Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Trail

1 To get hands on rock Llanberis has been a climbing hub for decades, thanks to the crags lining the pass of its name. If you want to get into climbing or improve your scrambling, there are few better places to do so. A guide can take you safely into the vertical reaches, or if you have the skills and kit, then all you need is a guidebook. If you don’t want to climb yourself, steal time to watch the gymnastic efforts of the experts. It's mesmerising. 2 For a good night in Squelching into a warm bar after a cold day must be one of life’s most affirming pleasures. The Heights Hotel is a brilliant place to do just that, with good food and an accompanying snug bunkhouse. Once,…

One of TV’s most demanding adventurers – and a prolific mountaineer – Steve Backshall has emptied his kit cupboard for Trail’s charity gear sale on 22 October and, in typical Backshall style, has over-delivered. “I‘ve got four sackfuls,” he says, pulling out a large selection of what he terms ‘a multitude.’ Base layers, boots, rucksacks, waterproofs... we’ll be giving a full list next issue. Want it? See p139 for details!…

Bruach Na Frithe Isle of Skye “This is me and my son Greg on Bruach Na Frithe in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. We'd just done a fantastic scramble up the north-west ridge and, halfway up the cloud lifted giving us the most amazing views of the island and across to the mainland. The photo was taken by a lady from the Peak District, returning with her husband to Skye after a gap of more than 20 years.” Bob Keech, East Sussex Summit Selfie Send your shots, marked ‘Summit Selfie’ to trail@bauermedia.co.uk Pen Y Fan Brecon Beacons Emily Feasey says: “On top of Pen Y Fan with my friend Victoria – with breathtaking views! We were trailing our Duke of Edinburgh gold team and couldn't resist a quick…

1 Travel light Changing to a mirrorless SLR set-up five years ago helped me shed a few pounds. I found that I was getting the same quality with a lot less weight. 2 Lenses I tend to have two lenses to hand – a wide angle and a zoom (Fujifilm XF10-24 and XF16-55). However, it does all depend on your objective and different shots will require a different lens. 3 Tripods Love ’em or hate ’em they are useful. For mountain photography you need a sturdy lightweight one, but you will need to be mindful of the wind. A hook underneath the centre column helps as you can hang your bag on it for extra ballast. By ‘upping’ the ISO you can take perfectly good hand-held shots, but for effects…

‘‘However good a driver you think you are, if you’re tired, you become a bad driver.’’ Load kit, pile in the car, out of suburbia, hammer up the motorway. Coffee, pee break, quick leg stretch. Back in the car, no faff. More hours, turn up the tunes, this is the junction, vista shifts and ahh… I feel the hulking mass of mountains nearby. Let the adventure begin. Two long days in the hills – climb, walk, scramble. Pub. Tent. Late night, early morning, we’ve got the rest of the week to recover. Sunday – let’s make it a full day. I don’t mind driving, we’ll get back in time to chuck some washing on and set an alarm for Monday morning. Wind down the windows, turn up the tunes, I…

We all, I think, cherish the mountain peak or range where our love affair with the outdoors began. For me, that place is a ragged, jagged jumble of high and low summits on the western edge of Loch Lomond: the Arrochar Alps. Though not under-rated, these Alps do not get the kudos of a Glencoe ridgeline or a Lochaber pinnacle. But they’re some of the closest peaks to Glasgow and Edinburgh, rising almost straight from the road. Consequently, they provide many with their first steps onto and over the hills. Including me. A quarter of a century has passed since I first set foot on the mesmerising Cobbler – one of the most recognisable and exciting peaks in Scotland – and I still venture into these mountains several times a…

HAVE YOU HAD a brilliant summer holiday in one of our 15 glorious National Parks? Perhaps you witnessed a sunrise in the Cairngorms, took your first-born up their first Lake District mountain or soaked your friends under a waterfall in the Brecon Beacons. If you took a picture of it, that snap could win you £200 worth of gear from Columbia, supporters of the UK National Parks. Columbia kit will protect the people working in our National Parks from this winter and over the next five years, helping them stay out there longer to steward our natural environment. Send us your exciting shots, your moody captures of a final decent, that blissful sunset or snaps of exhilarated faces – anything that shows what makes our National Parks so special to…

