Born in London in 1929 Margaret lived in Kent before later moving to Suffolk. She attended primary school in the Highlands during the war years, where she loved walking, riding, fishing, sailing and boating. She always returned to the Highlands for the summers and moved there permanently in 1990. She joined Downe House aged 12, where she made many close friends and later became DHSA Registrar.

After school, her brother introduced Margaret to Jim. They were soon engaged, and married in 1954. After time in Australia and New Zealand where daughter Nichola (DH 1972) was born, they returned to England in 1959. They moved from London to Battailes, Great Easton, where they had a son Michael and daughter Philippa (DH 1979). Gardening became a passion, as both a designer and knowledgeable plantswoman.

After losing Jim in 2019 and with the onset of the Covid lockdown in April 2020, Margaret set herself the ‘Suilven Challenge’. Having first climbed Suilven aged 15 during the war, ‘MargaretsMountainClimb’ involved climbing the equivalent of 2,398ft on her own stairs, raising more than £435,000 for Scottish charities, for which she was awarded the British Empire Medal.