Hamish Brown honoured for mountain excellence
DR HAMISH Brown MBE, Scottish mountaineer, lecturer, photographer, writer, poet and international mountain guide, joins the Fort William Mountain Festival Hall of Fame as the tenth recipient of The Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture.
Dr Brown, 82, is best known for his walking exploits in the Scottish Highlands. He was 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 bike as transport.
Hamish’s Mountain Walk, the book he wrote in 1978 about that 112- day journey, with 289 peaks over 1,639 miles, remains a popular book on Munros and made him a household name and an inspiration for generations of hillwalkers.
Dr Brown received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letter from the University of St Andrews for his contribution to mountain writing and poetry in 1997 and in 2002 he was made an MBE for his educational work and a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. He was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.
Mike 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. Hamish is a true exponent of mountain culture.’
The award will be presented to Hamish during the Fort William Mountain Festival which runs from February 15 to 19.