Ronald Turnbull

Biography

Ronald Turnbull was born at St Andrews, Scotland, into an energetic if not especially distinguished fellwalking family. His grandfather was a president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, and a more remote ancestor was distinguished as only the second climbing fatality in Snowdonia. He now lives in the Lowther Hills of Dumfriesshire. Most of his walking, and writing, takes place in the nearby Lake District and in the Scottish Highlands.

In 1995 he won the Fell Running Association's Long-distance Trophy for a non-stop run over all the 2000ft hills of Southern Scotland; his other proud achievements include the ascent of the north ridge of the Weisshorn and a sub-2hr Ben Nevis race. He still likes to mix some fast and challenging outings among gentler walks. He enjoys multi-day treks, through the Highlands in particular, and has made 18 different coast-to-coast crossings of the UK. He has also slept out, in bivvbag rather than tent, on over 50 UK summits. Outside the UK he likes hot, rocky areas of Europe, ideally with beaches and cheap aeroplanes. Recently he achieved California's 220-mile John Muir Trail and East Lothian's 45-mile John Muir Way in a single season, believing himself the first to have achieved this slightly perverse double.

His recent books include The Book of the Bivvy, and walking/scrambling guides The Cairngorms and Ben Nevis & Glen Coe, as well as Three Peaks Ten Tors – a slightly squint-eyed look at various UK challenge walks. He has five times won Outdoor Writers' & Photographers' Guild Awards for Excellence for his guidebooks, outdoor books (including Book of the Bivvy), and magazine articles. He has a regular column in Lakeland Walker and also writes in Trail, Cumbria and TGO (The Great Outdoors). He is currently working on a walking guide to a third mountainous portion of the north. His current, hopelessly ambitious, project is to avoid completing the Munros for at least another 20 years.

Website:

http://home.freeuk.net/ronaldturnbull

Titles by Ronald Turnbull

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The Book of the Bivvy

A half-and-half mix of how to do it and why to do it (or how not to do it and why not to do it). Accounts of bivvybag nights and expeditions, both nice and nasty, alternate with practical chapters on lightweight kit. Finally a selection of bivvybag expeditions. Hilarious (and informative) reading! An updated second edition. More >>

£9.99

Ben Nevis and Glen Coe

The area from Ben Nevis southwards towards Glen Coe offers some of the finest mountain walking in the UK. This guide not only covers Lochaber's spectacular summits but also describes mid-level walks and gentle strolls, great through routes along empty glens, and tent or bothy treks - serious in terms of remoteness and scenery. More >>

£12.95

Three Peaks, Ten Tors

A look both serious and humorous at what it takes to do a long-distance or challenge walk – plus notes on planning and undertaking 15 such routes throughout the UK, from the National Three Peaks Challenge to the Dartmoor Ten Tors route. More >>

£12.95

Walking in the Cairngorms

In over 100 walks, this guidebook explores Britain's biggest mountain range – including 23 Munro summits and the smaller hills outside the main range. Covers the Cairngorms between Speyside and Deeside, as well as Lochnagar. Mountain routes, and mid- and low-level walks make the guide suitable for all abilities. More >>

£12.95

The Lowther Hills

Beautiful landscapes, accessible but quiet, offering some of the best walking in Southern Scotland’s hills. Covers the Lowther hills, Nithsdale, Carsphairn Hills and the hills of the Solway coast, Cairnsmore of Fleet, Tinto and Cauldcleuch Head. More >>

£8.99

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