1 – Alpkit Hunka – £30 and 420g. Available only online, this has to be the cheapest serious bivvy out there. While you may find some ex-army bivvies on eBay cheaper, they certainly won’t be as light as this. You can go for drab olive (wasn’t she in On the Buses?), a discreet black or a funky Alkit Chilli if you want to stand out. If you’re of the larger persuasion, then there’s even an XL version for £50 that only weighs an extra 105g that’s also suitable if you’ve got a bulky bag as if it’s compressed it tends to be less effective. Like many cheaper and lighter bags, you only get a draw string to close the hood.

2 - Rab Survival Zone – £69.99 and 320g. This is one of the classic bags, and for a while seemed to be about the only sensible option for those with both a low budget and high expectations with weight. Again, you only get a drawstring to close the hood. Previously available in black, it seems now only available as saffron or yet another olive colour. No longer the cheapest option, and with the Rab Storm bivvy being a zipped bivvy at under 500g, at the same price, probably no longer the clear cut beginner’s bivvy it once was. There’s a Lite version available that weighs in at an incredible 200g but costs £100.

3 - Terra Nova Moonlite Bag Cover – £100 and 190g. The lightest and most expensive option here isn’t even marketed explicitly as a bivvy bag but as a sleeping bag cover even though it is fully waterproof with taped seams.

4 – Mountain Equipment Ion Bivi – £80 and 280g. Neither the lightest or cheapest, but the only one with a proper hood. It’s not water proof but water resistant. This isn’t as much of a problem as it seems considering that you’ll probably get wet in a non-zipped bivvy in the rain anyway. There’s a window in the hood so you can see what’s going on outside without exposing yourself to the elements.

5 - MSR E-Bivy £89.99 and 250g. Another water-resistant bivvy bag, but with a zip and a respectable minimum weight of 250g (290g with the stuff sac). Available only in mustard, at least it offers an alternative to all the olive bags out there.

Remember that you can couple your bivvy bag with a small tarp if you think that conditions may not be favourable!

 

To prepare Grower’s Cup all you need to do is open the bag, pour in half a litre of hot water, brew for five-eight minutes and enjoy. The unique brewing system preserves the coffee’s natural oils, enhancing the coffee’s delicate flavours and finer aromas that can only be achieved by using a French press.  However, unlike the French Press, on pouring the first one-and-a-half cups the brewing process stops so the remaining coffee won’t go bitter. In short, you can’t brew a better coffee in a more convenient way.

Grower’s Cup baristas have carefully selected an exclusive range of the finest coffees from around the world.  All coffees are single estate or from named cooperatives.  The berries are hand-picked and hand-sorted and then slow-roasted by Grower’s Cup in small portions on their Micro-roastery, which enhances the coffees’ unique character.

At £2.50 and super-lightweight, this little pouch of delicious fresh coffee will become an essential part of many outdoor enthusiast’s packing list.

Stockist info:  Rosker Ltd – 023 9252 8711 – sales@rosker.co.uk

]]> http://www.mudandroutes.com/archives/18397/feed 0 http://www.mudandroutes.com/archives/18377 http://www.mudandroutes.com/archives/18377#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 20:41:49 +0000 daveroberts http://www.mudandroutes.com/?p=18377 I don’t usually bother writing about individual runs, especially when they’re on your bread and butter routes. Tonight’s route was just one of those, but a run that’ll mark itself as one of my most important runs this year.

It reminded me that running anything less than 8km is just not fun. I need that sort of distance just to warm up, and it was only after the 8th kilometre tonight that I started to finally feel that the run was effortless. Not only that, but it was probably the fastest I’ve run a 12km long run, at least since coming back from recent injuries. What it gives me is that mental edge to get the distance in – and that it really does get easier the longer I run.

I’m not one for the sprints, more a longer distance runner where at my ability level, tenacity and hard headedness count for as much as talent. While I may have tendancies towards the longer runs, my genetic make up shows more of a predilection towards 1980′s World of Wrestling build than any of Crams, Ovetts or Coes of that era. Still, it’s why we do it, not because we’ll ever likely win anything in the field, but that we enjoy each and every kilometre that we run. Or in my case, each and every one beyond 8km.

