The Great Outdoors – July 2019

BUY THE BOOK The Big

Rounds by David Lintern

is published on 15 August

by Cicerone Press, priced

£18.95. It is available to

pre-order now from the

Cicerone website:

cicerone.co.uk/the-big-rounds.

[above] A family holiday at Wasdale meant summer evenings recceing the gullies and traverses of Scafell, 2015

A year on, and there were more signs that
I was back on the right track – at least in my
own mind – to sustain me as I chiseled away
at the drafts. Firstly, Wendy Dodds – the
first to run Paddy’s Welsh Round and one
of the most experienced fell runners in the
UK – got in touch. I couldn’t really imagine
doing the book without her, and I’d always
worried what she might think of it – if I
ever finished the blasted thing. Wendy very
kindly contributed valuable insights on the
perennial subject of hill craft, as well as her
own recollections of that first Welsh Round.
I met winter record holder Jim Mann
twice – once in an Inverness car park and
another on Lochnagar. I made, lost and
made contact again with Mike Hartley, the
only person ever to have run the Big Three
back to back. Both of their achievements in
the mountains are unsurpassed.
The final piece of the puzzle was just
like the first: another TGO magazine

connection, out of the blue. Roger Smith

emailed to clarify detail on a route

description I’d sent in for a Wild Walk.

Roger was the launch editor of this

magazine and still contributes his skills as

a subeditor and columnist ... but what I

didn’t know was that he is also Bob Graham

Club member, number 117. I let slip what I

was busy with and unprompted, he offered

to check over the proofs in his own time.

I couldn’t imagine anyone more suited...

or more forensic! Roger helped me iron

out some awkward creases, kill a couple of

darlings, and was a sounding board and

confidence booster in the penultimate and

most difficult part of the process.

I’m forever in debt to everyone who so

generously gave their time and trust to the

project. For me personally, it’s important to

mark Charlie and Paddy’s contribution to

hill culture, and to try to illustrate just how

magnificent these mountain areas are.

Embarking on the Rounds reveals

another side to some of our more famous

hills... but also another side to ourselves.

Whether you run them or walk them,

they are a vehicle for both outer and inner

adventure. The Big Rounds are not easy;

they strip away our prejudices pretentions.

But I also found out there’s something at

the centre of hill running which is utterly

simple, joyful and open hearted. Everyone

shares. I feel very lucky to have witnessed

that, to have learnt from it, and to try to

make something that celebrates it.

52 The Great Outdoors July 2019