Best among the new hills in 2014 was Beinn nan Cabar on a sunny Good Friday en-route to Knoydart, where we lucked out big time with a glorious weekend. A circuit of the Backwater reservoir in October was also memorable, not least for a close encounter with a stag in a firebreak near the summit of Hare Cairn.
The highlight of 2014 was however the completion of a combined second round of Munros and Corbetts, which I had started from scratch in June 2000. The finale took place in November on the Sow of Atholl and Sgairneach Mhor. Accompanying me were a large group of family and friends, including my son Calum on his first Munro, plus my elder brother, his wife and two chums who had all been on my first Munro completion in 1990.
The Upper Hall still seems a long way off. The lure of the high tops is still strong and, while lower hills have less appeal, I still get a buzz from reaching a new summit. A good compromise occurred to me when on MacLeod's Tables in May, which is to go for the Scottish hills between 458m and 610m. As I find I have already climbed 100 of them, this seems a feasible task as an occasional pursuit alongside other objectives.