It gets easier, I know that with a bit more training that the difficult 8km will reduce to 4 km, but it’s exceptionally difficult when you’re returning from a lay off and you’re limited to short runs that aren’t sufficient to warm up. It makes each and every run an ordeal.

So tonight, perversely listening to upbeat Manu Chao while running near the dreary A486 in the rain and cold, I had an excellent run. My looming half seemed unattainable this morning, especially with the slight hangover that had mysteriously appeared over night. After “that” run though, hangover cured and running in barefoot trainers (my longest barefoot run to date, I’m a convert!) and with an inexplicably fast run under my belt, It’s starting to look like a fun run.

A cursory look on Amazon will find you a tablet for around £60 for the cheapest model, or a modest £70 for something like the Andy Pad (which I keep calling the Andy Capp). For that meagre sum, you get a functional tablet along with Android 2.3 and unlike some cheap tablets, full access to Android Market. The screen is an inferior resistive screen, as expected on a low end device but weighs in at only 356g. Battery life is also impressive at 6 hours, almost enough for a decent walk if not quite.

This looked like an option, until we realised that it doesn’t come with a GPS built in as standard. This, it seems is one of the corners cut at the lower end of the scale. Unfortunately, another corner is the battery life as the 6 hours provided by the Andy Capp is exceptional at this price point with a meagre 2 hours more commonplace. Compare this with the 25 hours that the Garmin eTrex 20 boasts, and you start to get the picture.

Finally, the tablets will need a decent waterproof case that adds further to the cost and hassle. Wile Aquapac for example do excellent cases, you’d need to see if they fit your ‘generic’ tablet and if the device was still easy to use when enclosed.

I think that as of yet, the 7” tablet will not replace your outdoors GPS, but soon enough these devices will start to hit a decent Price point with both decent battery life and a built in GPS. Though, considering how long it took for us to see the first weatherproof smart phones, I wouldn’t hold my breath for the arrival of the mountain tablet. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use my Motorola Defy as a GPS replacement. It function well enough in order to check my location, but soon runs out of juice if you keep it running all day to record your route. With the advent of more waterproof smartphones such as the Panasonic Eluga at an eye watering  £380 sim free , I think that’s probably going to be the case for a fair few years yet as you can’t whack a tablet into a pint and tell smug owners of certain other phones, “ok, let see yours do that!”

You can’t get much for £100, yet we tried to kit up from the skin up in order to be prepared for a trip up Snowdon this spring. We found that there were some surprisingly decent kit available at the lowest end of the market, along with some absolute stinkers! As with any budget kit, you’ll need some element of luck to find them at the right price and I’ve no doubt that most of these items will either no longer be available or at a different price. We didn’t spend hours and hours searching either, with most of the kit coming via your usual box shifters. This is what we went for, with how they actually did on the hill following in part 2, once the weather improves as it’s been a particularly harsh spring so far.

Boots – Campri Snowdon (£16.99) It seems quite appropriate that the boots to be chosen to take me up Snowdon are also called Snowdon. I don’t expect much from these and suspect they’ll not be very waterproof and I don’t expect their grip to be any good in the wet. But I’ll see.

Socks – Karrimor Merino wool (£4.99). You can get cheaper socks, but for the sake of a few quid, even with a challenge like this one, it’s not worth the trouble. If these are any good then hopefully, I shan’t get any blisters.

Pack – Alpkit Gourdon 20 (£22.50) This is, for any price, a decent pack and there wasn’t really any other option that was much cheaper in our whistle-stop Google tour for a cheaper pack. No doubt that Gelert or another budget brand will have a half decent pack for less, but I’ve heard good things about this pack and it may well have a longer shelf life than this challenge where most of the other gear already have someone ready to scrounge them once I’m done with them.

