NORTHERN HORIZONS

Around four years ago, I started in earnest on a new project. Inspired at an early age by books such as Ken Wilson and Richard Gilbert’s series, which included Hard Rock and Wild Walks, I had a clear vision for the format I would adopt. It would be a guidebook as theirs were, but not in the usual sense. Instead, I wanted to capture the magic of long mountain days, writing of the experience, immersing the reader in those places which had given me so much over the years.

I also had a clear idea of the areas I wanted to focus on. Northern Horizons was never intended to provide equal representation of all mountain ranges or even to showcase what might be thought by some, to be the best hill running. Instead, I would focus simply on the hills, summits and myriad places among them which had inspired me and continue to draw me back, year after year. I would draw on the combined experience of running, climbing and sea kayaking, though I claim no remarkable ability in any of these disciplines, in an attempt to articulate the perspective those experiences had offered. And while sufficient detail would be provided to give meaningful insight to the routes described, in all cases, the reader would be required to do their own research, leaving some sense of discovery for the individual. The narrative that resulted is at times intensely personal, sometimes critical, and perhaps occasionally indulgent.

In the end, the hills do not exist for us - they are simply there. How we respond to them, the inspiration we draw from them and the story we tell, is up to us. Northern Horizons is my choice.

Available to preorder from the Scottish Mountaineering Press, Northern Horizons will launch at the Fort William Mountain Festival, 14 February.