Nick Williams was working in IT when friends who were launching a publishing business asked him if he’d be interested in writing pocket walking guides which would include all of Scotland’s Munros (mountains over 3000 ft). The routes would all be circular, cause minimum environmental damage, take people to areas off the usual tourist trail and be full of interest for the walker.
Nick, a keen climber, was instantly attracted to the idea, though the scale of the project — 240 routes taking in all of Scotland’s 284 Munros — was awesome.
“The idea was almost on the back of an envelope,” Nick says. “I was investigating various creative ideas at that time — I was thinking about running my own import export business, setting up a small software company but doing the walks captured my imagination.”
Nick decided to tackle the walks, though admits he needed to learn on his feet.
“I had to get my photography and writing up to scratch. I’d dabbled in both but it wasn’t until I’d taken a lot of pictures and written a lot of text that I started to get the hang of it. It was trial and error.” And working out the routes proved both hard work and time consuming.
“Originally we thought it would take nine months to do the whole of the Highlands but it actually took two and a half years because I wanted to do the walks properly. And it cost me a lot more to do it than I’d thought.” There was no cash advance for Nick to live on as the company was just starting out so he had to return to working in IT to finance his trips to the hills.
“I’d go out walking for a few days at a time, using the breaks in the weather. I’d drive up from my home in Edinburgh at two in the morning to be out in the hills for five. I’d do that twice a week, dashing in and out of the weather. Some days it’d be raining when I got there and I’d just do the walk in the pouring rain and worry about getting pictures later.”
Nick found it harder and harder as he went on.
“I had to push myself. I had to develop a rule that when I left the starting point, I had to finish the walk — otherwise it would take for ever because sometimes I’d get half way and think, I’ve had enough. One day I went out without my compass but I thought, rules are rules, I can’t go back for it.” He ended up off course and rewrote his rules.
“I was also trying to save money as I went along.” He even went as far as to sign up with a boat crew for the Island Peaks Race, which takes in mountains on Mull, Jura and Arran, to save money on the ferries. “But I discovered the crew had tried the race five times before and never succeeded. We got to Mull and climbed Ben More but didn’t make it to Jura as we got caught in the Corryvreckan Narrows!”
Nick wasn’t scared of a challenge but sometimes took on too much to try to keep himself afloat financially.
“Lack of money was a great burden on me. It cost a lot to travel and the project didn’t make any money until we sold some books. I was offered some IT work in Inverness which I’d do during the night and in the day I’d do my walks.
“There was one walk I was keen on doing on the north side of Loch Maree near
Gairloch. I was fixing computers till four o’clock in the morning and then drove over to Loch Maree and swam across the loch to save time. I did the walk and I got back to the loch after 20 miles running and realised I didn’t feel up to swimming across so I walked round instead — that was another 15 miles. I felt pretty tired but had to go back to finish the computer job.
“It was an odd existence and it took a toll on my social life. Every minute I was thinking about the routes and I had to drop everything if the weather was good. My poor girlfriend Luci was disappointed when I took loads of maps on holiday to Ireland, thinking I could do some walks there. I was addicted to making circular routes.
“I really enjoyed the natural side of the project. I love the mountains and, since my teens, have climbed and walked all over the world. But there’s something special about the light in Scotland and the shapes of the hills.
“But the challenge did take over my life and, once I finished, I felt lost and without a purpose. If you decide to do something which needs a lot
of drive, there’s a flip side in that it takes a great toll on you, it takes over.” But the whole experience made Nick revaluate his life.
“I spent a lot of time alone doing the walks and it was too much. I prefer working with people. The lack of company made me lose perspective so I thought of nothing else. I didn’t even think about my own health as those thousands of miles have had a long term effect on my joints.”
Though he does have regrets, Nick is pleased the books are popular and is philosophical.
“The mountains will always be there but friendships and family might not be. You shouldn’t be a slave to your work. The project did change me. It’s made me think what’s important. Before this challenge my priorities were all about mountaineering but now my personal and family life are my priority.”
