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Hell of a Journey: On Foot Through the Scottish Highlands in Winter
Hell of a Journey' describes what is arguably the last great journey to be undertaken in the entire Scottish Highlands on foot in one winter. On one level it is a vivid and evocative account of a remarkable trek - never attempted before - on another it celebrates the uniqueness of the Highlands, the scenery and ecology of 'the last wilderness in Europe'. The challenge Mike Cawthorne set himself was to climb all 135 of Scotland's 1,000-metre peaks, which stretch in an unbroken chain through the heart of the Highlands, from Sutherland to the Eastern Cairngorms, down to Loch Lomond, and west to Glencoe. His route traversed the most spectacular landscape in Scotland, linking every portion of wilderness, and was completed in the midst of the harshest winter conditions imaginable. Acclaimed on its first publication in 2000, this edition contains an epilogue in which Mike Cawthorne reflects on his trek and wonders what has changed since he carried it out. He warns that 'wild land in Scotland has never been under greater threat'. Hell of a Journey is a reminder of what we could so easily lose forever.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 24, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 21, 2016
As challenges go this was pretty extreme. Across the Scottish Highlands. On Foot. In Winter. And bagging the 135 peaks over 1000 metres.
The guy is insane.
Strangley enough, no one had attempted this before; but this is what Mike Cawthorne decided to do. So he started preparations for the mammoth trek across the last of the United Kingdom’s wildernesses. Not only did he have to get fit, but he left caches of food at set points across the route that would enable him to keep moving. He handed in his notice at his job and made his way to the very north of Scotland. His route would take him from the bleak Sutherland Bay, through the Eastern Cairngorms, past Loch Lomond, and onwards to Glencoe. It is one of our most spectacular landscapes, but with that beauty comes genune danger. These places in the winter can be as cold as the Arctic, and suffer days of relentless winds; little did Cawthorne know just what weather he would encounter on his epic walk.
He is a lyrical writer, managing to keep our attention as he battles through all that the Scottish winter could through at him. But mountains are in his blood, and as foolhardy as a journey of this magnitude is, for him it is a calculated risk, with a strong sense of his exact limits. Even though there was no point where I wished I was alongside him in some of the conditions he encountered, his evocative writing means that you feel the wind, taste the rain, shiver in the cold and absorb the view in the sharp sparkling sun as he did. But it is a call to arms too, as the places he crossed are under threat from greedy land owners expecting this wild and untamed land to pay its way. What we have the opportunity to see now may one day soon be gone. It is a well written book on out most spectacular mountains.
He is still insane though…
The guy is insane.
Strangley enough, no one had attempted this before; but this is what Mike Cawthorne decided to do. So he started preparations for the mammoth trek across the last of the United Kingdom’s wildernesses. Not only did he have to get fit, but he left caches of food at set points across the route that would enable him to keep moving. He handed in his notice at his job and made his way to the very north of Scotland. His route would take him from the bleak Sutherland Bay, through the Eastern Cairngorms, past Loch Lomond, and onwards to Glencoe. It is one of our most spectacular landscapes, but with that beauty comes genune danger. These places in the winter can be as cold as the Arctic, and suffer days of relentless winds; little did Cawthorne know just what weather he would encounter on his epic walk.
He is a lyrical writer, managing to keep our attention as he battles through all that the Scottish winter could through at him. But mountains are in his blood, and as foolhardy as a journey of this magnitude is, for him it is a calculated risk, with a strong sense of his exact limits. Even though there was no point where I wished I was alongside him in some of the conditions he encountered, his evocative writing means that you feel the wind, taste the rain, shiver in the cold and absorb the view in the sharp sparkling sun as he did. But it is a call to arms too, as the places he crossed are under threat from greedy land owners expecting this wild and untamed land to pay its way. What we have the opportunity to see now may one day soon be gone. It is a well written book on out most spectacular mountains.
He is still insane though…
December 31, 2022
This was a reread of a book that has sat on our shelves for more than a decade but which I still remember clearly from the first read more than 15 years ago.
