Tutorials | Mud and Routes

How to Clean and Reproof Goretex and Paramo Waterproof Jackets

How to Clean and Reproof Gore-tex, eVent and Paramo Waterproof Jackets

This time of year, its essential to make sure that your waterproof jackets and leggings are fully waterproof and ready for the autumn and winter conditions. This guide outlines how you waterproof the more typical Gore-tex and it’s many varieties which cover most waterproof jackets sold, and the Paramo Analogy system which is another popular […]

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How to get Beginners and Kids Hill Walking – and enjoying every moment!

How can you get your kids out walking, and make sure they come back for more? With the impending bank holiday, you may have been talked into taking a newbie up into the hills or fancy trying to get the kids out there. Here are some tips that might just help…. Be Realistic Choose a walk

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The Wild Camping Bag of Essentials

If you’re going to take an emergency kit with you, what should be the most essential items? This is a rundown of what goes into my little bag of essentials, usually on longer trips away from home. It fits into one small dry-bag. First aid. You’ll need a few bandages and plasters, but don’t take a

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How to Keep your Kit Dry While Walking

During the typical British summer, rain is par for the course, and keeping your kit dry is absolutely essential. This is both for kit that will be ruined in the wet, and to keep your spare clothes and camping kit dry. 1 – Buy Waterproof kit. If the kit most at risk from water damage

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Winter Skills Snow Cave!

If you want the ultimate winter challenge then get out and build a snow hole this winter… You’ll need.. Snow. One shovel (or the more the merrier) Survival bag (you many need to place this on the floor in order to pull snow away from the hole?) Plenty of time! Find a drift of snow

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What Not To Do In Snowdonia….

We decided that as we have plenty of articles on what to do in Snowdonia, some people need to know what they really shouldn’t be doing in Snowdonia or any other National Park, for that matter! However, it’s probably a waste of time writing it on here as if you’re on Mud and Routes we’re assuming

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Navigation Skills 13 Resectioning

This is the classic map reading skill, where you can determine your location accurately by pinpointing two or three other features. Transit Lines – This is when a number of features will line up directly from one location. This will provide you with a perfect line – and you’ll be located somewhere along that line.

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Navigation Skills 12 Useful Features to Locate Yourself

Often, just a map and a bit of observation can help you locate yourself. A few clues, built up can take you from having a vague idea of where you are to pin point accuracy. Of course, almost any feature on the map can help you locate yourself, but some of these won’t be immediately

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Navigation Skills 11 Keeping on Track

There are even more techniques that help you follow your route accurately. These can be used when following a route in full visibility as well as when you’re following a bearing. They can used in conjunction with a bearing, or as a much more straightforward alternative. To follow a route well you’ll need to know: How far is

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Navigation Skills 10 – Better Bearings

We’ve already mentioned the basics of taking a bearing, but you’ll need to master a few more skills in order to be able to follow it accurately. Take your bearing accurately. Practice, practice and practice. You’ll be very unlikely to take both the perfect bearing and follow it perfectly, so consider that for just a 1° error,

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Navigation Skills 9 Taking a Bearing And Following it

Why Take a Bearing? Navigation, in its simplest form is the art of getting from where you are to where you want to be, or from A to B. The most straightforward way to get from A to B is a straight line, or as the crow flies. This may not always be practical in

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Navigation Skills 8 Orienting, Setting or Thumbing the Map

So you can now read your map, you’ve got your route all planned out and you can identify a compass from 50 metres. You’ll be glad to know, you’re ready to try some skills out in the field. How to handle and hold the map Is it in a case? Don’t go with it hanging

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Navigation Skills 7 The Anatomy of the Compass

What Compass? You’ll now need to buy a compass. We recommend that you get yourself kitted out this week ready for the next sections.You’ll also need 5 toggles, a map case and if you can’t store it in the map case then get a compass case. The compass does remain in place better on a

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Kit Care – Storing Summer Kit for the Winter

With winter looming, we hope, it’s time to stow away those summer only bits of kit safely for the winter as well as catching up with those repair jobs ready for the spring. Here are some hints and tips to keep your kit at their best over the winter months. 1 – Sleeping Bags –

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Navigational Skills 6 Planning a Route

What makes a good or unwise route? Bob wanted to plan a walk up onto Carnedd Llewelyn and then onto Carnedd Dafydd, starting from Bethesda. He was going to be dropped off at Gerlan, and picked up on the main road, so he planned a walk up Cwm Llafar, up to Llewelyn before following the

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Navigational Skills 5 All you wanted to know about Naismith’s Rule and Route Timing

Naismith’s rule, named after William W. Naismith, was devised in 1892 to estimate the time taken to cover distances in the mountains. He estimated that you: allow 1 hour per 5km walked and 1 hour for every 600m ascended. If you ever do a Mountain Leader or Navigation course, then you’ll have this drummed into

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Tranter’s Corrections?

Tranter’s corrections are often quoted, but seem to be based on a strange premise of what constitutes fitness. The table below then corrects your Naismith Time depending on your level of ‘fitness’. It also goes as far as saying that this walk’s too much for you slow coach. All well and good, but my fully

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Navigational Skills 4 All about Contours

What is a contour line? Contour lines denote the height of the land at any point along that line. So if you followed a 100m contour line around the hill, your altitude at every point would remain at 100m. That’s why traversing a hillside without loss or gain of height is known as contouring. Depending

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Navigation Skills 2 Map to Basics

The first thing you’ll need to get and become familiar with it the map. Forget the compass for now, that’s to come in a few weeks, so here’s the first few steps. We’ve mixed the article up with some videos from the Ordnance Survey site as well as a live map. You’ll need before you

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Navigation Skills 1 Why Learn to Navigate?

It’s essential to be able to navigate on the mountains, so we’ve put together an Introduction to Navigation series of articles that we’ll be publishing over the next few weeks that’ll give you the basic grounding. However, we suggest you invest in a good book, attend a course or join a more experienced hill goer. Or better

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Keeping Clean Without a Shower

So you want to try and keep clean on a multi-day trip, or perhaps desperate for a lunchtime run but no showers to freshen up after sweating? Here’s a few suggestions. 1 Towel Dry. This goes without saying really, and makes all the following a bit more effective. You can use a microfibre towel while

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Preparing for Autumn Walks

The weather is getting cooler, wetter and breezier already, so it’s time to prepare yourself to make the most of the coming autumn with our tips. 1 – Make sure your kit’s all proofed and up to scratch. Get your boots overhauled and proof your waterproofs in order to keep yourself dry. Do this before

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The Essential Summer Trail Running Gear List

Here’s my Essential Trail Running Gear List – though there’s a few bits of kit on there that I know some people wouldn’t bother with. 1 – Decent shoes – Grip and comfort are top of the list. Waterproof trail runners are a bit pointless, and I prefer waterproof socks if I think they’ll help. If

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Five Things – Fuels for Wood Burning Camping Stoves

If you’ve read our recent review of alternative stoves, here are some ideas of what you can actually burn in those stoves. It should go without saying that you should only collect materials that is already dead – even if gorse and heather are removed by landowners occasionally. Also, avoid any treated wood – this

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