Making a mountain out of Munro’s memory

Published On Tue 12 Mar 2019 by Dominic Glasgow

Hill walkers from across the world will have the chance to bag themselves a place in Scottish history this year if they agree to summit one Munro within 12 months.

A large-scale environmental community project, led by Eddie Summerton at the University of Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD), invites walkers, runners and climbers of all ages to take to the hills in memory of Sir Hugh Munro.

Sir Hugh became famous for listing all Scottish mountains over 3,000ft, which are known as Munros in his honour.

Those who choose to climb one of the 282 mountains on the online list, will also be asked to remove a small bag of rubbish should they find any during their walk.

In return for their efforts, each participant will be featured in an art publication which will document their mountain experience, with the intention of a travelling exhibition to follow.

The Munro Table project will also plant one high-altitude indigenous tree for each mountain climbed, in collaboration with Trees for Life. This is intended to help restore the unique wildlife-rich habitat called montane scrub.

Eddie said, “The diversity of walkers who have signed up so far is fantastic. Of course, we have some of Scotland’s walking clubs and serious Munro baggers, who have already mapped out their weekends ahead with walks and climbs but we also have folk who are signing up who are returning to the hills for the first time in years, with a child or grandchild to accompany them.

“We’ve heard from a school teacher who is selecting the nearest Munro to the school to include the walk in her class project and also a seriously ill walker, determined to participate in this ‘big walk’ to acknowledge their resistance to the illness.

“This year-long celebration of our hills goes beyond the legacy of Sir Hugh Munro. It recognises the incredible infrastructure of volunteers who keep paths open, the national parks, the environmental charities and the right to roam. All of these help make Scotland one of the most spectacular places to walk.”

The Munro Table project will launch on Tuesday 19 March, 100 years after the death of Sir Hugh Munro.

At the time of writing more than 200 Munros are still available to be chosen from the online list.

Those interested should be aware of the risks of hiking and hill walking and should not sign up unless they already have experience in the mountains.

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk