Highland hounds take on Scotland’s Munros as mountain hikes rise in popularity

Graham Caldwell, who runs Highland Hounds. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Betty, a six-year-old kerry blue terrier, celebrated reaching the summit of her 282nd and final Munro – Am Basteir on Skye – with a hard-boiled egg. Her owner, Shona Marshall, toasted her dog’s entry into the rarefied class of canine completers – only 15 are registered with the Munro Society – with a mini bottle of fizz, carried up the 934-metre mountainside for the occasion.

“It really does strengthen the bond between you,” says Marshall of their 367-day challenge, completed on Good Friday, to raise funds for Kerry Blue Terrier Rescue. “They are trusting you to tell them it’s OK to cross this river or climb down this bit of rock. It’s humbling.”