Griff Rhys Jones was a mountain virgin. So when it was suggested that he might like to go up a few of Britain’s peaks, he rightly asked: isn’t there someone better qualified?

Apparently not. So Griff was duly dispatched across the rooftops of England, Scotland and Wales to explore some of the roughest, most arduous – not to mention most beautiful – terrain, and to meet those who live daily in such thin-aired wilds.

Climbing the big mountains like Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike and many others besides gave Griff an insight into the passion and devotion our high places inspire – and turned a mountain virgin into a mountaineer. Well almost …