I bought the RHB book in March 1997, so I suppose that means I have had the book for the last 18 years. I still have all the copies of Marhofn and occasionally refer back through them. I have attended a few of the annual meets, however none so far in Scotland.
I did not really pay much attention to Marilyns before June 2000, when I finished the Munros. I had collated which ones I had already climbed as I had the book, but I certainly did not go out to specifically bag them. That all seemed to change once the Munros were out of the way. One messy list completed, now a clean one to do. Even better, all the Corbetts and Grahams counted as well. The downside of that was that both those categories were just another Marilyn tick, so I did not specifically aim to finish either list. That has continued until now and probably fits better with living on the south coast of England.
People are often surprised when I tell them that the Alps are a quicker and shorter drive for me than the northern Highlands. So, why do I still go to northern Scotland? Well, despite the obvious attractions of the Alps, I personally still prefer the hills, lochs, glens, islands and scenery in Scotland to almost anywhere else. That is why my wife and I keep coming back. I wish we were closer as we would certainly do it far more often. I usually get one trip north of the border per year and occasionally two, but I think I have only once achieved three in a year. 2015 saw one trip to mid-Wales, staying close to Rhayader, and one to the Southern Uplands centred about Moffat. We had good weather both times and particularly so around Moffat in October.
In recent years we have been visiting many more Scottish islands, particularly the remaining unvisited Hebrides. Of course we collect Marilyns while there, however that is not the primary reason for going. In 2016 we shall be going to Barra and the Uists as well as returning to Harris and Lewis.
My progress towards 600 has not been quick. Climbing the Munros does not give you much of a start. Despite having climbed all of the Snowdonia and Lake District hills, that does not add many more either. I wish it were faster but with no unclimbed Marilyns now closer than 300 km and with most over 600 km, it is the time taken to get there that is the real issue. I have too many other demands on my time as well. When I retire it will be so much easier, but that is still a few years off. Hopefully I will get to 600 by the end of 2017 but it will be sad there will be no Marhofn magazine any more.
It will be a sad day reading the final edition of Marhofn in May. I have always looked forward to it dropping through the letterbox and that determines my reading material for the next few days. It is an opportunity to think back to places visited and to imagine more still to do. It has been a real inspiration to collecting Marilyns and without it there will not be the same compulsion to get to the magic 600 and certainly far less so beyond. Personally I wish it would continue, but I understand it is an increasingly difficult and thankless task to produce it. It will be sorely missed by me.
Lochcraig Head and Loch Sween (photo: Ian Baines)
