Having moved up to the Black Isle, I am delighted that the driving to hills has much reduced and am heartened to have heaps of some of the best hills near to home. As usual, conflicting hobbies of a second Munro round, climbing, skiing, trips abroad and sea kayaking got in the way of the Marilyns. But, mainly due to an aspiration to complete the Grahams in the next few years, I managed to shuffle the tally up to the 700 mark. The year started excellently, with The Storr on a fabulous cold day, great views and the hill to ourselves. Must do a Trotternish camping traverse some day. A visit to Rum allowed a couple of smaller hills to be tackled, whilst hill-running forays around Inverness meant that I added a few smaller Marilyns. Most unusual Marilyn for me was Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, during a rock-climbing trip to Cornwall in the summer. Only my 25th Marilyn south of the border but about as far south as it gets. I was seduced by the thought of reliving the great book Jamaica Inn, set in these parts.