Trousers – Craghoppers Basecamp were thought to be a pair of water-resistant trousers – so should have doubled up as trousers and over-trousers, and we got them for a bargain £18. Not only are they cheap, but they’re Craghoppers, who do damn fine trousers so I expect these to perform as decent trews, if not the water-resistant trousers they were advertised as on the box shifter website. They do repel water slightly, but are not a proper replacement for a waterproof shell.

Waterproof Jacket – Regatta Mystro Jacket- I’d considered shelling out about £80 for the jacket and then just making up the rest of the kit from what was lying about – such as use trainers as footwear and everyone’s got a rucksack of some sort. A sharp intake of breath from some of you at the mention of trainers, but while they might not be ideal they may yet be safer than a £17 pair of boots. This is one of the most important items of kit, and while I fully expect this to be sufficiently waterproof for this trip, breathability will certainly be limited at this price.

Baselayer -This is just another cheap Karrimor £5  jobby – so long as it’s not cotton, it’ll do the job. This is, admittedly, the same top as reviewed a few months ago and while the fit was awful, it’ll be OK for this challenge. I’m wearing an old pair of decent running shorts with a mesh liner as pants, so that’s a freebie.

Extras that I may take, depending on the weather, are all stuff people tend to own anyway. Gloves and beany hat if it’s a little nippy and a pair of sunglasses and a hat if it’s sunny.  An old fleece that was hanging about – or a jumper – is the final bit of kit. Everyone’s got something like this they could use, though I could have picked up a Campri Zipped Microfleece for a fiver had I really wanted to and still have 53p to spare! Even if you carry a winter duvet jacket for the summit stop, it’s probably going to suffice.

Total spend - £94.47  which leaves me £5.53 for a cuppa and a sausage roll on the summit!

With the kit all in place, you can see in part 2 how the trip went!

This is not the same as cowboy coffee as I understand it, which entails boiling the coffee and the grounds and produces a rather bitter coffee. This method doesn’t boil the grounds and produces something more like you’d get from a cafetiere, though with a few grounds thrown in! I’ve seen this called Camp Coffee and Cowboy Coffee; but I’ve called it Camping Coffee to distinguish it from those methods that require boiling, and that strange coffee substitute that was popular in the 70s (and still is apparently) and from the bitter boiling methods. Having said that, the preferred method of coffee preparation in some countries is by boiling, so in the end it just boils down to personal taste which method you favour.

1 – Boil the water – yep – obvious!

2 – Let it cool slightly, hopefully under the 96°C that you need to be to avoid releasing the bitter oils and at the 93°C that’s apparently optimal for brewing coffee (thanks Wikipedia!). I’d give it a minute or so, and then just stir in the grounds.

3 – Wait. This gives the grounds the time to settle. If you find them floating, give them another stir and they should settle in a few minutes as they cool.

4 – Pour carefully, leaving the grounds at the bottom. However, they do consolidate well and you don’t have much waste with practice. You can see below that there’s barely a teaspoon’s worth of coffee wasted!

5 – Drink – only just not to the bottom of your mug as you’ll find there’s a fair bit of ‘mud’ that find’s it’s way there. Ideally you’ll have some fresh milk to hand, or the next best thing which is drinking it black. Add sugar if you really must.

For some more camping coffee ideas, see this post from last year – Real Coffee Makers or our review of the GSI Mini Espresso Maker.

Once I realised that the replacement cost was more than that of a deccent night out, I thought I’d give it another bash. Rummaging in the disarray of items under the sink, I found something by Mr Muscle that claimed to shift burnt on ‘stuff’ and quickly decided that a spray of this would have my pot looking like new.

Two hours later, and as you can see from the images, it was totally ineffective. It was time for the big guns. I  hadn’t realised they still did ‘Brillo’, but wether they do or not, there were a few loose under the sink, probably a shop’s own brand.

As you can see from the pics, after a good 15 minuite’s hard work managed to remove the burnt on popcorn, with only the discolouration from when I’d burnt the pot the first time I used it remaining.

