- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: Mercat Press; New edition edition (10 Sep 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1841830720
- ISBN-13: 978-1841830728
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 294,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
The Herald 'In lucid expansive prose, he describes his remarkable 'hell of a journey' through the Highlands, battling blizzards and rainstorms.' Scotland on Sunday 'Written with an enthusiastic attention to detail... The style is refreshingly honest and extraordinarily open...' The Scotsman 'Written with wry humour and illustrated with stunning photographs, his book is an inspiring adventure.' 'A marvellously evocative writer ... he even describes the cold with warmth.' Kathleen Jamie, Boardman Tasker Prize Judge 'Engaging and heart-warming ... a wonderful journey.' TGO 'A man with mountains coursing through his blood.' High 'Mike writes compellingly about the thinking behind such an apparently insane journey.' Trail
Scotland on Sunday
‘Written with an enthusiastic attention to detail... The style is refreshingly honest and extraordinarily open…'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although not much of a mountain walker myself I really enjoyed "Hell of a Journey". It's well written and inventive. Beyond just describing this hellish battle with the elements, Mike Cawthorne peppers his narrative with anecdotes and conversations drawn from many encounters en route. At times it reads like a thriller, something I didn't expect. A great read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Inspired by the personal demons of boredom and existential disenchantment, Mike Cawthorne sets out to climb all of Scotland's Munros in a single, grueling, four month odyssey, made in the middle of winter. Battling the wild gyrations of the weather, the journey is highly organized, with food and supply caches buried strategically along his course. The detailed descriptions of landscape, hand-drawn maps and bleak photographs give a crystal-clear sense of the sheer vastness and monumental scope of the Scottish Highlands. Some days are sublime, distilled magic, bottled and delivered straight to the page; they feel almost mystical or spiritual and as we read, we feel the tearing of the unseen membrane which separates him from his surroundings. Still, there are many setbacks, and there are days of wrenching loneliness, desperation, near-failure, with no company save the creak of his boots in the snow. For Cawthorne, each day is unique, and somehow remarkable, and each day burns a distinct hole in the fabric of his memory. When the journey is over, we feel a tinge of anticlimax, of sadness, a craving for the grim, austere wilderness which he left behind. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Oddly, the snow on the front cover of my edition appears black and rather surreal. The book is well written by someone with a broad knowledge of Scottish mountaineering. However, it is essentially an account of bagging 300 or so 1000m Munros in one gruelling trip and in parts it becomes a little monotonous. It is a fine effort but doesn't add greatly to the existing repertoire of mountaineering non-fiction.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A journey to follow
Talk to any hill walkers who have walked in all the main mountain areas of the UK, and they are liable to go misty eyed about Scotland. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2009 by Thomas Naish
A hell of a good read
This book is a must for anyone who loves the wild places and mountains of Scotland. As a solo long distance walker and climber I found the book hard to put down. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2009 by Fin
Brrrr: rather him than me!
This is a great book to read tucked up in your bed on a winter's night - just so that you can be so glad that you're not sharing in the author's tortuous experience. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2008 by Paul Kirkwood
A right riveting read
As a reader of many hillwalking guide books I was interested to see how Mike would approach this. Would it turn out to be a book for would be walkers setting out on their own big... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2004 by "kathyhaddow"
Awesome
An epic journey across Scotlands highest peaks in winter, alone. Very readable. Awesome and inspirational stuff.
Published on 26 Jan 2002
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