Q Are there any particular routes in the Lake District that lend themselves to bike-packing? Bradley Jones, via email Jeremy says The Lake District is stuffed to the brim with routes ideal for biking-packing. Most of these have ancient origins and are part of a network that criss-cross the dales, fells and summits. These have been added to in recent times by forestry roads and purpose built cycle-paths. Modern mountain bikes combined with ultra-light back-packing gear make off-road life a lot easier. It offers freedom for walkers as it gets you easily to kick-off points for summit attempts or multiple scrambles. Another plus is the Lake District National Park Authority along with other stakeholders has created a network of ferry and bus services aimed specifically at cyclists, with bike racks attached…

Spoiler alert: in most of the UK, wild camping is illegal. That’s the usual (and perhaps surprising) rule of thumb when it comes to pitching tents anywhere other than dedicated campsites. Scotland is the glowing beacon of exception. Here there’s public access to all land (with a few limitations) for a range of activities – including camping. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code explains that where camping is lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two or three nights, you can camp wherever these access rights apply (although there are conditions attached – see www.outdooraccess-scotland.com). This provides some of the most generous and permissive access anywhere in the world, although it’s worth noting that it can be withdrawn under certain conditions such as during deer stalking or grouse shooting seasons.…

Some of the best mountain adventures come underfoot when you step off the well-worn footpath and tackle rockier ridges head on. In Alpine regions getting to the foot of crags often includes crossing glaciers or other large expanses of relatively level snow and ice, and it’s this mix of terrain that Hanwag’s Makra Combi is designed for. Equally this type of terrain can be found throughout Britain’s highest mountain regions when the snow arrives in winter. So does this make Hanwag’s Makra Combi a good choice for those heading onto more adventurous British mountain walks and scrambles? The European Alpine styling of the boot is produced with an upper made from suede, as well as a very durable Cordura synthetic material with a Gore-Tex waterproof lining inside. A high rubber…

❑ A JACKET LOOK FOR stretchy, tough, water-resistant fabrics and a hood that moves with the head. Pictured RAB Kinetic Plus £180 ❑ B TROUSERS LOOK FOR close-fitting, articulated or stretchy trousers with reinforced knees. Pictured MONTANE Terra Stretch Pants £90 ❑ C BOOTS LOOK FOR a stiffened sole, a precise toe for ‘feel’ and a tough upper to withstand abrasion. Pictured SCARPA Marmolada Pro OD WMN £225 ❑ D RUCKSACK LOOK FOR a close-fitting and durable pack – 32 litres should fit all your scrambling gear. Pictured DEUTER Guide Lite 32+ £100 ❑ E APPROACH SHOES LOOK FOR a stiffened sole, precision fit and toe and heel protection. Pictured MAMMUT Wall Guide Low £100 ❑ F FLEECE LOOK FOR a close-fit, stretchy fabric and easy-access pockets. Pictured BERGHAUS Extrem…

Photography goes hand-in-hand with hillwalking, and while that might just mean taking a few snaps on a camera phone, for some the photo element is as important as the walking. Before digital, Fujifilm was regularly the choice of film for landscape photographers. With pixels replacing negatives, it’s become a camera brand with a reputation for quality. The X-T2 is a compact system camera with an interchangeable lens for greater adaptability. Pick it up and it feels solid. The metal body adorned with dials and levers is nostalgically old fashioned, and this quality build makes it capable of dealing with life in a backpack. Its only real vulnerable spot is the otherwise excellent three-inch screen on the back. An essential on a digital camera, the X-T2’s display is pleasingly versatile; the…

