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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Generally excellent, but with a few shortcomings, 19 Sep 2003
This book is, on the whole, a superb guide for anybody who enjoys climbing those of our peaks that rise above 3000ft. What sets it apart from other books on the same subject is the provision, in sketch maps and in the text, of a wide range of approach and descent routes on the hills. Other books usually describe only one route up or down a hill/group of hills, which can frustrate the reader. Another plus point is that this book doesn't dedicate itself entirely to Munros, but includes the high peaks of the Lakes, Snowdonia, and the Irish Republic, something which I believe to be a unique feature of this book.
Whilst other books often fail to provide much in the way of pictures (or even describe some routes without any images at all), this book has probably the best collection of photographs of any guide that includes such a large number of hills. This is of great assistance in enabling the reader to visualise, if only roughly, a day on the hill. My only criticism of this book is that many of the suggested routes are, in my opinion, just far too long. For example, the presentation of the Mamore range as being a group of hills to climb in just one day's outing is unfortunate, and the author's claim that the Aonachs (both above 4000 ft) could be added to the Grey Corries to make a single walk is, for me, highly optimistic. Knowing these hills myself, I feel that such outings are just too huge for the fitness of the vast majority of folk (including myself), yet this guide does not claim to be reserved for the super fit. Moreover, the speed required for, say, the completion of the Mamores in a single day would have to be pretty high, even in the long midsummer days, and I feel that part of the fun of going up the hills is in taking your time and soaking up the surroundings, rather than dashing through them for the sake of bagging as many summits as possible. Having said all that, the author does explain the possibilities of breaking up such long expeditions into smaller ones, and the excellent maps help with this. However, I just feel that the author ought to have done things the other way round-present a large group of hills as a cluster of walks, whilst adding that the very fit might want to combine them. The reverse is, I think, bound to mislead the reader who is less familiar with the hills, and that defeats the point of a guide book. Nevertheless, this is still an outstanding book, and is probably my most used when planning trips. Ultimately, the negative features of this book amount to less than those of any one of its rivals. Anybody interested in the subject matter should buy it, especially if they don't just want to stay on the 3000-ers that happen to be in Scotland.
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by Cameron McNeish
by Irvine Butterfield
by Bill Birkett
by G.Scott Johnstone
by Irvine Butterfield
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