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, the book won an award from the Scottish Arts Council. 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 (now called the Great Outdoor Challenge) a weekend endurance walk from coast to coast across Scotland, the book Scotland Coast To Coast is an account of a typical Challenge walk. Great Walking Adventure covered some of his more distant treks to Corsica, Norway, the Andes, Atlas and Himalayas.

He has continued to write books and contribute to outdoor magazines. He has written or edited over 30 books and written numerous articles, many of which have appeared in The Scotsman and the Evening News and a selection of these were published in the book Travel. 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. Two of Hamish's best known books about the Scottish Highlands, Hamish's Mountain Walk and Climbing The Corbetts were released as a compendium in 1996 by the publishers Baton Wicks.

For many years Hamish lived in Kinghorn in Fife and now lives in Burntisland. He spends several months every year in Morocco, a country very close to his heart, he first visited there in 1965 and has returned every year to walk in the Atlas Mountains. In 2006 he released the book The Mountains Look On Marrakech an account of a 90 day end to end trek of the Atlas Mountains.

[edit] Bibliography

Hamish’s Mountain Walk, Paladin, 1978, ISBN 0 58608 332 4
Hamish’s Groats End Walk, Paladin, 1981, ISBN 0 58608 426 6
Eye To The Hills: Poems, Pettycur Publishing, 1982, ISBN 0 95080 890 3 (With James McMillan)
Poems Of The Scottish Hills, Elseveir, 1982, ISBN 0 08028 477 9
Time Gentlemen (Some Collected Poems), Mercat Press, 1983, ISBN 0 08030 375 7
Five Bird Stories, Pettycur Publishing, 1984, ISBN 0 95080 891 1
Speak To The Hills, Anthology of 20th Century British and Irish Mountain Poetry, Aberdeen University, 1985, ISBN 0 08030 406 0 (Edited with Martyn Berry)
The Great Walking Adventure, Oxford Illustrated Press, 1986, ISBN 0 946609 12 8
Travels, Scotman Publications, 1986, ISBN 0 90267 003 4
The Island of Rhum, A Guide for Walkers, Climbers and Visitors, Cicerone Press, 1988, ISBN 1 85284 002 1
Climbing The Corbetts, Victor Gollancz, 1988, ISBN 0 57504 378 4
Hamish Brown’s Scotland, Mercat Press, 1988, ISBN 0 08036 391 1
Scotland Coast To Coast, Patrick Stephens, 1990, ISBN 1 85260 229 5
Walking The Summits of Somerset and Avon, Patrick Stephens, 1991, ISBN 1-85260-365-8
Fort William And Glen Coe Walks, Jarrold Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0 71170 571 2
Great Walks: Scotland, New Orchard, 1992, ISBN 1 87222 656 6 (With Rennie McOwan, and Richard Mearns)
From The Pennines To The Highlands, House Of Lochar, 1992, ISBN 1 87402 737 4
The Bothy Brew, Luath Press, 1993, ISBN 0 94648 726 4
The Last Hundred, Munros, Beards and a Dog, Mainstream Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1 85158 607 5
The Fife Coast, Mainstream Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1 85158 608 3
Exploring The Edinburgh To Glasgow Canals, Stationary Office, 1997, ISBN 0 11495 735 5
Fife in Focus (Coastal Photographs), 1997, ISBN 1 86998 408 0
25 Walks: Skye and Kintail, Mercat Press, 2000, ISBN 1 84183 007 0
Along The Fife Coastal Path, Mercat Press, 2004, ISBN 1 84183 057 7
Fife: 25 Walks, Mercat Press, 2005, ISBN 1 84183 075 5
Seton Gordon’s Scotland, Whittles Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1 90444 522 5
The Mountains Look On Marrakech, Whittles Publishing, ISBN 1870325295
The Scottish Mountains, Colin Baxter Photography, 2007, ISBN 1 84107 367 9 (With Alan Gordon)

Hamish Brown has also contributed to:

Rough Guide to Morocco, Rough Guides, 2004, ISBN 1 84353 313 8
Rough Guide to Scotland, Rough Guides, 2006, ISBN 1 84353 666 8
Munros Tables, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1981
The Corbetts And Other Scottish Hills, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1990, ISBN 0 90752 129 0
The Munros, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1985, ISBN 0 90752 113 4