If you've ever driven to the western Lakes from the south, you'll have passed a huge escarpment looming over the A590 a few miles beyond Kendal. Inviting as it is, it's always one of those for 'next time', while the heady heights of Coniston, Eskdale and Wasdale lie beyond. But for the South Lakes locals, Whitbarrow is a classic in itself, and if you've had a heavy mountain weekend it's the perfect Sunday morning leg stretch before the journey home. Its limestone cliffs and pavement represent a side of Cumbria's geography more often associated with neighbouring Yorkshire, and they present a very different viewpoint as you gaze back at the volcanic Lakeland fells. Indeed, the mountains are just part of an impressive 360° view, taking in a large chunk of…

The Old Man – imposing and widely revered. Or, the Old Man who can be a bit of a bore? It doesn't do to be disrespectful, and the steep and stony standard path up Coniston Old Man's eastern ridge has a fine tarn just below it, and pretty good views of the eastern crags and hollows. How much better, though, not just to see but also to be in all those other bits. Little Arrow Moor, Prison Band, Levers Water and the Boulder Valley; the names alone make a sort of Norse poem. And they give you a way up that's pretty much pathless with some scrambling if you want it. Then come the crags of Swirl How along their tops and also back along their bottoms. (And talking of…

Trossachs (like Cairngorms) is a name that's suffered nomenclature creep. Originally, it referred to the patch of woods and water at the foot of Loch Katrine, a jumble of rocks, rivers, chasms and romantical corners that got Sir Walter Scott into a full-on poetic frenzy. It holds just one hill, Ben Venue, a capsule of cragginess packed into a mere 729m. Across the way, Ben A'an looks like a mountain, quacks like a mountain, and only isn't a mountain because of being just 461m high. Let the Trossachs term take its first step outwards, and you get to Ben Ledi. Taken from Brig o' Turk, it's got enough oak trees and schisty bits to look Ben Venue in the face across the waters of Loch Venachar. Take them all together…

• Walk and chat with record-breaking mountaineer Alan Hinkes OBE. • See Alan Hinkes: the first Briton to climb the world’s highest mountains at a small exclusive screening with director Terry Abraham, then join in a discussion with Alan Hinkes himself. • Learn to navigate or up your skills with world experts from the Ultimate Navigation School, founded by Lyle Brotherton. • Talk mountain skills with Rob Johnson MIC. • Get to know the geology and nature of the mountain with expertise from the Field Studies Centre. • Grab a bargain at our Gear Sale – including Steve Backshall‘s donated kit – with proceeds to charity. • Get fitted for boots with specialist help from George Fisher. PLUS Real ale, mountain special pub quiz, pop-down tent challenge, find a marmot,…

We walk around mountains near sea level all the time, so you might not expect floating at roughly the same height to be as profoundly different an experience as it is. But seeing hills by boat is not much like doing it on land at all. The moment you push off from the shore, the landscape changes. Now you’re really travelling through it, the prow cutting its mirrored reflection into curves. From down here, small hills appear huge and big ones breathtakingly domineering. You’ll find coves and hidden beaches that are undiscoverable any other way, and sneak through nature with low disturbance. Factoring a canoe journey into a major trip has logistical demands but it’ll pay off the moment you float away, or simply hire one for the afternoon. We…

Is it a boot? Is it an approach shoe? Is it something else altogether? In fact, the DNA of the Salomon Out Path Pro GTX (RRP £165 ) is 90% approach shoe; the fit and flex is trainer-like, making them light and comfortable on the foot. The exterior gaiter offers extra weatherproofing and prevents stones and dirt getting into the shoe, but also offers a little extra in terms of support. Reinforced Active Support patches on the stretchy material provide additional stiffness around the ankle – nothing as sturdy as a boot, but greater than you’d usually get from a shoe. Clearly, they’re not going to be the perfect match for all terrains – we wouldn’t fancy a Scottish bog-fest in these. But on sturdier terrain, the Out Path’s combination…

