Cairngorms

First published in 1989 as The Cairngorms: Scene and Unseen, this book by Syd Scroggie examines the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland and the bothy culture that has grown up around them.

Scroggie served with the Lovat Scouts and was a lifelong hillwalker and habitual writer. Two weeks before the Second World War ended, he lost his sight and one leg. He nonetheless returned to the Scottish hills with companions and, well into his eighties, had climbed more than 600 summits. He once said that he could manage without his eyes but could not manage without his mountains.

His vivid, detailed portrayals of the Cairngorms, the range he loved, reveal a way of seeing that reaches beyond the purely physical. The book also features a foreword by Tom Weir.

The result is a portrait of perseverance and endurance that will suit readers interested in the stories and history of Scottish mountain culture.