The author undertakes an ambitious and arduous journey, completing some of the biggest munros in a single expedition over a winter. The writing is about the mountains but also not; the descriptions of the route are merely a narrative for the story, certainly they would prove difficult to trace exactly upon a map. Yet it is the story of the battle, physical and mental, that it is much more interesting.
I totally understand why you would want to leave teaching and escape to the wilds, but at the same time I'm not sure I would want to dedicate myself to this experience. I guess we each have our own relationship with mountains and our own reasons for climbing them. Early on there are frequent history lessons tracing the origin of the bothys and reflecting on how the Glen's would have been much busier, whilst towards the end the author makes it clear what his thoughts are on developers forestry and commercialisation. To me this juxtaposition was hypocritical - the mountains are there for all and our ability to coexist should be sought and celebrated.
Overall I'm glad I reread this book. It will probably remain sitting on my shelf for another 15 years waiting to be read and enjoyed again as for some reason I can't articulate I find it deeply appealing and don't want to give it away!
The author undertakes an ambitious and arduous journey, completing some of the biggest munros in a single expedition over a winter. The writing is about the mountains but also not; the descriptions of the route are merely a narrative for the story, certainly they would prove difficult to trace exactly upon a map. Yet it is the story of the battle, physical and mental, that it is much more interesting.
I totally understand why you would want to leave teaching and escape to the wilds, but at the same time I'm not sure I would want to dedicate myself to this experience. I guess we each have our own relationship with mountains and our own reasons for climbing them. Early on there are frequent history lessons tracing the origin of the bothys and reflecting on how the Glen's would have been much busier, whilst towards the end the author makes it clear what his thoughts are on developers forestry and commercialisation. To me this juxtaposition was hypocritical - the mountains are there for all and our ability to coexist should be sought and celebrated.
Overall I'm glad I reread this book. It will probably remain sitting on my shelf for another 15 years waiting to be read and enjoyed again as for some reason I can't articulate I find it deeply appealing and don't want to give it away!
August 18, 2020
Hell of a Journey' describes what is arguably the last great journey to be undertaken in Britain: the entire Scottish Highlands on foot in one winter. On one level it is a vivid and evocative account of a remarkable trek - never attempted before - on another it celebrates the uniqueness of the Highlands, the scenery and ecology of 'the last wilderness in Europe'. The challenge Mike Cawthorne set himself was to climb all 135 of Scotland's 1,000-metre peaks, which stretch in an unbroken chain through the heart of the Highlands, from Sutherland to the Eastern Cairngorms, down to Loch Lomond, and west to Glencoe. His route traversed the most spectacular landscape in Scotland, linking every portion of wilderness, and was completed in the midst of the harshest winter conditions imaginable. Acclaimed on its first publication in 2000, this edition contains an epilogue in which Mike Cawthorne reflects on his trek and wonders what has changed since he carried it out. He warns that 'wild land in Scotland has never been under greater threat'. Hell of a Journey is a reminder of what we could so easily lose forever.
January 2, 2021
Mike Cawthorne's journey seems like it is a bit of a questionable idea: a wintertime traverse across Scotland on foot, climbing all 135 of its 1,000 meter peaks along the way. Hell of a Journey comes across as a bit of a warning to anyone else who might attempt this, with page after page of foul weather, heavy wind, and difficult climbs. It's also a lyrical story about the beautiful highlands country of moors, bogs, peaks, and lochs. The book is also a warning of man's encroachment into the wilderness which presents a facade of permanence yet is being scarred and affected by time, water, and man. The first few chapters were more about the logistics of the trip, and ran together a bit for me: he started, hiked here, climbed these peaks, met friends, resupplied, repeat. Once he gets to the heart of his journey, though, the prose focuses on his relationship with the land and the lessons he's learning from the journey, and was far more compelling.
May 13, 2024
This was a very impressive journey and undertaking but I struggled with the tone and style of the book. There’s very little personal reflection in here and by the end I don’t feel like I had a strong sense of the authors personality or what he gained from the journey.
