2007 was a fairly typical year for me, with a mix of new Marilyns and old favourites in roughly equal proportion. I had planned others but didn't get them climbed due to some pretty poor weather - I refuse nowadays to go up a hill if I'm not going to get a view from the top. On this basis, entry to the Hall could still be a long way off.
The highlight was a few days in Ullapool in early June. The weather was glorious and I couldn't resist return visits to the excellent viewpoints of Beinn Liath Mhor a'Ghiubhais Li and Cul Mor. But arguably the best viewpoint of all on that trip was the 203m Meall an Fheadain above Achiltibuie - in one direction I could see all of the individualistic hills of the north-west and in the other, over the Summer Isles, the coastline of the Outer Hebrides. What a view for minimal effort - highly recommended. Although I parked at the houses and walked up the service road, there seems to be no reason why you can't drive up to the radio mast at 998112, which would make the climb even shorter.
In Galloway early in the year, Cairnsmore of Fleet was a long-wanted addition to my list, and Cairnharrow was climbed from the north, over Cambret Hill, so that I could visit the stone circle and cairn burial tomb that lie in the valley between the two hills.
For the first time in a decade I ventured over the border, with a trip in late September to the hills of the northern Lake District. The highlight was a walk over Grisedale Pike and Grasmoor, although even at that time of year I found myself part of a long line of walkers ascending the Pike's east ridge. Even the smaller hills were not short of foot traffic - I met five other folk on Great Mell Fell and a couple on its smaller neighbour Little Mell Fell. (AD: Probably Wainwright baggers.)