Even the outside of the pot is now, if not like new, shinier than it was. It would be like new, were it not for the dints underneath formed as a result of using the kettle as a bottle opener (a particularly useful trick!) – but that’s another story!

So is there an easy way to clean a burnt to buggery titanium kettle? No.

Aquapac designs, manufactures and sells 100% waterproof cases for electronic gadgets, including cameras, phones and iPads as well as bags to outdoor enthusiasts and professional services. We reviewed their tablet case last year – here – and one of their mobile phone cases here. In the past three years Aquapac has successfully sold to 61 countries and has demonstrated the highest level of excellence as a global brand.  This award celebrates recognition from HM The Queen for Aquapac’s substantial growth in overseas earnings and in its commercial success.

Operating from a small factory in Lambeth, London the company has a total of 12 employees who turn out over 200,000 products per annum.  Ninety three per cent of Aquapac’s products are 100% UK manufactured – a statistic to be proud of.

“We are delighted and honoured that our continuous dedication to producing quality innovative British products for the international market has been recognized by HM The Queen.  Once the brainchild of three young windsurfers back in 1983 we have demonstrated over and over again that we are a leading and trusted global brand.”

Tim Turnbull, Chief Executive

Yet a seemingly stolen week off work before it really gets busy has crept up on me before I’ve known what’s hit me!

The only good thing is that the clocks change on the Saturday, so that gives me an extra hour’s daylight for the other six days, making the task considerably easier. This might mean an hour’s leisurely lunch break is a realistic option, even with a lazy 9am start.

With a challenging itinerary of completing the path in a gruelling 7 days, I’m wondering if I’m anywhere near being ready for it. That works out at an average of 30km a day, or 29.96km to be precise. The itinerary below is the  easier option – though we’re contemplating a 6 1/2 day trip with a few extra kilometres tagged onto the other days we can cut the final long day down to a more manageable 20km and enjoy a meal at Rhoscolyn into the bargain.

Itinerary

Being relatively local however, means that these challenging days will be doable with daypacks in the main. Most of the campsites around the island are from what I can see, mainly tourist orientated and geared towards huge tents and caravanners. In that light, I’ve decided to either return home each night or stay out the odd night at a pub.

The only night that camping might be an option is on the first night at Church Bay, with a small campsite at Ty Newydd looking OK. I can’t seem to find another site I was reading up on last week which had more rules of conduct than actual information. While it sounded like a quiet site, I’m still not sure if a couple of knackered male walkers counts as a single-sex group? I’ll be ready to taxi out and name and shame if need be!

Then there’s a bizarre rest day on the Monday. Why’s that I hear nobody ask. Well, I can’t get the whole week off work, so this is the logical solution. I even finish on the Saturday with the Sunday available if we don’t get the distance in the 7 days.

Kit wise, I’m hoping there will be an opportunity to test out my Nemo inflatable tent along with a PHD bag if it arrives on time! There may, or may not, be a pair of Columbia  Master of Faster walking shoes that’ll certainly take a beating over 210km.

The trip will give me an opportunity to try out the awesome new Medusa 32 pack from Montane on the legs that need the  capacity, and possibly their Batpack 6 lumbar pack if there are any suitable days. Depending on weight, and above all, the available time, I might even take my packable barbecue which we hope to post a review of next month – weather permitting. A Montane Spektr smock might also make up the kit under review – but the active fit has left me needing to shed a kilo or two in order to fit into it! I doubt I’ll lose another 5 kilos in the next 2 weeks..

Other than the first night, food will be straight forward. Day 2 has a long leg without stocking up, but the remainder of the walk sees more than enough pubs and cafes which we’ll make good use of! Even if  I do fit into that Spektr by a week on Saturday, I probably won’t by the end of the walk!

Offa’s Dyke – Moel Famau easy route. This is as bite sized as you can get! A 5 km ramble to the summit of Moel Famau with a return on a section of the Offa’s Dyke.

Pennine Way – The first of two Pennine Way routes. It seems fitting to start at the beginning of the path, and start off from Edale onto the Kinder plateau with an interesting return over the moor that would not be recommended in poor visibility.

