Petticoats and Pinnacles: Scotland's Pioneering Mountain Women

This illustrated talk will explore the National Library of Scotland’s collections to uncover the hidden history of Scottish women mountaineers. As artists, writers, explorers and climbers they have pushed frontiers and challenged and changed social attitudes. Using extracts from their own books, as well as newspapers and film, Curator Paula Williams will show how Scottish women have picked up their skirts and scaled the heights. Following on from a degree in physical geography from University of Aberdeen, involving surveying glaciated valleys in the Grampians, Paula’s first professional job was as Community Librarian at Aboyne on Deeside, living on the very road that Nan Shepherd would have used to access her beloved Cairngorms. Weekends spent among the mountains has led to an abiding love of high places. Paula’s career developed at the Bodleian Library as a antiquarian map curator before moving to her current role of Map, Mountaineering & Polar Curator at the National Library of Scotland. She curated the popular You are Here map exhibition. The Petticoats & Pinnacles exhibition ran at the Library 2021-22 but with limited access due to covid restrictions. Outside work, Paula is a leader and commissioner with Girlguiding and is committed to helping girls and young women to have fun, adventures and discover their own potential. Why not make a day of it at Lauriston and have some lunch at Mimi’s café on-site after your lecture experience?