They say that if you haven’t been lost in the Scottish Hills, then you haven’t been to the Scottish Hills, and this is no more apt than in Dr Gerry McPartlin’s book, Friends In High Places. It is unusual to read a story which is so refreshingly honest, and this puts the reader at ease right away with a feeling of shared experience of the hills with all the highs and lows they bring.
In the best footballing parlance (Gerry is a huge Glasgow Celtic fan), this is a book of two halves. The first is an enjoyable and very relatable trip around the Scottish Hills, starting off as a poorly equipped and, dare I say it, barely competent walker, to a better equipped and barely competent navigator! It is a story filled with friendship, epic adventure days rarely finishing before dark, and a lot of pictures of plants!
Mixed into this half is Gerry’s first round of the Munros, which was rudely interrupted by the embarrassing inconvenience of breaking his back sledging on the Braid Hills Golf Course about a mile from his home. This piqued the interest of the Edinburgh Evening News which ran with the memorable headline: ‘Snow Rescue Drama’. After lying on his back for 30 days followed by painful physiotherapy, Gerry was walking in Glenshee 3 ½ months later; however, this did necessitate lying on his back in the pub to recover!
Many hill days followed. However double tragedy would befall two close friends when one of them, Fr Norman Cooper, fell to his death on Skye and then, off the hills, the untimely death of Monsignor David Gemmell, who was Gerry’s closest friend, walking companion and confidant – Friends in High Places, indeed.
The death of David hit Gerry, his family and friends deeply, and moves were afoot to find a fitting way for him to be remembered. This quest and ultimate challenge forms the second half of the book: ‘Grandad’s Mad Munro Marathon’.
Gerry launched a memorial fund to support the charity L’Arche, which provides homes for folk with learning disabilities and to dovetail that with an attempt to be the fastest 66-year-old to complete the Munros. This involved, as you would expect, a huge amount of planning (probably fair to say one of Gerry’s less strong points!), a slightly temperamental campervan, countless stories of friends supporting the challenge both on and off the hill, and the goodwill of many folks who knew nothing of Gerry until they met him.
Gerry’s Munro Marathon would raise £50,000 and was the catalyst for a million-pound fund that financed a new L’Arche home in Edinburgh, named Monsignor David’s House in memory of Gerry’s friend. To understand the full impact of the physical and mental challenge Gerry undertook, read the book.
It is a hugely enjoyable, honest book by a man who clearly loves Scotland’s hills and wild places and lets the reader into a world with which many hill walkers will identify. Non-hillgoers can revel in the commitment and energy of the challenge, and the love for his family and friends.
When contributors to The Great Outdoors aren’t out walking, some like to relax with a good book. Read their outdoor book reviews and discover your next adventurous tale.
