Runners-up rarely get the attention they deserve, but two days on Britain’s second-highest peak BEN MACDUI will show you why this is the king of the Scottish hills.

■ Distance: 5½ miles/8.5km ■ Time: 6-7hours ■Grade: ...

Our walks is mon Alex Roddie 1 ...

BEN HOPE’S status as the most northern Munro on the British Isles is an irresistible draw. It’s a long way to go, true, but this scramble to its summit more than makes up for the effort spent getting there.

ISOLATED MOUNTAIN WALKING

Jim Perrin remembers the giant of Mull, an elegant outlier leaning seaward