In 2022, a Collie called Ralph became the first known dog to complete a round of Scottish mountains called Grahams. I wrote about this feat for The Scots Magazine. If you enjoyed reading this article, why not buy a Scots Magazine, or a subscription?
Ralph reaches all Graham summits
In the summer of 2022, six-year-old Ralph the collie became the first known dog to complete a round of Scottish mountains called Grahams. He walked the 219 summits over five years.
At the time, The Grahams were a classified list of peaks that are of between 2000ft (609.6m) and 2500ft (762m) stature, with at least 150 metres of descent on all sides.
Note: The definition of the Grahams has more recently been changed. There has been a metrics revision by the self-proclaimed keeper of the Grahams list, Alan Dawson. He has redefined Grahams as all Scottish hills of between 600m and 762m, rather than previous 609.6m (2000ft). This has added 12 hills to the list.
In light of the new definition, Ralph’s owner and companion, Anne Butler, reports they both have five more summits to reach to complete the new Grahams list.
Ralph’s Grahams round
Ralph celebrated his feat with a bowl of sausages after reaching his final Graham, Creag Ghuanach above Loch Treig, Lochaber, in July, accompanied by owners Anne and Bill Butler.
Ralph, who was born on a farm in Dunkeld, Perthshire, before moving to live with the Butlers in Aviemore aged 10 weeks, has also completed a round of Scottish hills called the Donalds. He finished the list of the 140 2000ft-plus hills in the Lowlands of Scotland in 2020.
Of course, Ralph must rely on keen mountain bagger Anne to keep a record of his summits. However, for him, it’s the simple joys of fresh air, freedom and exercise when in the hills and mountains that keeps him motivated. That and a lunch of his favourite dog food and the last bits of Anne’s picnic.
Ralph’s happy place
It was on his first “listed” hill, Càrn na h-Easgainn, near Moy, in the Highlands that Anne and Bill realised the countryside was Ralph’s “happy place”.
Anne says: “Ralph is a generally anxious and nervous dog. Despite a lot of training and socialisation techniques, he seems to hate our modern world. He has a long list of dislikes, including cars, trains, bikes, skis, dustbins, lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, flashing lights and strangers.
“But when he is in the hills and the mountains he is very happy. On his first hills, we could see how confident and content he suddenly became. I guess, like many people, Ralph enjoys the freedom of the country and, in particular, he loves the more remote and wild places.”
Anne believes it was during Ralph’s early days on the Donalds that he developed a passion for heather-covered slopes, peat hags and rough ground. She says: “I took Ralph to many Donald summits as part of my own walking trips and because these hills have less ascent than the more northerly Scottish mountains, they provided the ideal training place for him.
“He built up his strength and stamina and learned many hill skills. Now I think he most enjoys really rough terrain – the sort that many humans find such hard work – and he associates these with early happy days.
“He just bounds along and makes it seem so easy to cross landscapes that are pathless.”
However, Ralph isn’t keen on routes with steep slopes or drop-offs. Anne, a retired nurse who moved from Devon to Scotland in 2008, explains: “We have noticed that while Ralph is very happy on wide open mountain slopes and moorlands, he doesn’t seem comfortable where there is any exposure or steep drops. Again, he is not unlike many humans.
“When he seems scared I attach him to a lead and that appears to give him the confidence to continue.”
Anne’s four-footed hill bagging companions
Ralph, whose dad was a champion sheep dog and mum a farm dog, has a different nature to two other Collies that Anne and Bill have previously owned. Anne says: “The breed found me when I lived in the south of England and owned a horse. I wanted a dog that would enjoy spending time outdoors on Dartmoor and that fitted in with an outdoors lifestyle.
“Meg came first and then we got Molly. Both dogs were much more laidback that Ralph but I guess that each dog has its own character. Like humans are different, so dogs are naturally different, too.”
Molly, who passed away in 2016, was also a keen hill and mountain bagger and during her life she accompanied Anne on 1227 Munros (Scottish mountains with a height of at least 3000ft), 312 Corbetts and 131 Grahams. She was the first known dog to complete a full round of Corbetts.
Over many decades, Anne, herself, has completed five rounds of Munros, two Corbett rounds and what is known in mountain bagging circles as a “Full House”. The list includes all the hills in the categories recorded by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC): Munros, Munro Tops, Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds. A Full House also extends to Furths, which are defined as mountains that are Munro height in England, Ireland and Wales.
Anne hopes to have finished a second Full House by September next year and she is ticking off her second round of Donalds, as well as “tidying up” second lists of Grahams, Munro Tops and Furths.
She says: “There are 34 Furths, including six in England, 15 in Wales and 13 in Ireland.
The crux for me will be the Furths in Ireland and once I have done these I will have my second Full House in sight.
“I plan to finish on the Graham, Meall Tairbh, near Loch Tulla, by Bridge of Orchy, in the Highlands next September.”
Ralph moves on to Corbett bagging
While Anne and Ralph’s focus since early 2022 has been to finish a Graham round together, they have now moved on to walking the Corbetts. These Scottish peaks of between 2500ft and 3000ft stature with at least a 500ft prominence total 222.
Anne says: “I have a big spreadsheet and I noticed at New Year that Ralph had 38 Grahams left to finish his round. Some of these were very remote so I started using an e-bike and a dog trailer.
“In this way, we were able to do some very big days. It would be too much to expect Ralph to do some of the walking routes that were up to about 30 miles each. Of course, he isn’t keen on the trailer, but he does accept it as a form of transport.
“Now all the Grahams have been bagged, we are doing the Corbetts. Ralph has done more than half of these.
“I think we both like the Corbetts more than any other hill or mountain list. Many are remote and wild and they attract far fewer people than the Munros. We have also greatly enjoyed the Grahams, which I class as a close second favourite hill list.
“I become more anti-social as time goes by and the less popular hills and mountains, including the Grahams and Corbetts, seem to best suit both Ralph and I.”
What are the Grahams?
Grahams used to be defined as Scottish mountains between 2000ft / 609.6m and 2500ft / 762m in height, with a minimum prominence, or drop, of 150 metres (492.1ft). Peculiarly, the classification mixed imperial and metric thresholds. Things have changed recently...
The history books reveal the story of the naming of this list, which started life as “Elsies”. Elsies, or LCs, are short for Lesser Corbetts and it was in 1992, the list from a cartographer, Alan Dawson, was published in his book,The Relative Hills of Britain.
Later that year, Fiona Torbet (née Graham) published her own list that didn’t include the Southern Uplands. After discussions, it was agreed the lists would merge and be known as the Grahams. Today, the list extends to 219 summits spread across Scotland.
Late in 2022, Alan updated the list with a metrics revision. He has redefined Grahams as all Scottish hills of between 600m and 762m, rather than previous 609.6m (2000ft) and still with the 150 metre drop. This has added 12 hills to the list.