Sometimes work and play combine in one great adventure. I joined Betty the Kerry Blue Terrier and her owner Shona Marshall in Glen Dessary recently for two remote Corbetts, Bidein a’ Chabair and Càrn Mòr. The summits were among the final few in Betty and Shona’s Full House round. It was en excellent trip with a wild camp/bothy night and a long and rough walk with more than 1800m of ascent. As we walked, we talked. Here is the story:
Betty: First Full House by a dog
Over the years, almost 100 people have completed an impressive mountains list of more than a thousand summits known as a “Full House”.
But now a very different walker can be added to the hall of fame – Betty the dog.
Next week, the nine-year-old Kerry Blue Terrier will become the first canine to tick off all six major hill categories in Scotland, including 282 Munros, 227 Munro Tops, 222 Corbetts, 219 Grahams (although Betty and Shona walked the 231 “new” Grahams) and 141 Donalds.
Alongside her owner Shona Marshall, of Kinloss in Moray, the pooch has also reached the summits of 22 dog-friendly Furths, which are mountains of Munro height in England, Wales and Ireland.
In just four years, owner and dog have hiked a total of 415 hill days, covering a distance of some 5600 miles and ascended 1,755,000ft, which is equivalent to more than 60 times the height of Everest.
As the pair approach their final mountain summit on 2818ft tall Morrone, near Braemar, on Saturday (April 12), 60-year-old Shona said: “It has been an incredible adventure for Betty and me and we’ve had so many great days out in the hills together.
“We are very similar and we both happiest when we are outdoors, surrounded by nature and walking long distances.
“Now, when I look out across all the many summits, I think how amazing it is that we have been to so many of them.”
It was after a trek to Everest base camp a decade ago, that Shona caught the walking bug.
A former competitive clay pigeon shooter, she was keen to stay fit and active. Looking forward to retirement, she also decided to the time was right to own a dog.
During the Full House round, Betty has eaten 800 hard boiled eggs – her favourite hill food – and consumed 415 tins of sardines.
Shona, who has two grown-up children and three grandkids, said: “Betty was 16 months old when I got her and we started walking in the hills together.
“Soon after, I learned about Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue, which is a non-profit organisation, and I came up with the idea to do a fund-raiser for them by climbing the famously difficult Inaccessible Pinnacle, an exposed rock formation that sits on top of a Munro on the Isle of Skye.
“I was very surprised by how Betty took it all in her stride. She never seems fazed by the heights, ridges or rocks. She is always so happy to be with me on a lead trotting out in front.”
Just over a year later, they had “bagged” a round of all the Munros, which are defined as Scottish summits of 3000ft elevation or more. On average, other Munro baggers take 15 years to finish this challenge.
Next came Shona and Betty’s pursuit of the Munro Tops, which are also 3000ft or more high, but not sufficiently prominent to be a mountain themselves.
Shona, who has worn out 10 pairs of hiking boots since 2021, said: “We started the Munro Tops in April 2022 and I enjoyed these even more than the Munros themselves. You really get to appreciate the full extent of these highest points in Scotland.”
At the same time, walking three or four days each week, the pair travelled extensively across Scotland, from Dumfries & Galloway to the far north of the Highlands, east and west and to half a dozen of the Scottish isles, bagging multiple summits.
Shona said: “I started to group together hills from different categories, such as Corbetts and Grahams, to make longer walks.
“One of our biggest walks was 27 miles to reach the Corbett, Beinn Bhreac, in Perthshire. We did a few outings with 10,000ft total ascent.
“The most difficult climbs were on Syke, on the Cuillin Ridge, and reaching the top of Stac Pollaidh in Assynt and, for those, I hired a guide.
“Betty and I also wild camped or slept in bothies to reach some of the very remote hills.”
According to The Munro Society, which keeps a record of canine completers, while there have been dogs who have finished individual rounds of the Munros, Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds, Betty will be the first to claim a Full House.
This canine round excludes 12 of the Furths in Ireland because dogs are banned by landowners from various mountain areas.
Anne Butler, who is secretary of The Munro Society and president of Mountaineering Scotland, praised Shona and Betty for their “four years of dedication and perseverance”.
In 2023, Anne recorded her own second Full House, which was a first by a woman. She added: “Completing a Full House in four years is a remarkable achievement. Shona and Betty have proved to be the perfect mountain companions.
“After their travels are over and despite all the muddy paws, wet coats and aching feet, Shona will realise that the most rewarding parts of the whole adventure were the unforgettable memories and the joy of sharing those unique moments with her best friend.”
What is a Full House?
A Full Houseincludes all hills in six categories recorded by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC). The term was coined by former clerk of the SMC, Dave Broadhead, in 2010.
- 282 Munros – Scottish mountains over 3000 feet
- 227 Munro Tops – subsidiary Munro peaks, also on Munro over 3000ft
- 222 Corbetts – Scottish mountains between 2500ft and 3000ft
- 231 Grahams – Scottish mountains between 600m and 762m (recorded metrically)
- 140 Donalds – Scottish Lowlands peaks 2000ft tall with a prominent of at least 50ft
- 34 Furths – mountains in the rest of the UK and Ireland over 3000ft
* Shona is raising funds for Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue through the Full House round. See gofund.me/d7761ded.
- A version of this story was published in the Sunday Post and P&J.
Our Glen Dessary Route:
My Corbetts bagged: 165 & 166.