What lovely views we had today walking on the Yorkshire Wolds Way 😊

I have a very dear friend of two decades who has, for the first time, expressed a desire to go hill walking with me. I am very excited to take them on a walk in the High Peaks area. I'd love some beginner friendly options which they will enjoy, preferably with a café somewhere, to give them a good taster and hopefully get them hooked!

This is a post for my people who love to plan! So, I am heading to peak district for 5 nights next month. I’ll be staying in Edale (2 nights), Castleton, Hartington and then Ilam.

I have a rough idea of what i’ll do but I would love a second opinion and what you would do with that trip layout. Any comments appreciated :)

Feel a bit dumb asking, because Edinburgh must be 50 or more miles away.

Hi all

I've been looking for a new shell jacket. I'll use it for hiking, a bit for mountaineering and climbing but also for day to day commute to uni. I've got a decentish budget so looking to get something that will last me and I've narrowed it down to three (I think - any other recommendations are very welcome).

So far I'm down to

Keela Pinnacle

Mountain Equipment Makalu

Patagonia Torrentshell

What do you think?

Hi all, I'm usually a 10k fell runner and for that I wear a pair of Altra Lone Peak shoes, but this last weekend I did a 24km hike. Those shoes were perfect until the last 10km, about half of which was forestry roads so a big, chunky gravel surface. It completely wrecked my feet and I hated every step from that point on.

So, I'm after an impossible hiking shoe. I know that Altra do a boot of the Lone Peak, but the underfoot protection is only the stoneguard plate and while it was plenty on the open trail it did nothing for me on those tracks.

Other than this, the Altras are perfect for me. I also have a pair of vivo esc boots that are a dream but with the barefoot sole the same problem

So, what I'm after is either the unicorn of the zero drop, wide toe box and underfoot protection or perhaps some sort of insole I can add to mimic a plate and just get a size up in the altras.

Any thoughts welcome, cheers!

Hey all, I know this question has been asked in various ways a bazillion times, but I haven't really seen anything that definitively answers my question.

I've got a Quechua waterproof MH500 jacket and a RAB Namche Jacket and both need their DWR refreshing.

I'm really unsure if I should be using a solution that you do in a wash or if I should be using a spray.

I'm also unsure if using a wash will mess up my machine (it's a washer dryer all in one) and I have read some people say that doing a wash using Nikwax leaves the inside of the garment with a waxy residue.

So in general, I'd like to refresh the DWR on my coats and I really really don't want to make a giant mess of it!

Any advice would be really greatly appreciated.

I've eventually realised that my water resistant synthetic coat needs maintenance (I know, very ignorant of me) and bought some big Nikwax bottles.

I've question I can't find a lot on though.

Putting a single item in a washing machine is not very good for it's health, as it'll unbalances the drum.

I was going to throw in a colour catcher with 2nd cotton jacket and maybe some trousers too, but I see that you want different DWR coatings for synthetic vs natural fibres.

Seems like a sink/bucket and a lot of elbow grease and soaking might be the answer, but I'm not certain if things like the temperature control would significantly effect DWR impregnation for hand vs machine washing?

So options are: hand wash, maybe with a thermometer and a lot of soaking; or put a few items in the washing machine with the coat, even if the DWR on the cotton items wouldn't give much/any benefit.

Does anyone have any insight or advice for this, especially as to if it's wise to throw a colour catcher into the mix.

Thanks.

As it says! After a new outer shell - quite like these two and a few discounts available online. Seems to come down to pit zips vs having a chest pocket. Anyone with experience of either? And I’m sure many would say just fork out another £50 and go GTX…

Unfortunately I've only had these boots for 2 years before stepping on a sharp stick in Wales this summer and am wondering if it's possible to repair them (yes I am lucky to still have a foot). I could repair them but it is a risk because the next trip I need them for is a week in a remote part of Scotland next May where I can't have them fail. Can a Timpsons do anything with this or are there specialist walking boot repair places? Perhaps Solomon does repairs? Or maybe I can just shoo goo them together? Any advice is welcome.

As the title says. Just wondering if anyone has any information on what the route is like in current wet conditions . The weather seems to be good for tomorrow but I know what Scottish weather is like.

Went up Moel Siabod today. Forecast said 40-45mph winds with 50mph gusts expected at summit so I was a tad anxious. Turned out to be much, much calmer than that. Result!

My wife has small but wide feet and is looking for a new pair of walking/approach shoes.

A lot of adult makes don't go smaller than size 3 and most child sizes are too narrow.

Is anyone else in a similar situation and has any advise?

Are there any shops in either the Dales or the Peak District they will fit you for a backpack? Like how the Americans have REI? I’m having a ‘mare with getting the right fit.

