An extraordinary mountain bagger has completed her latest Munro round – and the final summits in four other mountain lists – on the same day.
Hazel Strachan chose September 28 for her “fun day out” when she reached the summit of the Ben Wyvis to claim her 13th Munro round of 282 Munros.
She also completed her first round of the 227 Munro Tops on Tom a’ Choinnich (Ben Wyvis), the 222 Corbetts on Creagan na Beinne, above Loch Tay, and the 231 Grahams on Ciste Buide a’ Claidheim, also near Loch Tay, as well as a fourth round of 141 Donalds (with tops) on East Mount Lowther, in the Southern Uplands.
Hazel, who holds the female record for the most rounds of Munros, said: “It was an amazing milestone day and some 44 years in the making. I only started to concentrate on hill lists other than Munros in 2019/20 as the weather patterns were starting to change.
“It has been such a wonderful journey, climbing so many hills – a lot in poor conditions, but also so many days with happy memories of being in wonderful landscapes.”
First, the Munro rounds record
For many years, Havel, 57, of Bathgate, West Lothian, aimed to complete a Munro round annually. In 2017, I wrote about her ninth round of Munros. Her 10th round was completed in 2018 but then a period of injury and the Covid pandemic saw her slowing down.
In 2022, I reported how Hazel had completed two rounds – 11 and 12 – on the same day.
It was about 10 months prior that I bumped into her on a Corbett in Torridon. Walking with hubby G on Beinn Dàmh just after Christmas 2021, we were surprised to meet the well-known Munro bagger.
I said then that Hazel “must be up to something!”. It turns out she was – and she recalls our meeting.
She explains: “Having finished Munro rounds 11 and 12 on the same day, I decided that the 13th round should be done with another hill list completion.
Hazel holds the female record for the most Munro rounds completed, while Steven Fallon sits at 16 rounds.
“Over the years, from starting hill walking in 1980, I had climbed many lower hills and, up until 2020, my totals were approximately 130 Corbetts and 140 Grahams.
“I had also found that the hill weather has gradually been deteriorating since the winter of 2019/20, which meant I tended to choose to walk the lower hills, especially in winter, as visibility and strong winds were becoming more of the normal weekend forecasts.
“So, I decided to work towards completing the Corbetts and Grahams, as well as 10 final Munro tops in my first round. Then, I thought it would be fun to add another round of Donalds with tops. I had only done two Donalds in my fourth round at this point.
“All this would mean I could hopefully complete all five Scottish lists on the same day.”
Hazel, who works full time, mainly focuses on the weekends and annual leave for walking. She usually walks solo and is aided by her husband Ian, who drives their motorhome to the start and finish of many of Hazel’s walking routes.
In recent years, she has aimed, where possible, to link together summits from different lists in one outing and often spends a night or two bivvying overnight. She has also made use of a packraft to access the mountains.
She says: “As you can imagine, the last year has been very busy reaching the last summits of the lists and it has felt like a major achievement.
“Fortunately, the weather and plans have worked surprisingly well with enough lower hills to fill in the nasty or windy weather days or weekends.
“All of the new additions to the Grahams were climbed on dreich days – days that I wouldn’t have been on Munros.
“My favourite hill days were spent bivvying and/or packrafting along lochs to reach the foot of hills. I’ve grown to love spending a prolonged periods in the hills.
“I also really appreciate Ian being there in our motorhome. He has enabled me to do some great A-to-B walks, dropping me at the start and being there, always ready with a gin and tonic, at the end of a route.”
Hazel’s five rounds
The Munros
Hazel is still a big fan of the Munros, which are Scottish mountains with a summit of 3000ft ((914.4m) or more. She says: “I see the Munros as fully fledged mountains and I know and enjoy them even after multiple rounds.
“Every round has been so different and each time I walk a Munro it can feel and look very different. I haven’t tired of these mountains although they have become a lot busier over the years.”
She reveals that the highlights on her 13th Munro round have all included bivvies. She says: “I’ve loved bivvying since I discovered tents weren’t always necessary for shelter. I look for features on the hill to provide me with shelter unless it’s a rare calm night.
“One of my best nights was bivvying a stone’s throw from the summit of Beinn Sgulaird above Loch Creran. I was still ascending the rocky back of the hill as the sun dipped below the horizon. I knew I’d have to make some quick decisions about where I was spending the night.
“There was a gentle wind blowing from the east, but the air felt really cold. I soon cooled down as I set up my bivvy on a level sheltered spot next to a boulder. I ate my cold meal and quickly wriggled into my bivvy bag. The temperature dropped to -6.5C but I was warm through the night.
“I occasionally woke up and looked out to see cloud levels move up and down. I laughed when I saw the crazy ice formation – like fingers – on my bivvy bag. The bag was camouflaged and looked like the boulders next to where I had slept.”
Her 13th Munro round took less than three years.
The Munro Tops
Hazel has also enjoyed walking to the summits of the Munro Tops, which are Scottish peaks that are more than 3000ft tall but are considered subsidiary summits of a nearby main Munro, rather than being a separate mountain.
She says: “I believe I left the best Munro Tops to last. The majority of walking the tops had simply felt like a walk to an existing part of the hill. However, my last 10 tops turned out to be memorable as most of them were on steeper ground, or far off away from the Munro summit.
“In total, it took me approximately 44 years to achieve this round but I would like to do another.”
The final Munro Tops included ascents of Am Basteir and Basteir Tooth in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye with guide Rebecca Coles; East Meur Gorm Craig and West Meur Gorm Craig on the Ben Avon massif; and Meall Dearg (Liathach) and Sgurr Dubh (Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair).
Hazel says: “With two of the tops, Meall Dearg and Sgurr Dubh, I kept finding excuses not to climb them because of very steep terrain. But in the end, I enjoyed both of them. I needed to remind myself that problems shouldn’t be stored away to fester.”
The Grahams
Hazel reports that she is surprised by how much she also enjoyed the Grahams. These are hills in Scotland with summits of between 600m and 762m, and a minimum prominence of 150m.
She says: “I loved climbing the Grahams. At times they were gnarly and sometimes an easy walk up from a road in dreich weather. At other times they were remote, requiring good planning to access them.
“Grahams felt like small mountains rather than hills. They are also tremendous viewpoints looking towards many higher hills and the surrounding landscape.”
Hazel’s Grahams round has also taken place over 44 years.
The Donalds
The Donalds – Scottish Lowlands summits of at least 2000ft (610m) with “sufficient topographical merit” – have been Hazel’s focus when the weather has been too unpleasant for higher mountains or outings further north.
She says: “My first Donald of my fourth round was Culter Fell in November 2023. The weather up north was dismal, yet I wanted a day of hill walking.
“Cloud was down on the summit but at times I walked out from below the cloud base to view a wet looking landscape peppered with soft melting patches.
“Then, I promptly forgot about the Donalds when there was a good spell of weather, and I continued heading north for my hill fix.
“However, the following spring brought deep snow, and I was back down the Borders seeking out lower summits.
“I have enjoyed these hills and my fourth round.”
It took Hazel 35 days over less than two years for Hazel to climb the Donalds and tops.
The Corbetts
The Corbetts are much less of a love affair for Hazel. She says: “I have often thought of the Corbetts as being not completely formed mountains and, for some reason, I haven’t ever loved them.
“However, when reflecting on the list and what I had written about each one after finishing, I have realised that I have had many fantastic Corbetts trips, such as my final Corbetts of this round on the islands of Arran and Rum.”
Hazel’s Corbett round took 182 days to achieve over 44 years.
The finishing day
While Hazel had been worried about the rain forecast on September 28, 2025, conditions turned out to be much better. There was hill fog to deal with and visibility was very reduced for her night walk of the Munro Ben Wyvis and Munros Top Tom a’ Choinnich.
She says: “I had to work my way along the plateau due to the fog, interpreting textures in the flat light. It was some of the most difficult conditions I’ve been in but at least it wasn’t windy.”
Ian then drove Hazel south to Ardtalnaig on Loch Tay. She says: “The new day brought amazing, clear weather with bands of cloud swamping the summits of Lawers.
“I want to thank Anne Butler [double Full House walker] for the car parking advice, which cut out a few miles of tarmac walking.
“Both the Corbett Creagan na Beinne and the Graham Ciste Buidhe a’Claidheimh were wonderful viewpoints.”
The final summit was the Donald, East Mount Lowther, with friends. Hazel says: “It was a wonderful night. The sunset was lovely and there was no wind. Darkness came and I turned on my headtorch. I enjoyed the walk up to the summit and then I placed my hand on the pillar on my final summit.
“It’s been a wonderful journey climbing the Munro and so many other hills.”
What’s next for Hazel?
The keen walker has already started another round of Munros and she is keen to do a second Munro Tops round. She also has her sights set on finishing the Furths, which are mountains in England, Wales and Ireland that are Munro height.
“I only have the Furths in Ireland left to do,” she says. A set of Munros, Munro Tops, Corbetts, Grahams, Donalds and Furths adds up to what is known as a Full House.