Pennine Way – A bit further along is our route up Great Shunner Fell from Hardraw. Wide expansive views are the main selling point for this route.

Cambrian Way – Carneddau from Ogwen to Aber – We could choose almost any Eryri route as the Cambrian way crosses them all. This one seems fitting as it’s the final section, although the Cambrian Way ends in Conwy.

Cambrian Way – Moelwynion from Maentwrog to Capel. Sort of along the same hills to start with, if not the route. This seeks out solitude in the same way as the full path, and makes a delightful weekend’s walking (just avoid the bogs!)

Eryri Way and the North Wales Path – Sample two in one as you walk up to the summit of Tal y Fan and return on a section of the Eryri Way and the North Wales Paths

Anglesey Coastal Path - The section from Malltraeth to Pen-lon along the south western corner of the island is much less rocky than the north and east, but no less spectacular if you’re a fan of wide open beaches. Be prepared to have to empty sand from your boots by the end of this walk.

Llyn Coastal Path – Bwlch Mawr. This is no longer on the official path, but provides a view of the entire peninsula that you won’t get on the lower level route.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path – The first section from Amroth to Tenby is as good a place to start as any, seeing as it’s the first section making it more than suitable if you’re considering walking it in sections.

Antrim Coastal Path - This is the most famous section of the Antrim coast along the Giant’s Causeway

So, we’ve decided to go all OS on you, and convert all our mapping over to Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 mapping so you can see exactly where the routes go.

So far, only the last few routes have been converted, but once we finish adding a nice little elevation profile to the maps you can expect to see every route in glorious OS -Vision.

We’re experimenting with a couple of ways of displying the maps -

1 – In a hidden area where you click to view the map – such as http://www.mudandroutes.com/archives/routes/mynydd-mawr-from-rhosgadfan-trip-report

Or

2 – Like the routes have always been, with a map and a profile visible when you open the route such as - http://www.mudandroutes.com/archives/routes/moel-eilio-trip-report

Let us know below, if you’ve a preference!

You’ll need:

• A week or so off work
• OS Maps at 1:25k and possibly 1:50k, or Harvey’s Mountain maps for the bigger picture
• Guidebooks for the area
• Plenty of time to Google.

The basics.

Where do you want to go?

It could be local or if you’re more adventurous, it makes a good way to explore a new area, especially the wilder parts of Scotland that you can only do justice to over four or five days. The wild bounds of Knoydart is one of the wildest parts of Scotland and is ideal for a 5 day trip. Once decided, buy the maps immediately. Having a definite purpose to the route can help – most of the official LDPs follow some sort of feature such as the coast, river or a range of mountains; or cross from one significant point to another such as coast to coast trails and those that follow historic routes. If you can identify a theme like this, it makes the route more than just a long walk. Our purpose was to simply Escape from Knoydart!

Know your limits.

It may be obvious, but the first rule of planning a multi-day trip is to make sure that you don’t make any of the legs longer than what you’re usually comfortable walking. If you know that 25km mountain trips leave you stiff for days, then common sense should suggest you don’t plan one four days into a five day trip let alone each day. If you can, work in an extra day for contingency, especially if you’ve got to get to a certain place by a certain time in order to catch a train. Remember that you’ll need extra rations for that day!

You now know how many days you’ve got and what’s comfortable to cover, and some idea hopefully what landmarks you’d like to include.  Once you know this then you’ll have a rough idea of what the trip’s going to look like. Of course, you may find that you can’t fit your trip comfortably into the distance and time available and might need to add or remove a day. When you start planning, you more than likely will find it all changes again!

You’ll also need to know how much you can budget for the trip as that’ll directly effect where you spend each night and if you’ll be eating out or eating out of a tin of beans. This is particularly important if you’re doing one of the National Trails as other than the Pennine Way, the scope for wild camping is limited or non-existent.

Planning.

