Walkers approach Ben More, one of the southern Highlands' munros

Mountain-loving television viewers, who have faced a dearth of content over the summer, can again set their recorders this weekend.

Munro: Mountain Man will examine the slow rise from obscurity of Scotland’s 3,000-footers to the stage where thousands of people now go munrobagging and surveyors measure their heights to centimetre accuracy. The programme will go out on BBC4 this Sunday, 20 September, at 9pm.

Nicholas Crane, the man who has implausibly made the umbrella his trademark, will front the programme. The BBC’s blurb says: “Little more than 100 years ago, Scottish mountains standing at more than 3,000 feet were virtually unknown.

“Today they are familiar terrain to many thousands of climbers, thanks to Victorian adventurer Hugh Munro’s determination to list the high peaks which now define the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

“This documentary tells the story of the magnificent peaks that bear his name and the people who have been possessed by them.

“The birth of this obsession – now known as munrobagging – is a twisting tale of intrigue, which presenter Nicholas Crane unravels high on the ridges and pinnacles of some of Scotland’s most spectacular mountains.”

The broadcast is part of a four-part This is Scotland series, which examines the nation’s culture, art, film-making, heritage, landscape and psyche.

Earlier this year, producer Matt Barrett appealed through grough for help from any bagger nearing completion. He told us: “We want to follow a munroist with a story to tell as they climb their final munro.

“We’ll try to convey why hillwalkers are so drawn to the ‘list’. Above all we want to convey the feeling of adventure and exploration that’s still possible today in the amazingly varied mountainscapes of Scotland.”

Since then, the list has diminished by one with the survey of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean showing it towers 914m above sea level, short of the magic metric munro equivalent of 914.4m. Baggers can now ‘compleat’ their list by climbing 283 peaks.

Mr Barrett expressed his gratitude to mountaineers and walkers who helped in the making of the episode, saying: “Thanks to all who helped to make it possible!”

The programme will also be repeated on the BBC’s HD channel.