Tom Weir MBE

29 December 1914 – 6 July 2006

Scottish climber, author and broadcaster.
Best known for his long-running television series Weir's Way and environmental activism.

Weir was born in Springburn, Glasgow. After service in the Royal Artillery during World War II, he worked as an ordnance surveyor, before commencing a full-time career as a climber, writer and photographer.

In 1950 he was a member of the first post-war Himalayan expedition and, in 1952, was one of the first to explore the previously closed mountain ranges of Nepal, east of Kathmandu.

He married Rhona Murray Dickson, of Giffnock, in 1959, a fellow mountaineer, and they lived in Gartocharn, not far from Loch Lomond.

Weir became a pioneering campaigner for the protection of the Scottish environment, and wrote a column every month for The Scots Magazine for over 50 years.

From 1976–1987, he hosted the Scottish Television series Weir's Way, meeting the people of Scotland, exploring the landscape and its natural history.

  • Weir won the Scottish Television 'Personality of the Year Award' in 1976.

  • He was appointed MBE in 1976.

  • in 2000 he was awarded the inaugural John Muir Lifetime Achievement Award by the John Muir Trust in recognition of his environmental work.

  • He is celebrated in the song "Tom Weir" written by Edinburgh musician Sandy Wright and performed by the band Aberfeldy.

  • In 2007, L. Pierre wrote an ambient instrumental song, "Weir's Way", featured on his album, "Dip".

  • He was a vice-president of the Scottish Rights of Way Society

  • An executive member of the Scottish Wildlife Trust

  • President of the Scottish Mountaineering Club from 1984 to 1986

  • And was a campaigner for national parks.

In 1994, Tom Weir wrote his long-awaited biography, "Weir's World", which he called an autobiography of sorts: it is a tapestry of thousands of joyful and perceptive experiences, anecdotes and adventures by a man who was full of zest and was truly one of the most outstanding outdoor men Scotland has produced.

Weir was buried on 17 July 2006 in Kilmaronock Parish Church, near Drymen. He was buried in the same plot as the ashes of his sister and actress Molly Weir.

Statue of Tom Weir on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, was unveiled in 2014.

Weir is a notable Sept of Clan Buchanan. Learn more about the Names of Buchanan