The new Scottish Mountaineering Club guide to the Cairngorms and North-East Scotland is a visual feast that has introduced me to new areas for walking.
This is a visually very attractive guide, from the superb cover photo to the many other excellent pictures, maps, double-page spreads, and nice layout. The Scottish Mountaineering Club guide to the Cairngorms and North-East Scotland by Anne Butler, Heather Morning and Iain Young is a visual feast. Beyond this it is a good read, and I have enjoyed many walks and journeys from the comfort of my armchair both to familiar areas and places I do not know.
Main image: Cairngorm summit station | Credit: Al Todd
After an extensive section on using the guide and enjoying the hills there are sections on natural history and human history, the latter including advice on wild swimming and mountain biking. The information contained in these sections will help enhance any walk in the area. There is no information on climbing, an important part of the outdoor history of the area, but the book is over 500 pages already, so something had to give.
Useful and interesting details of human history, geography, natural history, and folklore crop up throughout the book and help to enliven the descriptions of walks. In fact the amount of detail contained in this book is impressive. The book took the authors five years from planning to publication and the tremendous time and effort put into it shows.
Walking in the Cairngorms. Credit: Hamish Frost
Who is it for? It will undoubtedly enhance the enjoyment of the area for all walkers, mountain bikers and other hill lovers. It will serve the hillwalker who wants to delve more deeply into the area, those who want shorter walks for part days or easy days and also those who want to explore beyond the lists of Munros, Corbetts, Donalds, Grahams etc. It will be equally useful to visitors and local residents.
It will be especially useful to those wishing to explore new areas. I only discovered the Angus Glens when I went there to finish my Munros. I am looking forward to going back, and this guide will help me appreciate that area more. The book also opened my eyes to Deeside and Strathdon, two eastern areas that I know very little about, good both for walking but also mountain biking.
The book contains details of all the bothies and some of the howfs, and advice on reaching and using them. There is a chapter on Passes and Through Routes; good for backpacking or bike packing adventures and for less strenuous journeys through the hills. Finally, it finishes with a chapter on Long Distance Paths and Hill Rounds, the latter aimed at long distance fell runners. There is also an extensive bibliography for those wishing to explore any of the topics mentioned in more detail.
I can thoroughly recommend this book which excels at all levels except portability; at over 400 pages and medium-format hardback, it will remain safely in you car or accommodation while you set off to explore.
The Cairngorms & North-East Scotland is published by Scottish Mountaineering Press (hardback, £35)
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