Erling Kagge probably isn‘t as famous here as he should be, but you get the sense he probably doesn‘t care. A Norwegian, he was the first in history to reach the ‘three poles‘ – that is to say Everest, the North and South Poles – and once spent 50 days in total silence during a solo polar trek with his radio broken. In this beautiful little book, he meditates on silence as a concept: why we need it, why you should want it and why we‘re losing it. Central is Kagge’s take on what he calls the age of noise: today’s normal life, a time of constant distraction, interruption and occupation. It is a beautifully rendered reasoning that meanders in no small way into philosophy, given colour and resonance with…

The owner of the best face wins three pairs of socks from 1000 Mile , creator of the original double layer sock with its famous Blister-Free Guarantee. 1000 Mile’s range now includes single-layer padded socks, plus the Fusion range, which mixes double layer and padding, and offers socks for every type of outdoor activity. Try them with free p&p, using the code TLFP. Send a picture of your haggard hill fizzog to trail@bauermedia.co.uk…

This is going to get emotional. There will be reunions. Missed dinners. Ticks. Moans. Failed camps. Big drops. Brain-melting views. Leaps of faith. All in less than 12 hours. And to top it off, I’ve got toothache. I hate toothache. It’s the worst ache. You need to distract yourself so you don’t go mad. With a TV show. A stiff drink. Or three of the best scrambles in Britain, back-to-back... Re: the latter, I’m not exaggerating, before you start. The first of these asserts its status from Rhydlydan – a good 20km away – when the A5 throws a view of the Snowdonian mountains at you in a sudden, inbreath-taking tableau. There stand the four big groups of hills squared up like an identity parade: Snowdon, Moel Siabod, Glyders, Carneddau.…

“The raven is not watching you,” I told myself. Mist slipped over the cliffs and crept down the cracked walls, blackened with damp. It twisted round rock towers, unfurled, regathered and reached out again. I could almost see the pillars rising around me, almost see the walls. Almost see a gobli... No! “You can’t see a goblin,” I repeated to myself. “It’s just the mist.” I sent some good thoughts in its vague direction anyway, just in case. It was not quite day, not quite night, and this sense of things half-seen; of not being entirely there seemed quite within the nature of this very weird place. The Quiraing is a huge landslip at the northern tip of the Trotternish Ridge. Like much of Skye’s northern peninsula, it’s formed of…

Q Why are Lakeland hills called fells? Alex White, via email Most British mountain nomenclature (or toponymy, to use the posh term) has its origins in the distant past, and can be traced through our lands in various stages of transformation. Examples include dil, an Old Norse term for ‘valley’ brought with the Vikings and still found on some of the Hebrides, anglicising to dale by the time it reaches northern England. Fell is another example; it’s a derivative of fjall, an Old Norse word for mountain. Similar derivatives (fels, fiall, fjell, fil, fel) can be found all over Europe, all with this common origin. How it became attributed particularly to the Lake District’s peaks is obscure, but it could be to do with the fact that in olden days high…

Q I'm taking my mates out and want to be prepared. What are the most common reasons for emergencies on the hill and how can I deal with them? Becky Sheath, Colchester Of all the reasons Mountain Rescue are called out, three are by far the most common. The good news is that there are things you can do to manage the situation until help arrives, or avert the need for a call-out altogether. SLIP AND/OR SPRAIN Stop and either sit the injured person down, or make them more comfortable if they’re on the ground. Sitting on a backpack will help keep them insulated and ask others to layer up, too. Get into a group shelter if you have one, for protection against weather. Until you’ve assessed the injury, only move…

REAL HANDFUL TRAIL MIX £1 Not only are these handfuls of nuts, fruits and other goodies full of fast- and slow-release energy to keep you going on the toughest of trails, but perhaps most importantly, they taste delicious. The six mouth-watering varieties are: Blood Orange & Dark Chocolate, Go Go Goji Berries, Blueberry Blitz, Strawberries & Cream, Mixed Berry Crunch and (our favourite) Mochacchino. www. realhandful.com ZUREGO BLIS-SOX £11.99 A bad blister can ruin a good walk, so Blis-Sox have been created to prevent the misery of feet rubbed raw. Worn under your usual walking sock, the polymer gel pads in Blis-Sox reduce impact forces and release oils and vitamins to soothe and soften the skin. www.zurego.com SAXX VIBE £25 Performance underwear is not new, but these boxers from Saxx…

