I'd never really heard of Marilyns till late 2003, when I quickly decided that they were one list too many, but then in 2004 I chanced upon Marhofn. I ordered the Relative Hills book, started to count, and slowly but surely was hooked. Marilyns are brilliant! From the half-minute stroll to the weekend backpacking or kayak expedition, there are Marilyns for every occasion. I achieved membership of the Hall on Blotchnie Fiold (Rousay, Orkney) in August (accompanied by Flapjack, my trusty companion) and have never looked back. Flapjack is possibly the only stuffed dragon to have completed the Munros, Corbetts and 600 Marilyns.
Most memorable trips of the year included:
Mull - A whole week of cool clear spring sunshine and blue skies to wander over all the mountains over 2000 feet on Mull and a few smaller ones, including Beinn Chreagach on Ulva. Magical! Where else can you pick a freshly-grown tomato from the vine inside the island's only telephone box?
Braeriach sunrise - Bivvy on top of Devil's Point, then an early-morning stroll along the ridges to Braeriach. Eagles, golden plovers, carpets of moss campion and saxifrages, and the ice-cold young Dee to bathe our feet in. What more can you ask for?
Crowborough and Ditchling Beacon - Did these whilst working and visiting the mother-in-law on the south coast. Not a trip I normally covet, but there is now a real point to such ventures to the deep south. Never before had I enjoyed such short bags. The navigation from base camp at Waitrose car park to Crowborough summit was somewhat testing, since I had only the Marhofn sketch map and was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes and a short skirt - not my usual attire for scaling peaks (me neither - AD). However, I still reached the top in only four minutes from the car.
Coyles of Muick - A lovely hill in itself, but the best thing was that it was on my own doorstep. If it were not for The Relative Hills of Britain, I would not know about several of these lovely wee hills so near to home.
Blotchnie Fiold triumph - What a magic place Orkney is. It has everything; nine Marilyns, most of them easy, some very spectacular scenery, especially on Hoy, and enough history and wildlife to keep me and non-bagging partner Andy mesmerised for our week-long visit. I wanted an unusual hill for my 600th, and this certainly provided a brilliant day out.
The lowlight of the year was getting my precious old down sleeping bag nicked from my tent at Derry Lodge while I was out walking in the Cairngorms. The upside was that, thanks to a top-notch piece of police work by the Braemar bobbies, I got it back (albeit smelly) a month later, and the b****r that nicked it spent six weeks in Peterhead jail as a result.
Targets for this year include having fun, finishing the Donalds (one to go) and the Munro Tops (17 to go), and to improve sea kayaking skills. Sea kayaks are an excellent way of transporting luxury quantities of food and drink to set up base camps in beautiful places.