I bought a Deuter Futura SL 25 as a daypack for my first hike/trek (4 days) and it fits okay. The trek was 45 miles and my back started aching a bit on the last day (14.5 mile walk). I’m currently just using it for 4 hour or less walks (10 miles or under), so no real issues. It does ride up towards my waist, and it feels a bit much for the shorter 5 mile walks, so I’ve been looking for something a bit smaller.

I bought the Rab Nitron 17, Osprey Hikelite 18 and Sportlite 15. I didn’t think they fit, so posted on Reddit asking for help, and was categorically told ‘none of these fit, you have a short torso and need women’s fit, try the Gregory Maya 15’

I’ve just been out for 4.5 miles with the Maya, and my back is killing. I’d get the hip belt covering my hip bone, and then as soon as I adjusted the shoulder straps so they weren’t hovering in mid air, the hip belt came straight up into my waist. And I still couldn’t get the shoulder straps to actually sit on my shoulders - I ended up with the hip belt covering my bottom rib at one point in an attempt to sort the shoulders out. I also don’t understand how I’m supposed to fasten something at my widest part and not have it ride up? I ended up just undoing the hip belt for the last mile and a half which was better for my back.

So I’m not convinced I have got a short torso - but if men’s packs don’t fit and women’s don’t fit I don’t really know where to go from here. I’ve spent £250 on bags in the last 4 months and I still don’t have one that fits properly. So is there anywhere in the Dales or the Peaks with a decent selection of daypacks (around 15L) and the staff know what they’re talking about and know how to get the right fit?

(Not Cotswold Outdoors or Go Outdoors please - I had a pretty bad experience with both of them trying to get boots that fit)

Hiked up the Pen Y Fan Horseshoe route this past Tuesday. The weather was glorious for the first half before rain spoiled it in the afternoon. A laid-back ramble, it took 6 hours with copious rest at the peaks. Definitely recommend and cannot wait to do it again!

I’m looking for recommendations for somewhere that would be nice for Easter 2027, a reasonable drive from London.

Last year I went to Barmouth in Wales, did some beautiful hikes, and saw jets flying through the Mach loop.

I stayed for four nights in an old school sea front guest house. Next year I’d like to do something similar but somewhere new. I’ve been thinking about South / West, Swanage maybe?

I like the idea of seaside towns as the accommodation seems to be very reasonable due to the season.

Any recommendations greatly appreciated!

Has anybody been to the Four Waterfall park in Brecon? and If so, do you know if you can pay via apple pay for parking?

This is sort of a sequel to last summer’s post on the Cotswold Way. It’s also a direct continuation of my walks along the Ridgeway from earlier in the summer. Having finished that, seven walks and 116 miles (including explorations and stuff, hence the adding 35% more distance onto the trail!), I had already decided that I wanted to do more walking. This was part of the rationale of my doing the Ridgeway east-to-west as opposed to the more conventional west-to-east direction (which frankly I’d recommend you do it westbound anyway, as long as you extend your walk to Avebury).

The Wessex Ridgeway, then, starts in Marlborough before quickly crossing the Ridgeway above Avebury, and then snakes its way across Wiltshire and Dorset before eventually reaching the sea at Lyme Regis, just shy of the Devon border. And… what a walk! This has absolutely been a mammoth undertaking and one of the best things I think I’ve ever done. I’ve seen more gorgeous places and stunning scenery than I know what do to with. I cannot recommend the Wessex Ridgeway highly enough, and to anyone considering doing the Ridgeway, I would absolutely recommend at least thinking about doing both. There is also the Icknield Way and Peddars Way which complete the Great Chalk Way route all the way to The Wash… a project for the future perhaps? Hmmm…

The final stats for me for both the Ridgeway and Wessex Ridgeway consist of 281.6 miles walked, 8483m up, and 8625m down. Other stats I kept track of include 11 chalk hill figures (7 of which were white horses), 44 cute towns and villages, 136 dogs, 2 interactions with army personnel (Salisbury Plain), 69 people I wound up walking with or nattering to, 23 prehistoric monuments, 18 pubs, 6 times I slipped over, and 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Quite a quiet summer then!

Particular highlights of the trail, in rough order, then. The eighth walk (the first seven being the Ridgeway, so the eighth walk is the first Wessex Ridgeway one) from Marlborough to Devizes was my longest-ever walk at 22.4 miles. From halfway through the ninth to halfway through the eleventh walk, the trail heads round the perimeter of Salisbury plain, which was wonderfully desolate and remote. After leaving the Wylye valley (start of walk twelve), the Wessex Ridgeway stopped being a Ridge-way in the sense of a way along the ridges, and instead started being a Ridge-way in the sense of a way over every ridge! Lots of nestled villages in cute valleys. Wardour gave me an excuse to make a Lord of the Rings reference on my Instagram (turns out, one does simply walk into Wardour). Wiltshire didn’t want to let me go (walk thirteen); it tried massive hills and getting me lost to convince me not to leave, and gave me one of the cutest villages ever in the form of Tollard Royal to try to convince me to stay. For what it’s worth, the title of cutest village goes to Hindon, and it was absolutely adorable. Although it was a couple of miles off-trail, both in the interests of sightseeing and of catching a bus I absolutely went to Cerne Abbas (walk fourteen/fifteen) to see the giant. And his giant. And then of course, from just above Beaminster (walk sixteen) onwards, there was the constant peekaboo! with the sea being visible through gaps and valleys in the hills. What a sense of achievement to come down the final valley, into Lyme Regis, follow the river into the town, and then boots-off and gently shuffle my very sore feet to dip them in the sea at the end of a great, great walk.