Now engaged to Luci, his plans for the future include a family and a job he can switch off from at five every night. Though this challenge has taken a lot out of Nick, he doesn’t rule out more adventures in the future and is still smiling.
“I am happier in myself,” he explains.
Nick Williams
“I found it extremely hard to accept I had a problem,” he admits. And his deteriorating sight was something Philip tried to keep to himself. “I was just a teenager and all my friends were passing their driving tests, going to nightclubs and out with girlfriends — just being typical teenagers. But I found this increasingly difficult to deal with and would make excuses to stay in because I knew I couldn’t cope with going out with them.”
Philip thought he could manage with the little vision he had but when he was registered blind after a routine eye appointment, the realisation that his life wasn’t going to be the way he’d dreamed hit him hard.
“I focused on the negative and all the things I’d never be able to do. I thought all I could do was have a drink, and if I tripped or stumbled over things people would just think I’d had a little too much.
“I felt really left out and didn’t know how to interact with people. I couldn’t read facial expressions or see body language. The thing that used to really frustrate me was when I went on trains or buses and couldn’t find a seat.
“I knew I wasn’t dealing with the situation. I saw life heading in a downward spiral. I wasn’t working. I wasn’t doing anything. I was very fed up and frustrated.”
Philip reveals that he spent between three and four years trying to come to terms with his blindness. Then life started to improve when he met and married Helen. But Philip was still trying to live independently, insisting on going out alone. Then an accident made him reassess what he was doing.
“I went out to the shops and walked straight into a pole and badly injured my face. I thought someone had come up and attacked me! When I went home I told Helen, I can’t do this any more. I’m going to cause either myself or someone else real harm. I’m six foot seven and about 19 stone and you can’t go around bumping into people. I was heading for a disaster.”
That was when he called Guide Dogs. For Philip, this wasn’t a positive step but one he’d dreaded.
“I felt this was the last straw — I thought there was a stigma. Although my friends knew my eyesight was bad, none of them realised to what extent. It’s not something you sit down and chat about. I was always making excuses. I didn’t think it would be cool to have a blind mate.”
Philip was surprised it took just seven months before he was paired with a dog, Ryan, which would suit him.
“At first I found it very difficult to put my trust in Ryan. I used to walk with my left hand on the harness and my right hand out, so I’d look like a bit of a robot. I remember when I came home with a dog people would ask if I’d just lost my eyesight because suddenly they saw me with the dog. They thought I’d lost my sight overnight because I’d kept the problem hidden for so long. It was a bit of a relief that I didn’t have to hide my disability any more.”
Philip soon realised that his decision to call Guide Dogs had changed his life for the better.
“Suddenly, I was able to be independent. I didn’t have to ask people to do things for me all the time.”
Ryan gave Philip the confidence he needed to go to college and start working.
“He gave me a new lease of life. Now I’m a researcher for BBC Radio Scotland and have to go out recording. If someone asks me to do something, I can do it. This has been a great achievement — being able to work independently. And when I’m out doing interviews, my dog is a great ice-breaker. People don’t treat me differently as all the attention is on my dog. And it’s always positive attention.”
Ryan has now retired to live with Philip’s mum in Lanark, and a new dog, Zimba, has become part of the family. Philip and Helen have two children, Tammy and Jack, who know that Dad’s dog is something special.
“He’s good with the family,” Philip says. “And thanks to him I can take them out bowling, or to the park. The dog gives so much independence. It amazes me what they can do. If you’ve been somewhere once, they’ll remember.”
Philip’s confidence in his four-legged friend meant he was able to accept a job in Inverness and move with this family from Cambuslang to the Highlands.
“It’s like moving somewhere with a hood over your head. Nothing was familiar. But I let the dog do the work for me. I trust Zimba completely. As long as he has his head up, so do I.”
Philip Sime
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