Choosing a sensible route. Ensure that the route you’re planning on doing is doable and that there’s either a path or the terrain is readily traversable by your route. Anyone who knows the Rhinogydd would agree that you don’t just plot a route across them. You need to follow the paths that are already there. Obviously, the maps are your first port of call, and we initially worked out where all the footpaths were before doing some online research, guidebooks and our secret weapon – Geograph that can give you an idea of what to expect. If you’re not much cop at figuring this out from a map, then the guidebooks might help. It may be as easy as stringing a series of day walks together if you’re lucky, much easier to do in Snowdonia or the Lakes.

You’ll now be aware of specific problems along the route such as missing footbridges or non existent footpaths that cause you hours of delay as you bog trot across valley bottoms. They’ll need consideration later on, as a stream you intend to cross might not wet your boots under normal conditions but in full spate may require a significant diversion. For this reason, I’ll be avoiding any river crossings to simplify matters and for the simple fact that I’m not a fan of them!

Where will you stay? You’ll need to ensure each leg ends at a suitable wild camping spot, bothy or other accommodation. In fact, the bothies on the Knoydart trip seem to be at exactly the right spots, with a tent only needed on the first night. You’ll know what your daily limit is by now and how long and tough each is likely to be, so you can start dividing your trip up into manageable legs.

Don’t be surprised if this step takes you back to the drawing board a few times.

Supplies. Now you know where the route will cross and where each evening is spent, you need to work out how much food and fuel to take. Does your route pass through any settlements where you can re-stock or will you need to take all your food from the off? You may need to allow up to 2Kg a day for food, though if you go for dehydrated foods you may get away with half that. If you’re setting off locally, or you have time to drive about before setting off, another option is to hide a cache of food halfway around.

Getting there.

If you’re doing a circuit, you just need to get to and from the start, but linear trips can be problematic. You’ll have the logistical problem of how to get to and from the different start and end points. We eliminated this by using a sleeper train and a ferry in order to get to the start and to walk out to another railway station to end the walk.

Why We chose our route:

We wanted a night at Inverie and walk over all the Knoydart Munros, ideally stopping at Sourlies on the way and any other bothy we could. The over-riding driving force was getting to Knoydart and spending a few days there. This trip was planned last June, and we got as far as the second stop from Mallaig before my travelling companion passed out and was rushed to hospital! He was fine, but we missed out on Knoydart. This means we’re both doubly determined to get there this time!

  © Copyright David Medcalf and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

A sleeper to Fort William arriving on the Saturday morning is the first leg, then on to Mallaig and a ferry across meant that the first day will be a write off and accommodation will be needed for the first night. An added bonus is that we can make use of the pub for food, and beer. The plan is to walk from Inverie and back to Glenfinnan, where we’d get a train to Fort William.

I decided that somewhere between 15 and 20km a day would be comfortable, taking into account that some days would come in at the maximum but had ascent in excess of 2,500m. The first leg over Ladhar Bheinn had to be reduced to 13km as continuing all the way to Sourlies was going to be 20km and 2500m, so splitting this into two gave easier legs to ease into it. This allows us to take it easy on day one, and possibly to arrive at Sourlies bothy early on the second day after climbing Luinne Bheinn and Meall Buidhe in order to get some shellfish foraging or fishing in. It also gave us a decent wild camp on the first night, with water not too far down the valley. If the weather turns we can descend to Barrisdale. If the forecasts are exceptionally favourable, this first night will be a bivvy as the remaining nights will be in bothys – though we’d take a tarp to be safe.

