{"id":20084,"date":"2019-08-26T05:38:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T05:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=20084"},"modified":"2026-05-05T08:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T08:22:11","slug":"charlies-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/charlies-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlie&#8217;s Round"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image data-lazy-src\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/by-david2.jpg\" alt=\"David Lintern\" class=\"wp-image-19261\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Walk<\/strong><strong>h<\/strong><strong>ighlands\nregular contributor David Lintern has written the first complete\nguide to mainland Britain\u2019s big hill running Rounds \u2013 part\nguidebook, part social history. Here, he focuses on the man and the\nstory behind the Scottish Round.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charlie Ramsay is irrepressible. A devoted grandad, he talks as enthusiastically about his family as he does about hill running \u2013 that\u2019s <em>hill<\/em> running, you understand \u2013 none of that <em>fell<\/em> running in Scotland, please and thankyou. He may be quietly proud of his own achievements in the hills, but he\u2019s thoroughly modest about how the Round came about\u2026 and he delights in what others have since achieved. He still regularly makes the journey from his home in Edinburgh to Glen Nevis to support many challengers at their start and finish of their runs, and sometimes shows up near Corrour with his wife Mary, and cake! I have never met anyone quite like him \u2013 his energy and enthusiasm seem utterly boundless. He\u2019s an inspiration and a national treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Charlie-Ramsay-at-home-in-2016-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20085\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Charlie-Ramsay-at-home-in-2016-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Charlie-Ramsay-at-home-in-2016-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Charlie-Ramsay-at-home-in-2016-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Charlie-Ramsay-at-home-in-2016.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Charlie Ramsay at home in 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July 1978, Charlie made a record breaking run across the mountains of Lochaber, a 24 hour round that was the natural successor to the much more famous Bob Graham Round in the Lake District, and slightly predates the Welsh Classical Round, developed by Paddy Buckley (first run by Wendy Dodds in 1982).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beginning from the\nGlen Nevis YHA, he ran across the Mamores, down to Loch Treig, over\nthe Munros west of Loch Ossian, over the Easians near Fersit, across\nthe Grey Corries, before traversing the Aonachs and Ben Nevis. He\nmade it back to the youth hostel with 2 minutes to spare in a time of\n23hr, 58mins. His Round is (more or less) 28879ft (8803m) of ascent\nover 57.6 miles (92.83km), 23 Munros and 1 subsidiary top. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a film by\nclimber and Lochaber local Dave Macleod, which features Charlie and\ngives a flavour of what\u2019s involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ramsay&#039;s Round\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/247954077?dnt=1&#038;app_id=122963\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> My own journey with the Ramsay Round started in 2013. I\u2019d not long returned from a big walk across the Pyrenees, was new to Scotland and looking for more challenging routes that might emulate that immersion in wild country that I\u2019d fallen in love with in Europe. I run a little now but then I was a backpacker only, but the Ramsay immediately grabbed my attention. By pure luck, I met Charlie soon after, and his Round remains my personal favourite of the \u2018Big Three\u2019. I\u2019ve since visited all of the tops several times, but I\u2019ve still not run the route and certainly won\u2019t be trying to keep up with the current record holder. Es Tresidder recently stole 81 seconds from Jasmin Paris\u2019 record with a time of 16:13:53! To recap, that\u2019s about 58 miles with an Everest\u2019s worth of climb, in a bit over 16 hours\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"487\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-author-at-the-start-of-the-Grey-Corries-800x487.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20086\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-author-at-the-start-of-the-Grey-Corries-800x487.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-author-at-the-start-of-the-Grey-Corries-200x122.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-author-at-the-start-of-the-Grey-Corries-390x238.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-author-at-the-start-of-the-Grey-Corries.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The author at the start of the Grey Corries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\nBut regardless of whether you walk or run, the real joy and challenge\nof these routes is in making a complete traverse\u2026 especially if\nyou\u2019ve tackled individual hills or in groups before. Ever stood on\na summit, and realised with a jolt that you recognise somewhere on\nthe horizon you visited years before, but from a completely new\nperspective? These routes help you make those kinds of connections,\ntenfold. Macro and Micro, it\u2019s all about the line, and\nrelationships &#8211; not just the tops themselves, but the quieter, less\nvisited places inbetween. As for the Big Rounds as a group, together\nthey illustrate the differences in our regional mountain cultures, as\nwell as the rich social and historical links between them. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Charlie started out as a time trials cyclist, but sold his bikes when he moved to London for work. Back in Edinburgh and working as a swimming recreation officer for Edinburgh Council, he began running up Arthur\u2019s Seat in his lunch hour, as a break from the chlorinated atmosphere of the Royal Commonwealth Pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Upper-Glen-Nevis-from-the-slopes-of-Sgurr-Eilde-Mor-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20087\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Upper-Glen-Nevis-from-the-slopes-of-Sgurr-Eilde-Mor-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Upper-Glen-Nevis-from-the-slopes-of-Sgurr-Eilde-Mor-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Upper-Glen-Nevis-from-the-slopes-of-Sgurr-Eilde-Mor-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Upper-Glen-Nevis-from-the-slopes-of-Sgurr-Eilde-Mor.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Upper Glen Nevis from the slopes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/fortwilliam\/sgurreildemor.shtml\">Sg\u00f9rr Eilde Mor<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI ran the odd road race unattached to any club before my first Ben Nevis race in 1974. A year later, I joined Lochaber Athletic Club. Going up and down the hills, I thought it was great. There were not many runners doing that sort of thing in those days. But I wasn\u2019t that focused on the racing as a priority. On the bike, I enjoyed time trials much more than road racing&#8230; For me, that love of racing against the clock carried on into the hills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEveryone at Lochaber Athletic Club was talking about something called Tranter\u2019s Walk, but it was impossible to find out anything about it.