LOWE ALPINE PEAK ATTACK 42 £70 USED BY rucksack-rich news and features writer, Ben Weeks USED FOR 2 years In reviewing this pack I’m going to fall back on two points I’ve made previously. Point one: for me the sign of a great product is one that I keep going back to without thinking about it. I have a cupboard at home full of rucksacks of varying sizes that I’ve accumulated over the years. And yet it’s the Peak Attack that gets pulled out more than any other. Point two: I prefer rucksacks to be on the roomier side but devoid of faff and 42 litres is big enough for an overnight wild camp, or a winter day walk with plenty of extra layers, without having to carefully tessellate the…

WALK HERE THIS WEEKEND! On Bleaberry Fell, Lake District p125 TRAIL ROUTES use OS mapping and gradient profiles, and are available to download at www.lfto.com/routes…

The Snowdon Horseshoe is one of Britain’s most exciting ridgewalks – and an essential day out for anyone with a penchant for exposed positions and superlative, historical mountain scenery. Unfortunately, routes of such quality sometimes come at the price of mingling with legions of fellow humans which, for many, can detract from the outdoor experience. Nowhere is this truer than on Snowdon, a mountain of great beauty and character but one which can often resemble Piccadilly Circus at rush hour. This route takes in the most memorable sections of the classic ‘horseshoe’ round but cunningly swerves the riotous melee on the heaving roof of Wales. Crowd avoidance, however, is only one of the myriad treats instore for those willing to take an unconventional approach to Snowdonia’s most revered ridge traverse.…

Rising high above Strath Nethy, the ridge of Sron a’ Cha-no sits a little off the well worn paths that lead onto the huge, popular mountains of the Cairngorm National Park. It sees little footfall and consequently is alive with mountain hare, snow bunting and ptarmigan. The route begins at Coire na Ciste car park from where a path crosses moorland to Lochan na Beinne after which a boggy rise climbs to Sron a’ Cha-no. The ridge bestows some stunning views across the National Park. Beyond the open plateau of Cnap Coire na Spreidhe the walk gains Cairn Gorm, at 1245m, the sixth highest mountain in Britain and the highest point of the route. Extending from the summit is the Central Cairngorms, which is the largest continuous area above 1000…

1 NY264227 From the landing stages near Crow Park, take one of the Derwent Water launches round to the pier at Barrow Bay. The launches operate clockwise and anti-clockwise services. Clockwise is the quickest way, although if you have time and fancy a tour of the lake first you could take the anticlockwise service. 2 NY268203 From Barrow Bay pier cross the B5289 and join the narrow road on the other side. This climbs steeply to start with and is followed all the way to Watendlath. There are alternative paths that parallel the road that you can take from Ashness Wood, but they will add time and the road, although quite narrow in parts, is just as pleasant with pretty much the same views. 3 NY275163 There is a tea…

1 NN506068 The woodland approach is complex; fortunately it's clearly signposted for Ben Venue at every junction. From the back of the car park, take either path into the woods; they rejoin in 450m. The path then leads west to cross duckboards to a parking area where a tarmac private lane joins the road to Loch Katrine pier. Turn left on the private lane. After 600m, a wide path leads down left to a scenic footbridge over Achray Water. 2 NN495065 The path runs up to a forest track. Turn right for 200m, then left up another path to join a higher forest track. Turn right up this, south-west, the track at once shrinking to a wide path. After 500m this joins yet another forest road. Turn left, and just…

Wedged between Fairfield and Helvellyn, two of the Lake District’s richest honeypots, is Dollywagon Pike. It’s also stuck right between two of the most famous horseshoe walks in the Lake District, and takes a part in neither. You could see this as either tragedy or its saving grace. This is the southernmost peak of the Helvellyn massif and to its west, as on much of the range, are steady, grassy slopes from bottom to top. To the east is a load of amazingness; untidy ridges and scaly outcrops amid a jumble of crags and coves. If this trove of exhilarating routes were roadside, it would be right near the top of any hillwalkers ‘to climb’ list. However, it’s hidden in the depths of Grisedale. Which means you’ll have much of…

