Born in Colombo, Ceylon (now modern-day Sri Lanka) on 13 August 1934, he lived in Japan for a time and then Singapore; escaping in 1942 as it fell to the Japanese.
His family lived in Dollar and Brown spent much of his youth exploring the nearby Ochil Hills which awakened his interest in the great outdoors.
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, Brown received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of St Andrews for his contribution to mountain writing and poetry.
Both climbed hundreds of mountains in his company, including completed rounds of Munros, the former dog credited as the first to achieve this feat.
He spends several months every year in Morocco, a country very close to his heart; having first visited there in 1965 and has returned annually ever since to walk in the Atlas Mountains.