\u201d From his work office, Charlie called Tom Weir, who filled in the details. \u201cHe was a mine of information. I have to be thankful to Tom Weir. In a roundabout way, he had a part to play in the history of the Round.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-CMD-and-Ben-Nevis-from-the-Mamores-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20088\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-CMD-and-Ben-Nevis-from-the-Mamores-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-CMD-and-Ben-Nevis-from-the-Mamores-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-CMD-and-Ben-Nevis-from-the-Mamores-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-CMD-and-Ben-Nevis-from-the-Mamores.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The CMD and Ben Nevis from the Mamores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tranter\u2019s\nWalk was devised by Philip Tranter, a civil engineer and the son of\nNigel Tranter, the historical novelist, who in turn was based just\ndown the road from Charlie, in Gullane on the Lothian coast. In June\n1964, Tranter and his friend Blythe Wright walked right around Glen\nNevis, over the Mamores, the Grey Corries, the Aonachs and Ben Nevis.\nCharlie completed his first Tranter\u2019s in 1977, in a time of \u201cabout\n18 hours\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back in the city, he met up for lunchtime runs with a Kendal stone mason who was working on the building opposite the pool. Charlie met up again with Boyd Millen while he and his family were on holiday in the Lake District, and Boyd invited him for a jog up Skiddaw.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-Mamores-from-above-Bealach-Coire-Giubhsachan-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20089\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-Mamores-from-above-Bealach-Coire-Giubhsachan-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-Mamores-from-above-Bealach-Coire-Giubhsachan-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-Mamores-from-above-Bealach-Coire-Giubhsachan-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/The-Mamores-from-above-Bealach-Coire-Giubhsachan.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Mamores from above Bealach Coire Giubhsachan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen\nI arrived, there was Chris Brasher, Paddy Buckley and George Rhodes,\nall trying for the Round. There was another guy there &#8211; one of the\noriginal pacers for Bob Graham himself &#8211; Phil Davidson, plus a few\nother stalwarts, Joss Naylor for one. I had no idea what I was doing\nthere!\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charlie\nwas now implicated in Brasher\u2019s first attempt (of three) at the Bob\nGraham Round. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a hell of a lot more to this story &#8211; as he tells in the book &#8211; but to cut to the chase, everyone but Charlie dropped out and quite by accident the Edinburgh lad stole the show, becoming Bob Graham Club member no.82.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Heavy-weather-rolls-in-over-Binnean-Beag-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20090\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Heavy-weather-rolls-in-over-Binnean-Beag-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Heavy-weather-rolls-in-over-Binnean-Beag-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Heavy-weather-rolls-in-over-Binnean-Beag-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Heavy-weather-rolls-in-over-Binnean-Beag.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heavy weather rolls in over Binnean Beag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\nThat evening he was invited out to dinner by\nChris and his team. \u201cThe whole family went. We thought it was\ngreat; we\u2019d been eating beans and fish fingers and living in a tent\nall week\u2026 Chris asked me if there was an equivalent to the Bob\nGraham Round in Scotland, and if not, would I like to set one up? I\nfelt like I had a sense of the model now. All I did was to extend\nTranter\u2019s round, because I knew the area well by then. Over winter,\nI looked at the map and by adding in the 5 Treig Munros, I could see\nthat it would bring it up to around the same mileage as the Bob\nGraham.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charlie\nis perhaps being overly modest here, and I\u2019ve quizzed him about it\nfurther; \u201cI think the Philip Tranter\nRound is phenomenal, and how I extended it makes it tougher. To be\nhonest, the valley section is probably the boring and difficult bit,\nbut taken as a whole, it adds to the quality of the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s true that the \u2018valley section\u2019, which runs along Glen Nevis from the end of the Mamores to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/fortwilliam\/beinn-na-lap.shtml\">Beinn na Lap<\/a>, is consistently one of the parts of the Round that bedevils runners. Even for walkers, it\u2019s a long way and incredibly easy to underestimate, overheat or just run out of steam. It\u2019s certainly caught me out more than once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Mick-meet-An-Gearanach-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20091\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Mick-meet-An-Gearanach-800x566.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Mick-meet-An-Gearanach-200x141.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Mick-meet-An-Gearanach-390x276.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Mick-meet-An-Gearanach.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Gearanach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charlie and fellow contender Paddy Buckley became friends after Brasher\u2019s Bob Graham attempt, and the fellowship between the men clearly sowed the seed for a Welsh Round too. It shows how the history of the Ramsay is bound together with the other Rounds. For me, this is where and how our natural and cultural heritage meet. It\u2019s outdoor culture in the making. These Big Rounds are made as much of people as they are of mountains.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David\u2019s book is published by Cicerone and is available from <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.bookshop.org\/a\/2573\/9781852847722\">Bookshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.bookshop.org\/a\/2573\/9781852847722\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"445\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Cover-Big-Rounds-latest-copy-445x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Cover-Big-Rounds-latest-copy-445x600.jpg 445w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Cover-Big-Rounds-latest-copy-111x150.jpg 111w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Cover-Big-Rounds-latest-copy-222x300.jpg 222w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Cover-Big-Rounds-latest-copy.jpg 530w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 445px) 100vw, 445px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Walkhighlands regular contributor David Lintern has written the first complete guide to mainland Britain&#8217;s big hill running Rounds &#8211;<br \/>\n&#8211; part guidebook, part social history. Here, he focuses on the man and the story behind the Scottish Round. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/charlies-round\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more &#8250;<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":20086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-magazine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20084"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29330,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20084\/revisions\/29330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}