Eilidh Campbell
Start by Choosing the Right Hill
Not all Munros are created equal, and the biggest mistake first-timers make is picking a hill because it looks good in a photograph. A sensible first Munro is one you can walk off comfortably, with daylight, energy and good humour to spare. As a rough rule, look for a route of under 12 kilometres with less than 900 metres of ascent, a clear path for most of the way, and no scrambling or exposure.
Read the route description properly before you commit, not just the distance and ascent. Guidebooks often flag hills as "straightforward" when the real issue is bog, pathless heather or a confusing ridge in cloud. A grassy, well-trodden slope is far kinder than a featureless plateau, even if the latter is shorter on paper.
Some classics suit a first attempt well: Ben Lomond, Schiehallion, Ben Chonzie and Meall nan Tarmachan all give a genuine Munro day without demanding technical skill. Save the Cairngorm plateaux and the jagged ridges for when you have a few hills behind you.
Read the Forecast, Not Just the Number
Wind is what stops hillwalkers, far more often than rain. A steady 40 mph with stronger gusts on a summit will turn a pleasant walk into a battle, and it will make your photography a frustrating blur of shaking hands. Use a mountain-specific forecast rather than a town one, and check the summit figures, not the valley ones.
- Wind speed and gusts at summit level — a gust over 50 mph is a good reason to choose a lower, sheltered hill.
- Cloud base — if it is forecast below your summit, assume no views and navigate accordingly.
- Precipitation and snow — heavy rain means full waterproofs and a shorter route; any lying snow in winter requires axe and crampons, and the skill to use them.
- Temperature and windchill — a still 5°C day can feel like minus 5 on an exposed ridge.
- Daylight hours — the Highlands give you around six and a half hours of usable light in midwinter and seventeen in June.
Being willing to change your hill, or to go home, is a mark of experience rather than weakness. The hill will still be there next month.
Plan an Early Start and a Turnaround Time
An early start solves several problems at once. You get the best of the light, the paths are quieter, the midges are still asleep, and you build in a buffer for the unexpected. Aim to be walking by 8am in summer and by first light in winter.
Before you set off, agree a turnaround time and treat it as fixed. If you are not on the summit by, say, 2pm, you turn round regardless of how close it looks. Fatigue slows everyone down on the descent, and the last hour of a walk is where most slips happen.
Tell someone at home your route, your parking spot, your expected return time and who to call if you are overdue. Leave a written note in the car as well.
Navigation You Can Actually Trust
Take a paper map and a compass, and know how to use them together. A phone is a useful backup, but cold drains batteries and screens crack. Practise walking on a bearing somewhere familiar before you need it in earnest.
Even on a clear day, take a moment on the summit to work out the bearing you would need if cloud swallowed the ridge. It takes two minutes and can save you an hour of wandering. Learn to match the shapes on the map to the ground: the bend in a burn, a spur, a sudden steepening. That skill is what keeps you on route.
The Extras That Make the Day Work
Kit for a Munro is less about expense and more about layering. You need waterproof jacket and trousers, a warm mid-layer, a spare insulating layer, hat and gloves, and boots with proper ankle support and grip. Add a headtorch with fresh batteries, a small first aid kit, a whistle, an emergency shelter or bivvy bag, and a fully charged phone in a dry bag.
- Water and food — around 1.5 to 2 litres and more food than you think you need, including something easy to eat when you are tired.
- Trekking poles — genuinely kind to knees on long descents.
- Midge head net — June to August, especially near still water and in the evening.
- Spare socks and a dry base layer — left in the car, and deeply appreciated afterwards.
Wildlife, Light and Leaving It as You Found It
The rewards of a first Munro often arrive before the summit. Red deer graze the corries at dawn, mountain hares turn white in winter, and ptarmigan, ravens and occasionally golden eagles use the high ground. Keep your distance, never approach or feed animals, and avoid flying a drone anywhere near wildlife.
For photography, the low sun of early morning gives you long shadows, warm colour and mist in the glens. Look for a foreground — a boulder, a lochan, a curve of path — to anchor a wide view, and turn round regularly to photograph the way you have come.
Be aware that deer stalking takes place from around July to October, with the busiest period in late summer and autumn. Local signs and guidance will point you to alternative routes, and following them is both courteous and safer.
Finally, take everything home with you, stay on established paths where erosion is a problem, and shut gates behind you. A first Munro is not a test to pass. A day out where everyone comes back tired, fed and grinning is the only measure that matters.