I think it would be more enjoyable if you were familiar with all the mountains he climbed and with winter climbing in Scotland, but this is a relatively niche area and not something your average person is familiar with. A fair bit of walking jargon within and as the mountains were all Gaelic names, with limited maps to go along with them, it all sort of blended together and became quite repetitive. More details maps and a bit more personal reflection would have greatly improved it for me.
I think it would be more enjoyable if you were familiar with all the mountains he climbed and with winter climbing in Scotland, but this is a relatively niche area and not something your average person is familiar with. A fair bit of walking jargon within and as the mountains were all Gaelic names, with limited maps to go along with them, it all sort of blended together and became quite repetitive. More details maps and a bit more personal reflection would have greatly improved it for me.
October 28, 2020
A topic most beloved of mine as I am both a Scot and a trekker at heart. Somehow the author is too lofty and patronising. Some great quotes though, an especially memorable notion of the (im)permanence of the mountains.
May 5, 2021
Just didn't do it for me.
November 11, 2016
Mike Crawthorne is a mad man....or at least those were my thoughts at the beginning of this book. Walking 1607 miles, climbing all the Scottish 1000m peaks and taking 143 days to do it, pretty crazy right? But to then do it during winter, there has gotta be something wrong with this guy. As his journey progresses you realise his idea sort of makes sense, the mountains look different during winter, the colours, especially during sunsets are of a kind you'll never see anywhere else. I wish I had the time/money/balls to do this sort of journey but alas I don't.
The book is well written, at times it feels a little rushed, when naming the mountains he uses their Gaelic names, with no info on how to pronounce them, so I had to keep resorting to google for assistance. The photos for some reason are at the back of the book (on the kindle at least) if I had turned off the book at the index I would have missed them, I think it would have made more sense placing them in the main body of the book when he was at those places. Apart from those little bits I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I've learnt quite a bit too, I had no idea of the damage caused by over-population of deer and the planting of non-native trees, it's sad that so little is done to protect the Highlands. Also this book proves that the Scottish really are mad as he met quite a few in remote places during snow storms.
Give this modern day adventure a read.
The book is well written, at times it feels a little rushed, when naming the mountains he uses their Gaelic names, with no info on how to pronounce them, so I had to keep resorting to google for assistance. The photos for some reason are at the back of the book (on the kindle at least) if I had turned off the book at the index I would have missed them, I think it would have made more sense placing them in the main body of the book when he was at those places. Apart from those little bits I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I've learnt quite a bit too, I had no idea of the damage caused by over-population of deer and the planting of non-native trees, it's sad that so little is done to protect the Highlands. Also this book proves that the Scottish really are mad as he met quite a few in remote places during snow storms.
Give this modern day adventure a read.
February 8, 2024
Gripping hell!
I have walked all these hills in summertime, never winter, but it brought back all my own memories of being there. It’s a hard slog through mountains on your own, and this is on another level. Like reading a book about climbing Everest or K2, from the comfort of home it’s thrilling to imagine, but the account itself is enough of a cautionary tale to keep those who value life, limb & sanity to do something a little safer.
I have walked all these hills in summertime, never winter, but it brought back all my own memories of being there. It’s a hard slog through mountains on your own, and this is on another level. Like reading a book about climbing Everest or K2, from the comfort of home it’s thrilling to imagine, but the account itself is enough of a cautionary tale to keep those who value life, limb & sanity to do something a little safer.
May 15, 2013
Bit repetitive. One storm-bound bivouac on an unpronounceable Scottish Peak is much like another...
July 26, 2013
It meanders a bit, and due to its very nature is a little repetitive, but if you're winter Munro-ing it should be on your reading list!
March 7, 2015
Really, really enjoyed this book. What a great journey around the highlands and well written.
January 2, 2015
All 1000m peaks in Scotland non stop in winter - mental.
December 1, 2017
Interesting, but quiet repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews