It took Shona Marshall and he Kerry Blue terrier Betty simply over a yr to summit all 282 Munros. Now the proprietor and her canine have their sights set on a Full Home.

The 367 day Munro spherical is one in every of quickest recorded for a canine, though one other, Penny the Marvel Canine, did a 100-day steady spherical with proprietor Graeme Morrison in 2015. It was additionally their second spherical.

The Munro Society retains a listing of canine Munroists and thus far there are some 15.   

Betty and Shona’s Munro spherical

The pair from Kinloss began on April 14, 2021 with the Munros Ben Avon and Beinn a’Bhuird within the Cairngorms. These had been the one Munros they may entry as a result of Covid restrictions meant they couldn’t depart Moray.  The ultimate Munro was Am Basteir, on the Isle of Skye, on April 15, 2022. 

Betty, who’s seven, climbed all of the Munros by herself, however she was carried up Skye’s In Pinn in a rucksack.  

Shona, 58, is previously a aggressive clay pigeon shooter. She says: “I used to be proud to symbolize Scotland at three Commonwealth Video games, Melbourne 2006, Delhi 2010 the place I received a silver medal, and Glasgow 2014.  I additionally competed for Staff GB at World Cup, European and World Championship degree from 2005 to 2014.”  

Retirement – and the hill strolling bug 

Shona grew up in Aberdeenshire, the place the hill Bennachie was a well-liked stroll. She provides: “After I was youthful, I additionally loved tenting with the Lady Guides, however I then bought into clay capturing, had my household and have become a farmer of Aberdeen-Angus cattle.  

“It wasn’t till I turned 50 and booked myself on a trekking vacation to Everest base camp that I bought bitten by the strolling bug. 

“Getting a canine wasn’t an choice till I’d retired from aggressive capturing however I felt {that a} canine would be certain I stored energetic. Longer walks that took in hills appeared like a pure development.”

Shona’s plan to stroll a quick spherical of Munros got here from the motivation to lift cash for the non-profit organisation Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue. She says: “I rehomed Betty at 15 months previous from  Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue.  After this, in 2019, I made a decision to stroll round Loch Ness in 24 hours as a fundraiser. I I assumed it might be 75 miles, however it turned out to be 82 miles, which I did in 26 hours. 

“Betty accompanied me on a few of the legs of the stroll so the following fundraiser concept I had was to get Betty up the In Pinn.  We had the information booked for Might 2020, then Covid hit, so it was postponed till 2021. 

“We did a couple of Munros that April to get a little bit of health in our legs and I felt that if we may address the scrambling and publicity on Skye we may address something the hills threw at us.”

Poor climate affected the pair’s pursuit of the Skye Munros they usually did simply three of the 12 however they did bag the In Pinn and raised greater than £1000 for the charity. 

Each week by way of Might and June, Shona and Betty spent a day doing a few of the greater rounds of Munros, taking in a number of summits.  She recollects: “By the July, I used to be actually entering into heading out as usually as I may and a buddy on Fb commented that ‘at this fee you’ll have all of them executed by Christmas’! 

“Properly, that sowed the seed and appealed to my aggressive nature.”

Nonetheless, Shona knew the peaks on Skye had been all the time going to be tough ones. One other go to to the island in October resulted in three extra of the Munros being bagged however Shona knew then it might not be achievable to complete the spherical by the top of that yr. 

She says: “it was the climate once more that meant we didn’t do al the Munros on Skye that we hoped to do. So, we plugged on, having fun with an open winter till the top of January when the snow and gales got here. We solely managed one outing in February. 

“By this level, we had 39 to go however we managed some tremendous winter strolling ascents in March when, by likelihood, I seen that Adrian Trendall, a information of All Issues Cuillin on Skye, had a last-minute cancellation and was asking if anybody wished the spot.  

“It was too good a possibility to overlook so off we went and managed 5 of the remaining six.  Adrian was eager to assist us full and was obtainable on the Easter weekend. 

“We then had a deadline and the duty of bagging 15 Munros in two weeks, together with the three on Knoydart. It was bodily punishing however the climate performed ball, more often than not, and together with my neighbour Roger, had been in a position to full collectively on Good Friday, April 15, on Am Bastier aided by Adrian.  By finishing, we raised one other £1000-plus for Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue.”

The enjoyment of the Munros 

Shona reveals she enjoys the problem of the Munros, from planning the route by way of to strolling it.  

She provides: “Each Betty and I additionally get pleasure from seeing (and smelling) the wildlife though Betty is all the time on a lead hooked up to my waistbelt as a result of she is hard-wired to chase and I don’t need her disappearing over a cliff edge!.

“I additionally like being bodily match – and hill strolling is nice train.  You additionally study loads about your self, how one can inspire your self to maintain going, how psychological energy is far more vital than bodily energy in pushing your self on.

“By way of terrain, neither of us benefit from the seemingly unending bogs on some hills, however the scrambly bits are nice enjoyable.”

Betty has all the time been a eager walker. Shona says: “There may be by no means any downside in getting Betty out for a stroll.  She may be very well-trained to stroll on the lead and he or she has a really environment friendly trot that she will be able to sustain for miles.

“She is cautious at river crossings, all the time in search of stepping stones somewhat than plunging in, and it’s humbling how she trusts me to information her throughout.”

Shona has been impressed by Betty’s scrambling capabilities. She says:  “The primary scrambly Munro we climbed was Bla Bheinn, the day earlier than summitting the In Pinn. I used to be amazed at how agile Betty was and he or she didn’t appear phased in any respect.  There was an actual feeling of exhilaration after we reached the trig level.”

What’s subsequent for Shona and Betty?

In addition to finishing a Munro spherical, Shona and Betty have bagged 180 Munro Tops, 32 Corbetts, 30 Grahams and 24 Donalds (on the time of the interview). 

They’ve additionally hiked the Welsh (15) and English (6) Furths, that are hills over 3000ft outwith Scotland.  

They then went to Eire to climb the 13 Furths there however a strict no canine coverage within the west of Eire meant that we solely managed six.

Shona mentioned: “It was so disappointing particularly because the climate was so good after we had been there. It solely appeared proper to bag Sleive Donard on the best way previous so Betty has been on prime of the best mountains in all 5 international locations.  Now we have additionally revisited 44 Munros whereas selecting off the Tops. All of this has all been executed since April 2021.”

Except the Irish entry guidelines change it received’t be doable for Betty to finish a Full Home, the checklist together with all of the hills within the classes recorded by the Scottish Mountaineering Membership (SMC): Munros, Munro Tops, Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds. A Full Home additionally extends to Furths, that are outlined as mountains which might be Munro peak in England, Eire and Wales. 

Shona says: “If we full all of the others, I might return to Eire and climb the remaining ones in her honour.  A Full Home could be an unimaginable achievement for a canine, given their restricted lifespan, and we’re actually going to attempt for it.

“The primary precedence is to finish the Munro Tops though the very windy climate to this point this winter has held us again a bit, therefore why we went south to make a begin on the Donalds which, to this point, we’ve discovered very gratifying.  

“Each time we exit now, we examine the map to see which hills might be linked collectively to make for longer walks and a extra environment friendly use of travelling additional away.  I now have a small campervan which suggests we are able to attempt to tick off as many as we are able to over a couple of days in whichever space we go to. 

“The Corbett and Graham rounds will take extra time to finish as they’re extra unfold out geographically than the Munros and, by their definition, contain a number of ascent and descent when linking a couple of collectively. 

“However it’s a good way of seeing Scotland and we’re so fortunate to have the ability to get pleasure from accountable entry. So long as Betty nonetheless needs to move out and luxuriate in her hill days, we’ll simply preserve going.”