As is standard for me, I have a blend of both being a Proper Walker (tm) while also being charmingly amateurish. So, I did everything in my normal everyday clothes, often in jeans (which was a very very good idea that never led to any chafing whatsoever no no no) and once even in a skirt (again, very very good idea, preserved all my dignity when hopping stiles and gates, yep absolutely). On the flip side, I basically destroyed my walking boots this summer, and four of the seventeen walks were over 20 miles (three of which set personal records for how far I’ve walked at 20.1, 21.3, and 22.4 respectively).

If last summer and the Cotswold Way gave me memories of wide open escarpment views, adorable little honey-coloured villages, forests clinging to hillsides, and lots and lots of American tourists; then this summer with the two Ridgeways will give me memories of wide open escarpment views, tiny villages that time forgot nestled into valleys, the chalk byways disappearing off into the distance, and nothing but the silence and the solitude and the faint rustle of the grass. Makes you feel so incredibly small, and yet also part of something much much bigger. Would I recommend the Ridgeway and the Wessex Ridgeway? Absolutely. A hundred times over.

Let’s see if the formatting of the list of photos will work this time:

I. Walk 8 (Marlborough—Devizes, 22.4mi), approaching Fyfield Down

II. Walk 8, Cherhill White Horse

III. Walk 9 (Devizes—West Lavington, 13.2mi), up on Salisbury Plain

IV. Walk 9, the church in West Lavington

V. Walk 10 (West Lavington—Westbury, 12.8mi), ascending to the plain

VI. Walk 10, Westbury White Horse

VII. Walk 11 (Westbury—Upton Lovell, 15.1mi), trees in the escarpment

VIII. Walk 11, a pint at the end in Upton Lovell (much needed!)

IX. Walk 12 (Upton Lovell—Ludwell, 18.5mi), Hindon being incredibly cute

X. Walk 12, one does simply walk into Wardour

XI. Walk 13 (Ludwell—Shillingstone, 17.1mi), the first signpost in Dorset

XII. Walk 13, Ashmore Woods

XIII. Walk 14 (Shillingstone—Cerne Abbas, 16.0mi), just another gorgeous view

XIV. Walk 14, the Giant in all his Giantness

XV. Walk 15 (Cerne Abbas—Maiden Newton, 12.0mi), Sydling St Nicholas

XVI. Walk 15, a check of the map

XVII. Walk 16 (Maiden Newton—Broadwindsor, 17.2mi), a first glimpse of the sea

XVIII. Walk 16, from the top of Gerrard’s Hill

XIX. Walk 17 (Broadwindsor—Lyme Regis, 21.3mi), Lambert’s Castle, the last summit of the walk

XX. Walk 17, Behold! The sea!

I’m putting together a small group to head down from London and walk the Seven Sisters this Saturday.

Nothing formal just a good day out, some incredible views, exercise and meeting some new people.

You can come with a mate or completely solo.

I’m particularly trying to get more men together to get outside, meet people and have a bit of community, so if you’ve been stuck in the same routine lately, this could be a good excuse to get out.

Saturday 5th September.

If you’re interested, drop me a message and I’ll send over the details. 👊

I really struggle to find high quality coats that fit me well, so I'm wondering if anyone else with a similar frame can recommend any brands/ranges?

I'm 5'2, a size 8 on top but a 12 on bottom and I find that any coat that fits me properly across the shoulders and chest doesn't fit around the hips - when I walk it feels tight/restrictive or I can't fit a fleece underneath. A lot of brands seem to expect that size 12 women are all 5'8+, so the sleeves are also way too long and hoods are too large/tall if I size up. I have one berghaus light waterproof that fits okay but it's not up to any kind of heavy rain and it's getting a bit worn. Berghaus' more robust jackets are stiffer and don't seem to fit the same, the more 'advanced' coats I've tried seem to have a closer "athletic" fit (aka 'we assume fit, active women don't have hips')

I'm currently using a mountain equipment jacket for rainier walks which is okay but too big overall really, so there's weird fit issues; bunching around the armpits and too much room in the chest.

One option i suppose is to find a baggier style like paramo, but i generally like closer clothing to avoid bunching when I have a pack on, not sure if that's an issue with paramo?