Rucsacs.com
Title
Rucksack Readers, guidebooks for long-distance walkers in Scotland, Ireland and worldwide
Description
About us
Jacquetta Megarry founded Rucksack Readers in 2000 to publish guidebooks in a rucksack-friendly format that she devised especially for walkers. As a late-onset hiker based in Dunblane, her first long-distance walk was the West Highland Way in 1998. This formative experience led her to believe that the traditional design of guidebook and separate map was impractical, and that walkers would prefer a package with built-in map that is lightweight, waterproof and opens flat.
After summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in 1999, she gained the self-belief to put her idea into production. (Previously she had been an education/training consultant whose main experience of writing was academic books and journals.) Her career change started by building a talented team, all of whom are based in central Scotland: Ian Clydesdale (WorkHorse) for design of the books and pages, Dan Champion for website design and Susan Tait (The Linx) for most of the cartography.
Although she wrote or co-authored most of the earlier books, the growing band of Rucksack Readers authors now includes Sandra Bardwell, Roy Davies, Harry Kikstra, Gareth McCormack, Roly Smith (editor) and Jim Strachan. Mary McCallum manages stock, finances and website sales from the Dunblane base, and UK distribution is through Booksource in Glasgow. Two large black dogs, Max (pictured opposite but sadly now deceased) and Bramble, provide walking consultancy and are a vital part of the Dunblane operation.
