Cicerone has published a new walking guidebook to some of the UK’s most revered mountains, the Munros of the Isle of Skye, including 11 on the Cuilllin ridge. It has been written by Adrian Trendall, who lives at the foot of the Cuillin range. Adrian and his wife Bridgette run a guiding and photography business, All Things Cuillin. Adrian is intimately familar with the 12 Munros of Skye and extremely well placed to pen a guidebook. His previous guidebook, Skye’s Cuillin Ridge Traverse, was well received and Hubby G and I used this when completing our own Munros. The Skye Munros is a different guidebook because it details routes to each of the Munro summits, rather than as a full traverse route.
Anyone who knows or follows me will be aware the Skye Munros are my least favourite of the 282 mountains that form a round of Scottish peaks with a summit of more than 3000ft. I can admire and respect them because they are geologically magnificent but I fear the ridge with its high, jagged crest and long, steep drop-offs. The routes to the summits are complex and gnarly and require careful navigation, as well as scrambling and ropework at times. You can read about my experience of completing the Cuillin Munros but don’t let it put you off! For many people, the Cuillin Munros are an incredible experience. Adrian’s new guidebook, Skye Munros, is written as an aid to people who want to climb them and have the relevant experience, skillset and confidence to do so without a guide.
Note that of the 12 Skye Munros Bla Bheinn is considered an outlier and not on the main Cuillin ridge.
My thoughts: Cicerone’s Skye Munros guidebook
The pocket-sized guidebook is split into two parts. The first is an overview of the Munros on the island located in north-west Scotland. The first part aims to prepare walkers so they arrive in the Cuillin having optimised their chances of success. Topics include gear, weather, logistics, navigation, fitness and psychological preparation.
I like this section because it gives sensible information about what to expect, the skills you’ll need and plenty of details about kit.
It’s clear from this part that the book is written by someone who knows these mountains extremely well. Adrian is not keen to make the Cuillin seem off-putting but he is also serious about how daunting a task it can be to tackle any one of the ridge Munros.
The second part of the guidebook is the one you would take with you on your walks. It provides in-depth topo details to walking each of the Skye Munros, whether as separate outings to each summit or by grouping them together into several summits in one outing.
The detail and descriptions are excellent and these are coupled with large-scale mapping from Harvey and specially commissioned photo topos, which are linked to a route description by numbered waypoints.
There are suggested routes , the start and finish points, and some alternative routes where this applies. The maps and photos are coupled with step-by-step written descriptions, plus there is a link to a download of GPX files of the routes.
Reading some of the routes gives me the fear because I can still remember my emotions on this ridge. I very much wanted to reach all the summits so I could finish a round of Munros, but I also found it incredibly tough mentally. Even if you are a confident Munro bagger, you still need to be a superb navigator and have the ability to scramble and use ropes.
It might be that the guidebook gives you an initial insight into the Skye Munros and that leads you to booking a guide, such as Adrian, or it could be that you use the book to start your Cuillin Munros adventures. If you build up with the suggested “easiest” Munros it may be that you will then feel confident to complete them all yourself, or you will find that while some of the summits are achievable on your own, others require an expert guide.
The photography in the book is very good, and helps to showcase the stunning drama of these mountains and the ridge.
If you have been wondering what Skye’s Munros are like and how to tackle them, this Cicerone guidebook is a brilliant starting point. It will also give you all the information and mapping you will need to bag all 12 of the lofty summits.
Buy from Cicerone, priced £19.95, also direct from All Things Cuillin and for £17.56 on Amazon.
- The guidebook was sent to me in return for an honest review.