Born in Colombo in Sri Lanka on August 13 1934, he lived in Japan for a time and then Singapore, escaping in 1942 as it fell to the Japanese. He lived in South Africa for two years as a refugee before returning to live in Scotland at the end of World War II. His family lived in Dollar and Hamish spent much of his youth exploring the nearby Ochil Hills which awakened his interest in the outdoor life. He was educated at Dollar Academy.

He travelled extensively in the Middle East and East Africa during the 1950s when serving in the RAF for his National Service. Between 1960 and 1972 he worked at Braehead School, Buckhaven, Fife and was in charge of outdoor activities at the school, introducing many of the pupils to walking in the Scottish Highland as well as other outdoor activities. After a spell as a County Adviser he decided to try and make a living as a freelance writer and photographer, specialising on "anything to do with mountains".

On April 4 1974 he set off on his trip to complete all the Munro mountains in one trip. He completed the journey on July 24, a journey of 112 days during which time he covered 1,639 miles, climbed 289 peaks and wore out three pairs of boots. he only used the Isle of Mull and Isle of Skye ferries and a bicycle as transport.

His 1974 journey was documented in the book Hamish’s Mountain Walk and this made him a household name among the walking fraternity, the book won an award from the Scottish Arts Council. He followed his Munros walk with the longest trip over the English, Irish and Welsh peaks, told in the book Hamish’s Groats End Walk. Brown also thought up the Ultimate Challenge (now called the TGO Challenge, after The Great Outdoors Magazine, not to be confused with the Australian series, which sponsors and organises the event), a fortnight-long endurance walk from coast-to-coast across Scotland — the book Scotland Coast To Coast is an account of a typical Challenge walk. Great Walking Adventure covered some of his more distant treks to Corsica, Norway, the Andes, Atlas and Himalayas.

He has continued to write books and contribute to outdoor magazines. He has written or edited over 30 books and written numerous articles, many of which have appeared in The Scotsman and the Evening News and a selection of these were published in the book Travels. He has also edited two classic poetry books: Poems of the Scottish Hills and the huge Speak to the Hills besides a volume of his own poems Time Gentlemen. Two of Brown's best known books about the Scottish Highlands, Hamish's Mountain Walk and Climbing The Corbetts were released as a compendium in 1996 by the publishers Baton Wicks.

In 1997 he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letter from the University of St Andrews for his contribution to mountain writing and poetry. In 2000 he was made an MBE and a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. In May 2007 he was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.

Brown did a lot of his walking with his pet Shetland Sheepdogs, firstly Kitchy and then Storm who both climbed hundreds of mountains in his company.

For many years Brown lived in Kinghorn in Fife and now lives in Burntisland. He spends several months every year in Morocco, a country very close to his heart, he first visited there in 1965 and has returned every year to walk in the Atlas Mountains. In 2006 he released the book The Mountains Look On Marrakech an account of a 90 day end to end trek of the Atlas Mountains. In 2008 Brown took a break from writing books on walking when he released The Scottish Graveyard Miscellany, a book about the design and art of gravestones throughout Scotland.

• Hamish’s Mountain Walk, Paladin, 1978, ISBN 0 58608 332 4
• Hamish’s Groats End Walk, Paladin, 1981, ISBN 0 58608 426 6
• Eye To The Hills: Poems, Pettycur Publishing, 1982, ISBN 0 95080 890 3 (With James McMillan)
• Poems Of The Scottish Hills, Elseveir, 1982, ISBN 0 08028 477 9
• Time Gentlemen (Some Collected Poems), Mercat Press, 1983, ISBN 0 08030 375 7
• Five Bird Stories, Pettycur Publishing, 1984, ISBN 0 95080 891 1
• Speak To The Hills, Anthology of 20th Century British and Irish Mountain Poetry, Aberdeen University, 1985, ISBN 0 08030 406 0 (Edited with Martyn Berry)
• The Great Walking Adventure, Oxford Illustrated Press, 1986, ISBN 0 946609 12 8
• Travels, Scotman Publications, 1986, ISBN 0 90267 003 4
• The Island of Rhum, A Guide for Walkers, Climbers and Visitors, Cicerone Press, 1988, ISBN 1 85284 002 1
• Climbing The Corbetts, Victor Gollancz, 1988, ISBN 0 57504 378 4
• Hamish Brown’s Scotland, Mercat Press, 1988, ISBN 0 08036 391 1
• Scotland Coast To Coast, Patrick Stephens, 1990, ISBN 1 85260 229 5
• Walking The Summits of Somerset and Avon, Patrick Stephens, 1991, ISBN 1-85260-365-8
• Fort William And Glen Coe Walks, Jarrold Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0 71170 571 2
• Great Walks: Scotland, New Orchard, 1992, ISBN 1 87222 656 6 (With Rennie McOwan, and Richard Mearns)
• From The Pennines To The Highlands, House Of Lochar, 1992, ISBN 1 87402 737 4
• The Bothy Brew, Luath Press, 1993, ISBN 0 94648 726 4
• The Last Hundred, Munros, Beards and a Dog, Mainstream Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1 85158 607 5
• The Fife Coast, Mainstream Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1 85158 608 3
• Exploring The Edinburgh To Glasgow Canals, Stationary Office, 1997, ISBN 0 11495 735 5
• Fife in Focus (Coastal Photographs), 1997, ISBN 1 86998 408 0
• 25 Walks: Skye and Kintail, Mercat Press, 2000, ISBN 1 84183 007 0
• Along The Fife Coastal Path, Mercat Press, 2004, ISBN 1 84183 057 7
• Fife: 25 Walks, Mercat Press, 2005, ISBN 1 84183 075 5
• Seton Gordon’s Scotland, Whittles Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1 90444 522 5
• The Mountains Look On Marrakech, Whittles Publishing, ISBN 1870325295
• The Scottish Mountains, Colin Baxter Photography, 2007, ISBN 1 84107 367 9 (With Alan Gordon)
• The Scottish Graveyard Miscellany: The Folk Art of Scotland's Graves, Birlinn Publishing, 2008, ISBN 1 84158 676 5

Hamish Brown has also contributed to:

• Rough Guide to Morocco, Rough Guides, 2004, ISBN 1 84353 313 8
• Rough Guide to Scotland, Rough Guides, 2006, ISBN 1 84353 666 8
• Munros Tables, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1981
• The Corbetts And Other Scottish Hills, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1990, ISBN 0 90752 129 0
• The Munros, Scottish Mountaineering Trust, 1985, ISBN 0 90752 113 4