Munros - Complete Round
Updates: Donnie Campbell 31 days 23 hours 2 minutes, 1st August to 2nd September 2020 and Jamie Aarons 31 days 10 hours 27 minutes, 26th May to 26th June 2023 (pending incorporation into main text below).
The ultimate long Scottish hill-run? Done quite a few times in various styles since Hamish Brown's pioneering (walking/cycling) 112-day effort of 1974, for which he estimated 1,639 miles with 449,000 ft of ascent. While Martin Moran's equally significant 83-day first winter round of 1984–85 was motor-assisted (with Moran's book stating that 'the target was unattainable on a continuous journey, and would necessitate the major tactical concession of using motor transport between the peaks'), Steve Perry's startling winter round by foot of 2005–6 has subsequently raised the bar for future winter attempts. The current (summer) record time is held by Stephen Pyke at 39 days, 9 hours and 6 minutes. Details of some significant rounds are tabulated below, with 'significance' of both summer and winter rounds defined largely by improvements in time and/or style but sometimes the inclusion of further summits:
Munro Traversal Times
| Name | Days | Year | Itinerary | Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamish Brown | 112 | 1974 | Munros | Foot, bike, ferries | First continuous 'self-propelled' |
| Kathy Murgatroyd | 134 | 1982 | Munros | Foot, bike, ferries | First lady |
| George Keeping | 136 + 29 | 1984 | Munros + English/Welsh 3,000s | Foot, ferries | First without bicycle |
| Martin Moran | 83 | 1984–85 | Munros | Foot, ski, motor transport | First winter |
| Craig Caldwell | 377 | 1985–86 | Munros, Corbetts | — | — |
| Mark Elsegood | 66 | 1988 | Munros | Foot, motor transport, ? | — |
| Hugh Symonds | 67 + ? | 1990 | Munros + English/Welsh/Irish 3,000s | Foot, ? | Narrowly beaten by Mike Cudahy's 1994 round as fastest by foot only |
| Gibson/Johnston | 51 | 1992 | Munros | Foot, bike, ? | — |
| Mike Cudahy | 66 | 1994 | Munros | Foot, ? | Still the fastest by foot only |
| Chris Townsend | 118 | 1996 | Munros & Tops | Foot, bike, ferries | — |
| Peter Lincoln | 359 | 1997–98 | Munros, Corbetts, Grahams | — | — |
| Charlie Campbell | 48 | 2000 | Munros | Foot, bike, swim | — |
| Steve Perry | 121 | 2005–6 | Munros | — | First winter by foot only |
| Stephen Pyke | 39 | 2010 | Munros | Foot, bike, kayak | — |
The last few entries epitomise the extremes of inclusivity and brevity which have been reached since Hamish's walk in the mid-70s. Peter Lincoln took 359 days to walk round all the Munros, Corbetts, and Grahams. He finished on Morrone on 2nd July 1998.
Charlie Campbell of Westerlands Cross Country Club set his record of 48 days, 12 hours for the 284 Munros in the summer of 2000, and even more impressively, swam the two major kyles between Mull and Skye rather than using a boat! Starting on Mull on the 29th May he almost immediately picked up an injury and was 3 days behind his schedule after the first week. But he pulled through and reached the end on Ben Hope almost 3 days inside the previous record on 16th July. This was a rigorously planned venture and Charlie relied on the support of his family (in Motor Home) in addition to Club members. Final statistics: 2.33 miles swimming, 764 miles cycling, 893 miles running, and 411,717 feet of ascent. [SHR 7/00, FR 10/00, TAC#47]
While Stephen Pyke (who also started with Ben More and finished on Ben Hope) made use of a kayak, his round was still completely self-propelled by foot, bike and paddling, and took an astonishing nine days off Campbell's time to set a record that seems likely to stand for some time. It is documented in some detail at http://munros2010.blogspot.com/.
Page updated 16th August 2013