Christmas Gift Guide
Christmas is on the horizon and the gift-giving season is here.
At the Press, we’re generally quite reluctant to constantly target you with a hard sell. We’d love you to buy our books, but only if you really want them, or you think someone else will.
While we want to inspire you to spend time in Scotland’s wild places, we hope you’ll join us in our commitment to preserving and enhancing these fragile habitats by giving careful consideration to how you engage with them, both in terms of the resources we use and the impact we have on them.
So, to help you buy a gift that really will be for life, not just for Christmas, we’ve created a buying guide with some of our favourite and most recent publications. This way, we hope you can find exactly the right book, for exactly the right person. Dig in.
The Fox of Glencoe
by Hamish MacInnes
For: anyone with a passion for Scottish hills, winter climbing, mountain rescue, or the history of mountaineering – and, with Hamish’s work on iconic films, cinephiles too.
What it’s about:
This multi-award winning book chronicles the adventures of the legendary Hamish MacInnes and his achievements in the field of mountaineering, from exploits worldwide to his landmark contributions in modern mountain safety and alpinism. Few people cram as much into a lifetime as Hamish did, and these memoirs reflect his restless curiosity and ability to marshal loyalty and support for the most outlandish scheme. His legacy is vividly brought to life in this collection of unseen and retold stories, images and additional narratives from some of his closest friends.
One Man’s Legacy: Tom Patey
by Mike Dixon
For: similarly to The Fox of Glencoe, anyone wanting to read more about mountaineering and its rich history will get a kick out of this – but it will especially resonate with the maverick or ‘character’ in your life.
What it’s about:
One Man’s Legacy chronicles the brief but brilliant life of Dr Tom Patey: bard, musician, and one of Scotland’s foremost climbers and mountaineers. His story is one of pioneering ascents and boundless enthusiasm, and his spontaneity, carefree approach and ability to burn the candle at both ends remain legendary, several decades after his untimely death. Supported by a foreword from Mick Fowler and first-hand insights from some of the leading climbers of the last century, including Sir Chris Bonington, Joe Brown and Paul Nunn, One Man’s Legacy celebrates a complex, larger-than-life character who rightly deserves his place in mountaineering history.
The Great Sea Cliffs of Scotland
Compiled by Guy Robertson
For: ‘For anyone with the slightest interest in the history, scenery and climbs on the sea cliffs of Scotland, this fantastic book is a must’ – Mick Fowler. Also a great gift as the perfect coffee-table book.
What it’s about:
The Great Sea Cliffs of Scotland is the 2021 Banff Mountain Book Award-winning anthology of outrageous climbing adventures from 26 of the most extraordinary sea cliffs across Scotland. Each area is described in rich detail and accompanied by personal accounts that offer an intimate perspective of the distinctive nature of this unique environment, and the generous rewards for those willing to accept the challenge of these seemingly improbable lines.
Tears of the Dawn
by Jules Lines
For: climbers, those who love travel and adventure, and thrill-seekers. Ideal for anyone who wants an insight into the life and mind of a free solo climber.
What it’s about:
In Tears of the Dawn, Jules Lines, Britain’s most accomplished free solo climber, gives a rare and candid glimpse into the mind of one of climbing’s most audacious and determined legends. With eloquence and unexpected humility, Lines recounts triumphs, tribulations, friendships, romances and, perhaps most poignantly of all, his close encounters with death. It is a journey like no other, leaving the reader breathless, on edge, and dreaming of mountain tops and adventure.
Cairngorms Scene & Unseen
by Sydney Scroggie
For: those who love a night in a bothy – and especially those who love the Cairngorms as well. Worth noting this is a pocket-sized volume, so would make a great stocking-filler.
What it’s about:
One of the best original accounts of Scotland’s bothy culture. A Lovat Scout, Syd Scroggie was a true man of the hills and an ‘inveterate scribbler’. Despite losing his sight and one leg a fortnight before the end of the Second World War, he returned to the Scottish mountains with companions and summited over 600 hills well into his 80s. Syd is frequently quoted as saying, ‘I can do without my eyes, but I can’t do without my mountains,’ and his rich, vivid descriptions of his beloved Cairngorms speak of an insight that transcends the corporeal.
A’ Chreag Dhearg
Compiled by Grant Farquhar
For: anyone with a love of community. Climbers will revel in hearing detailed adventures from a lesser-frequented part of Scotland, and all will enjoy following the history of a growing collective of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts.
What it’s about:
Compiled and co-authored by veteran climber Grant Farquhar with contributions from a range of voices within Scotland’s close-knit climbing community, A’ Chreag Dhearg traces the rich climbing history of the Angus Glens. Despite the deceptively narrow scope of this story, the breadth with which it is considered here captures the way that climbing has developed in Scotland over time, and how this history is often exceptionally localised. A’ Chreag Dhearg is both a tribute to Victorian pioneers and latter-day trailblazers and a poignant reflection on formative, youthful endeavours.
Hostile Habitats
Edited by Mark Wrightham & Nick Kempe
For: those wanting to learn more about the details we see all the time in the Scottish hills: flora, fauna, geology, landscapes, weather and more. An especially great gift if you know anyone training for walking or climbing qualifications, or working as an instructor or guide in Scotland.
What’s it about:
Compiled by some of the country’s leading experts in their fields, this revised and expanded second edition of Hostile Habitats offers a detailed introduction to the natural and man-made environment of Scotland’s mountains, written by hillwalkers for hillwalkers. Nine in-depth chapters combine the very latest research and knowledge, which is presented in a non-specialist style. The result is the most accessible and comprehensive overview of the upland environment ever written for outdoor enthusiasts.
Scottish Winter Climbs West
by Neil Adams
For: enthusiastic winter climbers, beginner, intermediate or expert.
What it’s about:
Covering not only the classic winter climbing venues of Glen Coe and Ben Nevis, but spanning the Southern Uplands all the way to the rugged hinterland of Knoydart and Glen Shiel beyond, Scottish Winter Climbs West is a grand tour of the best winter climbing destinations across western Scotland. With over 1,300 routes and an abundance of new lines covering both familiar and lesser-known crags, its scope and range offers options for climbing across all levels and styles and in almost all conditions.
Highland Scrambles North
by Iain Thow
For: keen scramblers and climbers, who will find a whole variety of routes they’ve yet to try in this book. Packed full of detailed information and advice, it’s also a great guide for walkers seeking to test themselves and reach new heights.
What it’s about:
This newly delineated guide describes some of the best scrambles and easy rock climbs in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and Rum. With 200 routes, its scope and range offer scrambling options across all levels and rock types. Keen hillwalkers can build their confidence on straightforward itineraries with a bit of exposure, and there’s plenty to whet the appetites of those who already have some experience and want to explore new territory on sustained, technical journeys requiring greater commitment.
Scottish Rock Climbs
Compiled by Kevin Howett
For: any climber seeking to spend time on rock in Scotland. A grand tour of the whole country, it means that on any day or trip you’ve planned to climb, if there’s dry rock somewhere, you’ll be able to find a route to get on it.
What it’s about:
Wired Guides’ Scottish Rock Climbs showcases 1,760 of the very best trad and sport routes across Scotland, covering a wealth of climbing never before presented in a single volume. Each route is presented on a diagram and supported by detailed information which has been gathered and compiled by local activists. It’s the book you need to inspire a lifetime’s worth of rock climbing adventures in Scotland.
The Munros
by Rab Anderson & Tom Prentice
For: walkers and peak-baggers alike. For anyone with compleator aspirations, this is the ‘definitive’ guide. And for those that are less inspired by ticking off summits, this guide still delivers, with over 200 walks which will get you well off the beaten track and into some of Scotland’s most remote, wild and inspiring areas.
What it’s about:
This fully revised fourth edition of the Scottish Mountaineering Club’s original and best-selling guidebook The Munros describes the best walking routes on Scotland’s 282 mountains above 3,000ft. Comprehensive descriptions in this definitive guide recommend ascent and descent routes for each of the Munros and their 226 subsidiary Tops, with maps of the peaks and principal surrounding hills to help you plan the most enjoyable journeys through Scotland’s wild landscape. The descriptions are brought to life throughout with vivid photography that illustrates the dramatic beauty of these much-loved mountains.
Limited Edition Fine Art Prints
by Christopher Smith-Duque
For: anyone with spare space on the wall and a love of the hills.
What they are:
Unique evocations of the Scottish hills, informed by the artist’s passion and expertise as a geologist. These prints are part of a collection being produced for the complete series of SMC climbers’ and scramblers’ guidebooks, and will be limited to 50 prints. Choose from either Church Door Buttress in winter (the cover of Scottish Winter Climbs West), or one of Scotland’s finest ridges, Liathach (the cover of Highland Scrambles North.