The Archies by Paul Fettes and Friends

‘If Munro were alive today he wouldn’t come up with the Munros’. He would come up with the Archies!

The Archies is a beautiful, hardcover book charting the 2015 adventure of Paul Fettes and friends as they embarked on an adventure to conquer the top 130 highest mountains in Scotland over the course of a 15 day challenge. They achieved this and raised over £40,000 for The Archie Foundation into the bargain. In 2022 Paul has laid down the gauntlet to friends and fellow hill-walking enthusiasts to repeat the challenge, but this time he wants to do it all in one day!

In an age of metric mapping, this book explains the rationale for the Archies, and why we believe a 21st century Sir Hugh would have come up with this list. It also describes a momentous and truly memorable relay journey on foot, by bike and by kayak over all 130 of them, with a cuddly rabbit baton. The 2015 Archie Mountain Challenge in aid of The Archie Foundation took place over 15 days in 2015. This is not a guide book, but it does detail a route that others could emulate, in part or in whole. It should appeal to anyone with a love of the outdoors or a spirit of adventure.

Paul Fettes is a consultant anaesthetist in Tayside. He lives in Dundee with his wife and family. Paul has spent a lifetime enjoying (or more frequently dreaming about) outdoor pursuits.