A Banff award-winning selection of routes and essays exploring some of the finest running among the mountains of Cumbria and Scotland.
‘Dark, wet rock hung above the path, no more than a narrow shelf clinging to steep walls before sliding into oblivion. The mist shifted, hinting at the plunging fall to the corrie far below, and I moved with measured care. One step to pass the arête: a perfect moment of weightless movement as the mountains held their breath. And then on and up, into thinning cloud to find the ridge above.’
Northern Horizons is the story of one runner’s lifelong love affair with the mountains of Scotland and Cumbria. It is also a guidebook, and therefore an invitation to join a growing community that finds both solace and thrill in moving fleet-footed through the hills. Will Herman has spent much of his life exploring and piecing together some of the finest journeys among high plateaux, bladed ridges, sweeping slabs, towering pinnacles – and the myriad landscapes connecting them. Here, his experiences are revealed in a collection of deeply personal and evocative accounts, accompanied by route descriptions and sublime imagery that captures their exquisite beauty.
Praise for Northern Horizons
‘A lyrical and inspiring journey into the heart of the Cumbrian and Scottish mountains. Will Herman’s beautifully crafted work is as much a memoir as it is a guidebook — a seamless blend of essays and exploration. With stunning photographs and evocative descriptions, it invites readers not just to see the landscape, but to feel it. At its core, the book centres the deep and evolving relationship between person and place, encouraging a reflective, almost meditative engagement with the mountains. It stirs a longing for wild spaces and makes you dream of setting off into the hills yourself.’ – Paul Scully, 2025 Banff Mountain Festival Book Competition Jury
‘Like the quieter corners of the rugged mountains of Scotland and Cumbria it vividly describes, this book is to be relished – I loved it, and I’m feeling very inspired.’ – Finlay Wild
‘The best book that I have read this year – potentially amongst my all-time favourites.’ – Rob Greenwood, UKClimbing.com
‘I believe in time that this book will join the ranks of other classic mountain writing by authors such as Hamish Brown and Robert MacFarlane. The author has poured a lifetime of experience and love of the hills into this book, the end result is a triumph.’ – Walter Gibson, The Fell Runner magazine