Broadcaster, climber, author and naturalist. Born in Springburn (Glasgow), the younger brother of actress Molly Weir (1910 - 2004), Weir's father was killed during World War I when he was just months old. Weir went on to work in a grocer's shop before serving in the Royal Artillery during World War II. After the war he worked briefly as a surveyor for the British national mapping agency the Ordnance Survey, but went on to make a profession of writing. His books, including Highland Days (1948), described his international climbing exploits and his views on environmental issues. He took part in one of the first climbing expeditions to the Himalayas after the Second World War, and also climbed in Greenland, Iran, Kurdistan, Morocco and Syria. Weir became a pioneering campaigner for the protection of the Scottish environment. He was also a regular contributor to the famous Scots Magazine, published by Dundee-based D.C. Thomson.
From 1976, he hosted the Scottish Television (STV) series Weir's Way, in which he travelled around Scotland exploring its landscapes, natural history and meeting the people. This series became a classic and when repeated almost thirty years later still attracted large audiences.
Weir settled in Dumbarton. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1992), received an MBE and was honoured by a John Muir lifetime achievement award (2000), presented by his friend and fellow environmentalist, Adam Watson (b.1930). He died in a retirement home at Balloch (West Dunbartonshire), where he had spent the last three years of his life.