The next day is up Sgurr na Ciche and then along the ridge, with a final easy yomp along forestry tracks to Glenpean Bothy. It may be the longest day at over 20km, but half of that is on easy tracks. For the next day, there are stepping stones to be crossed that are more likely than not to be impassable so a return to a footbridge a few kilometres down the river might be necessary. Either way, an easy day over Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan compared to the previous day and either a night at Corryhully Bothy and an easy walk out the next day, or get it over and done with and back into Glenfinnan that night. Either way, I’ll have enough food to cover both eventualities and some emergency rations.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Inverie to Wild Camp at Mam Barrisdale – 15km

Day 2 – Wild Camp – Sourlies – 12km

Day 3 – Sourlies to Glenpean – 21km

Day 4 – Glenpean to Corryhully – 12km

Day 5 – Corryhully to Glenfinnan – 6km

That’s a nice steady pace, considering how tough some of the terrain can be! It should be completed in 4 days really, but it would entail missing out on another night out and would necessitate organising accommodation in Glenfinnan or catchng a train to Fort William. The first two days seem rather easy, but the alternative would be a monster 27km and over 2,500m ascent! I may be looking for a challenge, but above all I intend to enjoy myself! I’m just hoping that I’ll make it to Knoydart this time, though I suspect there will be a few others seeking the refuge there during the extra bank holiday in June!

I’ll admit that I can’t be overly objective with these trails, as I think it’s a shame to travel to Scotland and then not go and sample some of the true wilderness the country offers. But that’s just me!

1 – West Highland Way – 154Km

This is the popular, well known route from Milngavie to Fort William and often topped off by a bimble up the ‘tourist’ route (politically corectly known as the Mountain Path now to prevent ‘tourists’ thinking it’s easy) and a noisy celebration in the Ben Nevis in Bunkhouse (ensuring little sleep to others!)

Staying in YH along the way, it seems that many walking it are doing so for a challenge, but seem ill prepared for the physical nature of the route. While there are some seasoned walkers, there were plenty of others who don’t realise how hard a week’s walking is on their soft tootsies and develop blisters the size of Crianlarich somewhere along Loch Lomond. Be prepared for anyone who asks you in any of the SYHA  establishments along the way if you’re doing the Way to give you a strange look if you say you’re not and you’re just Munro bagging.

Following the shores of Loch Lomond for an eternity, the way finally enters the hills and Crianlarich. The route here is truly spectacular and becomes even more so, if it’s too your taste, across Rannoch Moor. It is then onto upper Glencoe, which is a treat for anyone with the views of the Bucaille Etive Mor (stop at the Kingshouse for a haggis toastie) and the Devil’s Staircase seems to be painted with an image to strike fear into backpackers, but doesn’t even register when you compare it to the ascent of a proper UK mountain and certainly not to the final day yomp up the Ben. However, for someone who’s never really walked long distances before, carrying an overweight pack (anything over 10kg, less still if hostelling) and having developed huge blisters a few days ago, then this could appear as hell on earth. It’s finally down to Kinlochleven and on to Fort William, along with a traditional ascent of “The Ben”.

2 – Southern Upland Way 340Km

This is a Scottish Coast to Coast route from Portpatrick on the south-west coast across the Southern Uplands to Cockburnspath on the east coast. It provides plenty of remote walking, and certainly lacks the hordes that plod along the West Highland Way. Some sections are across moorland and you will need to be able to navigate!

 © Copyright Walter Baxter and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

3 – Spayside Way  – 130Km

A lesser known route from Buckie on the Moray Firth, deep inland towards Aviemore and the Cairngorms.

4 – Great Glen Way 127Km

A route you could take to extend the West Highland Way as it starts off in Fort William, through the Great Glen and ends in Inverness. It’s largely low level, but has the added bonus of being a mountain bike friendly route all the way. They even suggest that you can complete the route by kayak, though that’s obviously by taking the Caledonian Canal. Just as a measure of how easy the surface is, the Scottish branch of the Disabled Ramblers completed 82% of the route using motorised scooters.

5 – Cape Wrath Trail 330Km

An unofficial route, but without doubt the jewel in the crown of the Scottish trails. For me, Scotland epitomises the closest to wilderness we can get on these isles, and this trail is the wildest of all the trails. It is generally regarded as the toughest trail in the UK, mainly as it is the most remote making restocking a problem. You’ll need 20 days to complete this, and a tough 20 at that. Just to complicate things, there are two routes - The Cape Wrath Trail: A New 200-mile Walking Route Through the North-west Scottish Highlands (out of print) and North to the Cape: A trek from Fort William to Cape Wrath .

