your imagination and prior planning - a lot of the walks start and end in a different place, so you would need to find out about buses or arrange a lift. Some of the walks which end at the same place they start, the description only gets you off the last mountain so you would have to consult the map to get back to your car.

Dotted though the book are a selection of photos, though there's not a great deal. But the idea of the book is to go out and see the views yourself!

The lack of such extra details is probably because of the nature of this book - it's a pocket book, designed to be small and sturdy enough to take on the walk with you (although I'd recommend taking a photocopy of the relevant pages instead). There are some excellent books which have maps of each walk and extra photos and descriptions, but they are too bulky to take out on the walk with you.

At the back of the book, all 285 Munros are listed alphabetically, with their height in metres and feet, and the page number of the walk involving that summit. This section is for the "Munro baggers" really, who go up the mountains just to tick them off the list! (I've done five, o
nly two hundred and eighty to go...)

Also at the back is a list of other recommended books, a few of which are the larger books which have more in the way of descriptions, maps and photos. There's also a few books covering the smaller mountains, if you're not feeling ready for the 3000'ers just yet - namely the Corbetts (mountains over 2500 feet).

The feature this book lacks is an overall location map - a small sketch map of the whole of Scotland showing the areas in the book. The contents page list the areas, but not alphabetically, so if you're looking for walks in one specific area then it takes a bit of searching through the list.

Another useful addition would be some kind of glossary - the names of the summits have their pronunciation and meaning, but the names of the minor summits, rivers and cols between summits are sometimes tongue-twisters themselves.

Obviously, there are dangers in a lot of the Munros, not just from bad weather in the winter, but there are a lot of exposed sections. If you're not 100% when it comes to heights, some walks might be off the list. And there are a few of the summits which you would need extra skills for, such as ropework and climbing. And then there's extra problems of navigation, such as the magnetic rocks affecting compasses on the (in)famous Cuillin Ridge on Skye.

Overall, if you're planning some "bagging", this book is indispensable, although if you like looking at photos and some more detail before you put your boots on, there are some other excellent books, but not as suitable for packing into your rucksack as this one. For its price and compactness, it's an ideal addition for any serious walker.

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