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'I finished what Dad started': Son climbs Scotland's 282 Munros

PA Media A young boy standing on top of a hill with a blue t-shirt on. The straps of a red backpack are visible over his shoulders. A man with a thick beard has his arm round the boy. They are both smiling.PA Media
Paul Choat said hillwalking became his father David's passion

A hillwalker has finished all 282 of Scotland's Munros in tribute to his father, who died from motor neurone disease (MND) before he could complete the epic challenge.

David Choat had reached 267 of Scotland's 282 peaks over 3,000ft when his condition made it impossible to continue.

But son Paul, 40, from Longniddry, East Lothian, took on the quest in his memory and has now raised more than £117,000 for charity.

He recalled being "dragged up" two Munros by his father as a child but never contemplated the challenge until David's diagnosis.

Perthshire Picture Agency/PA Paul Choat climbing Schiehallion in Perthshire, as part of his challenge of climbing all of Scotland’s 282 tallest mountains. He is wearing a blue jacket and blue and yellow headband.Perthshire Picture Agency/PA
Paul climbed Schiehallion in Perthshire for the final leg of his challenge

Paul said: "I think I massively underestimated what was involved, but it went from being a sort of fundraising challenge in honour of Dad to this amazing journey around Scotland, full of lots of memories that I won't forget, particularly when we finished."

He described how hillwalking started as a "casual hobby" for his parents but then his father became invested in completing the Munro challenge.

Paul said: "I think they always thought that they'd have plenty of time once he'd retired to kind of get the last ones done, and then it was not long after retirement that he was diagnosed with MND, so couldn't finish the last 15 that he had left."

PA Media Three climbers on top of a mountain under a grey skyPA Media
Paul (left) has raised more than £117,000 for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which was launched by late Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir

Alongside his mother and siblings, Choat completed the remaining 15 on his father's behalf, finishing just two months before he died in 2021.

The property maintenance company director then decided to continue and complete all 282 himself, raising money for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation in his father's memory.

He completed his challenge in just under five years, and the family's efforts have now raised more than £117,000 for MND research.

Perthshire Picture Agency/PA Paul Choat, 40, from Longniddry, is pictured with his daughter Skye after taking on the challenge of climbing all of Scotland’s tallest mountains. They are sitting on a beige couch in a domestic setting. Paul is wearing grey jeans and a blue polo shirt. His daughter is wearing a white t-shirt and a denim skirt. Perthshire Picture Agency/PA
Paul, pictured with daughter Skye, says he feels a "bit of relief" after completing his challenge

Choat said there were definitely a few moments where he was questioning whether or not the challenge was something he really wanted to do.

He said: "There were a few days where the weather turned out to be worse than the forecast, and you get to a point where you feel a bit miserable about being soaked through and blown this way and that, and definitely questioning whether it's worth carrying on.

"I think having Dad in my mind was usually what kind of kept me going when things got pretty tough."

Although it began as something he wanted to do for his father, he said it eventually became something he wanted to do for himself as well.

He said: "I think overcoming things that I wouldn't have done otherwise, putting myself in situations that I wasn't comfortable with, but pushing myself, and the benefits from that – it became more apparent the more I did that I was getting a lot more out of it than I kind of ever thought I would."

Perthshire Picture Agency/PA A man, woman and girl hold their hands in the air at the top of a mountainPerthshire Picture Agency/PA
Paul celebrates completing his quest to conquer all 282 Munros

He saved Schiehallion, near Aberfeldy, for his final climb, hoping it would allow several generations of his family to be involved.

The company director was joined by family and friends, including his six-year-old daughter Skye, who completed her first Munro alongside him.

Skye said it was "good" to see her father complete his challenge, and said she enjoyed "everything" about her first Munro – even the wind and rain.

Looking back at his accomplishment, Choat said he feels a "bit of relief".

He added: "I doubted myself a few times and I almost felt a bit of a weight of wanting to do it for Dad – so there was a wee bit of pressure that I put on myself.

"I think once we reached the final summit, there was a little bit of relief, but also kind of was just really pleased for Dad and for myself.

Choat added: "I kind of felt like I was able to finish what Dad started.

The phenomenon known as Munro bagging was inspired by Sir Hugh Munro whose family were Scottish landowners.

Munro was a founder and president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club which set him the task of listing all the country's hills of 3,000ft (914m) or more.