  © Copyright Bob Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

6 –The Great Trails

If those aren’t enough, then there are plenty of other shorter routes on the Great Trails website.

Or if you want something even more challenging, you’ll need to design your own long distance path from scratch.

1 – Cambrian Way 440Km

The daddy of the Welsh routes, but scuppered along with the Cambrian National Park in the interests of the landowners. Passing over terrain that is as diverse as the Beacons, Pumlumon and practically all of Snowdonia, this has to be one of the best walks in the UK. There’s no official site, but the guidebook writer and pioneer of the route – Tony Drake maintains the as-good-as-official site  and the once out of print book is now available! Though it makes me cringe when anyone Anglicises the Carneddau as he does on that site (you may as well start calling them the Cairns and be done with it).

There’s also the book; A Cambrian Way –by Sale that’s beenout of print for years (I got mine from Fleabay) but offers an alternative section between Pumlumon and Cadair Idris via Machynlleth that’s much more practical than the semi-official route via Dinas Mawddwy. Perhaps that’s part of the charm of an unofficial LDP, that you can pick and mix the sections that appeal.

2 – The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path 300km

A walk along the coast of the only coastal national park. The walk is diverse and you’ll find something new around every cove. This is coastal walking at its very best. The only down sides are a few military areas (so you need to check before going) and the oil refineries ar Milford Haven.

3 – Offa’s Dyke  285 km

Hills, stiles, pubs and B&Bs.

Starting from Chepstow in the south and ending in Prestatyn in the north, there’s a fair bit of ascent involved in between. Crossing the Black Mountains down south, you don’t again get as high, but the hilly terrain further along is as difficult as the moment you gain much ascent, you lose it again.

With very few options to camp other than in the Black Mountains, this is definately one of those trips where you need to stay in pubs and B&Bs along the way and forget about the camping (unless you find camping with a backpacking tent in a campsite full of car campers and caravans appealing).

4 - Glyndwr’s Way  217km 

The Glyndwr Way is sort of a circular route in Mid Wales, if you decide to close the loop with a few days on the Offa’s Dyke as well. Starting in Knighton, with a convenient halfway stop in Machynlleth making it an easy path to complete over two shorter trips, and then onwards to Welshpool.

The highest point is only 500m, and as it is a national trail it’s well signposted with the dragon. While it passes through Machynlleth where Glyndwr held his parliament, it misses out the valley of Hyddgen where he won a historic battle and his estate in Sycharth to the north, and it seems that the links with Glyndwr are rather tenuous and primarily named as the route was opened on the 600^th anniversary of his uprising. Nevertheless, that doesn’t alter the fact that it’s a great route through quieter and reasonably gentle terrain.

5  – Anglesey Coastal Path 200Km

A glorious yomp around Wales’ largest island, and Ynys Gybi (for it is two).

While the coastal path is largely complete, the section along the Menai is largely along roads and is totally absent between Moel y Don and Menai Bridge, so in order to complete the walk you’ll need to walk along a narrow main road or start and end at those points. There also are a few headlands missed out as well, but it is a true coastal path bar these exceptions and worth the effort.

6 – The Eryri Way – 130KM

This is the Welsh equivelent of the West Highland Way, but arguably more diverse in nature. There’s a full route guide currently in development on Walk Eryri.

7 – The Coastal Paths – other than the two mentioned already, there’s the Llyn Coastal path that starts in Caernarfon, though you don’t see much coastal walking for a good 20k+. Ceredigion has a well promoted route, but not much info unless you buy their guidebook and there’s going to be a much promotes all Wales coastal route opening in May. We’ll be covering that in full detail in the end of April, including all the local coastal paths, the best day walks and the logistics of walking the entire Welsh Coast in one go!

Of course, there are loads of other local routes, usually promoted by some group or other along with a guidebook. They’re a good way to explore one area pretty thoroughly and here are a couple that are already on the site:

Ardudwy Way

North Wales Path

Borth to Ystwyth Trail