The Hitchhiker’s Guide t o the Galaxy states that “A towel is j ust about the most massively useful thing any interstellar Hitchhiker can carry. ” They come in handy for non-hitching hikers too, and while the mapping on Lifeventure’s SoftFibre OS Trek Towels is not ideal for actual navigating, they are super cool. Choose from enlarged 1:25,000 mapping of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike or Snowdon (£22.99 each) on super-absorbent, fast-drying, Polygiene- treated fabric, and be like Ford Prefect: there’s a frood who really knows where his towel is. www.lifeventure.com…

I ran out of ways to say, “that was the worst day of my life”. One was walking up Morven in torrential rain and being so cold I had to get changed in a phone box. Then, I had to bail after 60 miles cycling down the A9 because of the spray of timber wagons and coastal headwinds pushing me all over the road. I worried for a while it would be too easy. When choosing the challenge it needed to tick a few boxes and one of those was a physical and mental personal challenge. It turned out to be the hardest thing I’d ever done. I didn’t really have any choice but to keep going. You can’t call mum for a lift when you’re up a Scottish Munro…

GALLERY OF THIS YEAR’S ENTRIES SO FAR Trail is looking for Britain’s best mountain photograph of the year. Could it be yours? If it is, then as well as kudos, you’ll win the fabulous Fujifilm X-T2 (tested and reviewed on p102). Second prize is a Fujifilm X-T20 and third prize a Fujifilm X-A10. Entries close on 9 October 2017 – so there's just one month left to submit your entry. All you need to do is upload your photos (a maximum of three) to www.livefortheoutdoors.com/ mountainphoto17 Pictures must have been taken in the UK hills or mountains, and it’s open to all, amateur or pro, snapped on a phone or crafted on an SLR. A shortlist will be chosen by our judges and opened to the public vote later this year.…

“Autumn is a beautiful season for wild camping.” If I offered you £1,000,000 to head to, say, Dartmoor – or any wild place you fancy – and spend tomorrow night wild camping high on the Tors, I’m sure you’d leap at the opportunity. Not just a fat pile of cash, you’d think, but cash for doing something that you would actually enjoy. This Humphreys fellow is an idiot! You wouldn’t say “It’s a bit far, I haven’t got time,” or “I’ve got an important meeting next week to prepare for,” or “I can’t go until I’ve bought a fancy new sleeping system.” No, you’d make do with the gear you own. You’d acknowledge that with a bit more graft and a little less Facebook you could still get your work…

Ben Nevis hands-on!  Scrambling on Britain‘s highest peak is as grand as it gets. This route takes the intrepid Ledge Route in ascent, then descending the Carn Mor Dearg Arête and the east ridge of Carn Mor Dearg itself. You could do it the other way around if you‘re confident about downclimbing the Ledge Route. Or do a similar circuit from Glen Nevis... TRAIL’S ROUTE Distance 20km (12½ miles) Total ascent 1718m Time 12 hours Start/finish North face car park NN144764 Maps OS Explorer (1:25,000) 392; OS Landranger (1:50,000) 41; Harvey Superwalker (1:25,000) Ben Nevis Langdale by gully and ridge An alternative take on a classic lo cation, this route links a series of watery ghylls, gullies and ridges – including the famous Jack‘s Rake – into an adventurous circuit…

Want versatile phone mapping? VIEWRANGER OUTDOOR DISCOVERY APP £FREE+ MAPPING Any phone navigation app is greatly improved by having a wide range of mapping options, and the well-established free ViewRanger phone app can now be used with the popular Harvey British Mountain Maps and Harvey Superwalker range of digital mapping. They provide international maps for 23 countries and, of course, they still provide UK Ordnance Survey mapping as well as strip maps of National Trails. Furthermore, if you really like your tech, this software is now available for use with smartwatches. The app has all the standard functions of being able to display your location in real time on the map displayed on the screen. It can also create and save routes and there’s a host of other features too.…

