Ramsay's Round
The Classic 24 Hour Scottish Challenge

Tranters Round involves a journey of 36 miles with 20,600 feet of ascent; it has been successfully completed many times in recent years. No details are retained of successful round completion. Mark McDermott: established a course record of 12 hours 50 minutes in June 1990. Nicky Spinks: from Dark Peak Fell Runners reduced the ladies record to 15 hours 10 minutes in July 2011

Historical Meeting: Charlie Ramsay and Blyth Wright

Blyth Wright and Philip Tranter collectively planned and put together what is now known as Tranters Round.

Blyth also accompanied Philip for most of the journey before returning to their rendezvous point in Glen Nevis.

Charlie and Blyth going through one of Philips hand written
diaries, highlighting excellent and detailed accounts of their
many mountaineering ventures together.

After over 30 years of sporadic phone calls, letters and e-mail communication Charlie finally caught up with Blyth at his home in Aviemore in November 2008, where they shared an interesting, informative and enjoyable afternoon reflecting on big days in the Scottish mountains.

Sadly after a long illness Blyth passed away on Sunday 24th May 2009. He will be remembered for his invaluable knowledge and expertise in avalanche forecasting and relentless work towards safety in the Scottish mountains.

Many including myself have followed Tranter’s footsteps and successfully completed his circuit within the 24 hour time scale. Whilst on the round one day I wondered if one could extend the round by including the 5 munros that surround Loch Treig: Beinn na Lap, Chino Dearg, Stob Coire Sgriodain, Stob a Choire Mheadhoin, and Stob Coire Easain, making it into a journey that would involve 24 munros within 24 hours, a distance of 56 miles with 28,000 feet of ascent.

Bob Graham Round

Charlie and family following his completion of the B G round
Picture supplied by Stan Bradshaw

At the Lochaber Highland Games in 1978 at Claggan Park in Fort William,
Sir Jimmy Savile: Chieftain of Clan Lochaber drew the winning prize draw tickets.

Details of preparation and planning can be seen on a separate page under these headings.

I also decided to raise money for Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (£500.00).

With all of the training complete and support in place, I was ready to go at 12 noon on Friday 8^th July 1978, I left Glen Nevis Youth Hostel and proceeded anticlockwise heading onto the Mamores.

I returned to the Youth Hostel having completed the circuit at 11 58 on Saturday 9^th July with only 2 minutes to spare.

Ramsays Round was a reality.

Chris Brasher

The round acquired a comparatively low profile for over 10 years…

Until 1986 when Chris Brasher called into my office during a business trip to Edinburgh, seeking more detail and information about Ramsay’s Round.

I assisted in supporting Chris, Paddy Buckley and George Rhodes during their Bob Graham attempt in 1977.

Chris Brasher’s name is synonymous with such achievements as:

• 1954 Assisted by Chris Chataway they facilitated the 1st sub 4 minute mile achieved by Roger Bannister
• 1956 Olympic Gold Medal for the Steeplechase in Melbourne
• Instrumental in raising public awareness in competitive orienteering both nationally and internationally
• 1981 Original organiser of the now infamous annual London Marathon

Following that meeting Chris returned south where using his many networking skills within fell running circles, he increased awareness, interest and enthusiasm about the round resulting in a steady flow of successful attempts each year from both north and south of the border.

57 have gone clockwise starting with Ben Nevis and 12 have gone anticlockwise finishing with the Ben. The fastest time recorded is that of Adrian Belton from Baslow in Derbyshire. He recorded a time of 18 hours 23 mins.

Winter attempts

Whilst I only retain record details of those who have completed the round starting and finishing at Glen Nevis Youth Hostel within 24 hours. It is noteworthy that the round has been completed in both directions in winter conditions (October / March) as shown.

Four remarkable achievements in Lochaber winter conditions

Well done.

Sub 24 hours Solo Winter Attempt

We wish him well.

International interest

In the summer of 2010 Rhonda Claridge, an ultra-runner from Colorado in the U.S.A., spotted the round on an international ultra-runner’s website. With plans for a family holiday to the U.K., Rhonda contacted me about the possibility of her having an attempt in August as she would be in Lochaber for about 4 days.

Rhonda made contact with Mark Hartell, president of the Bob Graham club, who has successfully completed Ramsay’s Round (No 16). He has also competed in the 100-mile Hardrock footrace in 2007, where he met Rhonda whilst she was pacing a friend. Mark was able to provide some background of the round and thus a challenge for Rhonda to have a go.

On arrival in Edinburgh Rhonda visited us and together we drew up a provisional plan. This was supported by excellent assistance from Lochaber Athletic Club, in particular John Hepburn, Peter Duggan, Jon Gay and Neil Arnott.

Under time constraints, Rhonda set off at 0900 on the 12th of August on an anti-clockwise journey. All plans and schedules were unfolding well until the night section, when the weather deteriorated, and Rhonda began to slip back a bit. Encouraged by Jon in the later stages she completed the round in 25 hours and 24 minutes, a remarkable achievement given her travel, limited preparation, time scale, and Lochaber’s unpredictable weather.
One hopes that this tremendous effort will inspire others from the international scene to visit Scotland, Lochaber and perhaps have a go at Ramsay’s Round.

Well done.

Haste ye back Rhonda.

Ultra–Distance Challenges

Ramsay’s Round is recognised by Ultra–Distance Challenges as one of the UK’s big 3 mountain challenges, which include:

1 The Bob Graham Round: England

2 The Charlie Ramsay Round: Scotland

3 The Paddy Buckley Round: Wales

The Big Three

1 The Big Three in one go
Mike Hartley (No 10) completed all three rounds consecutively in 3 days 14 hours and 20 minutes in July 1990, covering a distance of 187 miles with 83,000 feet of ascent to include 113 tops.

2 The Big Three in one season
This challenge has been successfully completed by
No 4 Helen Diamantides
No 6 Adrian Belton
No 52 Jon Chapman
No 62 Tom Phillips

3 Completions of the Big Three
To date a total of 32 finishers of Ramsay’s Round have completed the Big Three

4 Completion of the Big Three (walking) within 14 days
In May 2011, Keri Page from Lochaber A C will attempt to walk all three rounds within 14 days raising money for local charities.

The Big Three

How did Keri get on?

“Finally the UK Big 3 Challenge is over and sadly I didn’t quite manage to complete it, as I did not reach the final two summits of Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis due to blizzards and 60mph winds on the mountain Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th May. I completed the PBR and BGR but fell just short on Ramsay’s Round by bailing off Aonach Mor in the snow.”
 
“Overall I have walked and jogged 177 miles and climbed 111 mountains, totalling an overall height of 24,366m (79,943ft). The weather has been awful throughout. By not reaching the final two summits, I have fallen short of completing my challenge by a mere 10 miles and 932m. To see photos and hear more about my final days and my story of ‘nearly but not quite’ in Scotland, please see my blog”
 
“You can also see splits by clicking the RESULTS tab at the top or clicking here”

“At least I have succeeded in raising over £1900 for WaterAid and the john Muir Trust.”

New Ladies Record Attempt

Anne Johnson, from Hebden Bridge (Yorkshire) The current ladies record holder of the Bob Graham and Paddy Buckley rounds, will attempt to break the ladies record on Ramsay’s Round during 2010/11. Having successfully reccied the round during the summer of 2009, she was ultimately denied the opportunity to proceed in August due to foul weather. Good Luck & Fingers Crossed.

Continued…