Hamish Brown

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Hamish Brown M.B.E. is a professional writer, lecturer and photographer specialising in mountain and outdoor topics. He is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands. Having completed multiple rounds of the Munros and being the first person to walk all the Munros in a single trip with only ferries and a bicycle as means of transport.

Born in Colombo in Sri Lanka in 1934, he escaped from Malaysia to South Africa as a refugee during World War II before returning to live in Scotland. He travelled extensively in the Middle East and East Africa during the 1950s when serving in the RAF for his National Service. Between 1960 and 1972 he worked at Braehead School, Buckhaven, Fife as an Outdoor Advisor and introduced many of the schools pupils to walking in the Scottish Highland as well as other outdoor activities. After a spell as a County Advisor he decided to set off on his trip to complete all the Munro mountains in one trip. He completed the journey between April and July 1974 using just the Isle of Mull and Isle of Skye ferries and a bicycle as transport.

His 1974 journey was documented in the book Hamish’s Mountain Walk and this made him a household name among the walking fraternity. He followed his Munros walk with the longest trip over the English, Irish and Welsh peaks, told in the book Hamish’s Groats End Walk, he also thought up the Ultimate Challenge a weekend endurance walk from coast to coast across Scotland. He continued to write books and contribute to outdoor magazines. He has written or edited over 20 books including: The Fife Coastal Path: From Pennines to the Highlands, Climbing the Corbetts, The Last Hundred, The Island of Rhum and Fife in Focus. He has also edited two classic poetry books: Poems of the Scottish Hills and the huge Speak to the Hills besides a volume of his own poems Time Gentlemen.

Hamish did a lot of his walking with his pet Shetland Sheepdogs, firstly Kitchy and then Storm who both climbed hundreds of mountains in the company of Hamish. In 1997 he received a Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letter from the University of St Andrews for his contribution to mountain writing and poetry. In 2000 he was made an MBE and a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

For many years Hamish lived in Kinghorn in Fife and now lives in Burntisland. He spends several months every year in Morocco.

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