Following the extension to the Yorkshire Dales National Park, all of the Howgill Fells now benefit from the recognition and protection they have long deserved. Wainwright famously compared these empty rolling hills to a huddle of squatting elephants, though he also thought their deeply folded dales looked a bit like a pair of soft velvet curtains. Rough velvet might be the best way to describe the walking here, with miles of wiry grass, little in the way of heather and more than a few boggy hollows. The Lake District, rising just across the M6, suddenly seems a world away and this long wriggling route explores some of the best scenery as well as peering into dramatic empty valleys which run north to the River Lune. It also avoids some of…

Legend has it that St Mary's Loch descends forever into the underworld of the Scottish Borders. In 1807 poet James Hogg suggested it contained a terrifying water-cow, a creature capable of assuming multiple forms that would entice people to the water’s edge before dragging them under. Hogg himself was a local man, who frequented the nearby 18th-century coaching inn, the Tibbie Shiels. Water-cows aside, this is a very pleasant place to walk, and the Southern Upland Way and Sir Walter Scott Way both traverse its shores. Taking its name from the church of St Mary, which once stood on the northern shore, it's the largest natural loch in the Scottish Borders, and supposedly the coldest, stretching 3 miles along the glacial Yarrow Valley. Our walk begins on the Southern Upland…

Keswick has everything you could want from a base for adventure. It’s the archetypal outdoor capital and is popular all year round. You might think the bustle would make tranquility impossible, but there are still lots of peaceful adventures to be had, and not just in obscure corners. All the adjacent mountains and many lower fells have great options to be explored. Take Skiddaw for example: crowds swarm up and down the main Jenkin Hill bridleway, yet less than a kilometre away, the deep cut path up Slades Gill receives only light footfall. Linking it with Longside Edge with its narrow but walkable crest matches any ridge on the mainland. The nearby northern arm of Helvellyn’s main ridge provides an amazing experience with one big climb followed by an easy…

1 NY318189 From Keswick the 555 bus stops at Stanah. For cars there are a few places for parking at Stanah, if these are full there is a car park 600m up the road at Legburthwaite (on the route). Take the bridleway east from Stanah and follow it across the aqueduct, then cross over the footbridge onto the south side of Stanah Gill. Continue along the bridleway as it climbs alongside Stanah Gill then swings south-east across a broad spur. The route then bears back to the east and climbs directly to the top of the pass. 2 NY341181 The col at Sticks Pass is broad and featureless so if it’s misty it’s definitely worth taking a bearing! A moderately steep path climbs north from the pass, follow it on…

1 NN509070 Cross the A821 to a track opposite. Where it bends left, keep ahead up a well made path. This takes you up steeply, to a footbridge over Allt Inneir, then less steeply until it levels off in a clear-felled area, with Ben A'an pretending to be the Matterhorn ahead. This former plantation will now regenerate naturally, eventually retrieving the proper Trossachs oakwood and pine described by Sir Walter Scott. 2 NN508075 The path crosses a forest track, then enters birchwoods, with some boulders to rest on provided the mountain bikers aren't using them for leaps and wheelies (as they were on my last visit). The path steepens, becoming quite rocky to the right of a small stream. Where the path divides and fades, it will be found again…

1 Set yourself a challenge Alex Staniforth set a world record in his challenge to climb the highest peak in each county, and cycling in between them. Amaze yourself with what you can achieve by setting your own challenge. Whether it’s our #EverestAnywhere challenge, or your own very special blend of peaks, passions and goals, the sense of achievement you’ll get will be immense. 2 Set your sights further afield While we LOVE the UK, there are magical places to explore all around the world, so why not be inspired by our Jordan trek competition and, after entering, let your imagination run wild. Expand your hillwalking horizons beyond the confines of the British coastline, create your own bucket list … and make it happen. 3 Surrender to a nostalgic photo…