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Bag a Munro before breakfast

The layby at Glen Nevis holds one car at 5am, and it's yours. Scotland has 282 summits over 3,000ft (914m), called Munros, and most go up and down in under five hours if you start while the world is still asleep. Halfway up, the path turns to scree and the mist thickens — it's July, and you're wearing the gloves you packed as a joke, glad of them now. The summit clears for four minutes, just enough to see three ranges you can't name. By nine you're back at the car, and the garage bacon roll in Fort William tastes better than it has any right to.

Practical

Cost
$0–20 (fuel, parking)
Best time
May–September, when conditions are most reliable
Difficulty
Moderate
Time it takes
3–5 hours round trip for most Munros
What people get wrong
People check the valley forecast and not the summit one, and end up in winter conditions wearing summer kit. The other common mistake is starting late enough that the layby is already full and the quiet is gone.
With
Alone

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