He’s one of Scotland’s most versatile people; a man with more hats than Audrey Hepburn.
And now, the indefatigable Dr Hamish Brown MBE, Scottish mountaineer, lecturer, photographer, writer, poet and international mountain guide, who embodies Scottish hill walking, has joined the Fort William Mountain Festival Hall of Fame as the 10th recipient of The Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture.
Nominated by the public and his peers as a mountain hero who celebrates achievement, accomplishment and the spirit of adventure, Dr Brown’s myriad feats have proved inspirational for decades.
At 82, he is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands and he became the first person to walk all the Munros in a single trip and only used the Isle of Mull and Isle of Skye ferries and a bicycle as transport.
Hamish’s Mountain Walk, his now legendary account of this epic 112-day journey in 1974, featuring 289 peaks and covering 1,639 miles, remains one of the best books on the Munros, oozing love of the landscape and curiosity about people.
Mile Pescod, Chairman of The Highland Mountain Culture Association Limited, organisers of The Fort William Mountain Festival, said: “Hamish embodies the passion and the excitement that exploring the wild Scottish landscape entails, and the great desire to share this sense of adventurous wonder with others.
“Not only has Hamish explored Scotland and many other mountain areas right across the globe, but he has helped countless others do the same and find the same sense of satisfaction.”
He followed his 1974 Munros walk with the longest trip over the English, Irish and Welsh peaks, told in another best seller, Hamish’s Groats End Walk. Some of his more distant treks to Corsica, Norway, the Andes, Atlas and Himalayas were covered in his book The Great Walking Adventure.
As a successful poet Hamish Brown has edited two classic poetry books: Poems of the Scottish Hills and the huge Speak to the Hills, besides producing volumes of his own poems.
Born in Colombo in Sri Lanka on August 13, 1934, Mr Brown lived in Japan for a time and then Singapore, escaping with his family in 1942 as it fell to the Japanese.
He lived in South Africa for two years as a refugee before returning to live in Scotland at the end of World War II. His family lived in Dollar and Mr Brown, who was educated at Dollar Academy, spent much of his youth exploring the nearby Ochil Hills.
This was what really awakened his interest in the outdoor life; a passion which has only increased with age.
In 1997, he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letter from the University of St Andrews for his contribution to mountain writing and poetry. Then, in 2000, he was made an MBE.
His latest accolade will be presented during the Fort William Mountain Festival which runs in and around Fort William and Lochaber from February 15-19.
The third Scottish Youth Ambassador for Mountain Culture will also receive their award at the same time.
http://www.mountainfestival.co.uk/award.html