They are usually made from lightweight, waterproof, ripstop fabric and are secured around your rucksack with elasticated drawcord. When not in use they can be packed away into their own little stuff sack.

Trekmates Backpack Covers are available in small, medium and large to fit different sizes of rucksacks. Small fits 20-45 litre rucksacks, medium fits 45-65 litre rucksacks and large fits 65+ litre rucksacks.

Do I Need a Rucksack Cover?

The purpose of rucksack / Backpack covers is to protect your rucksack from the rain, but are they really necessary?

A wet rucksack is heavier than a dry rucksack, so the rain cover will help keep your rucksack lightweight. It will keep most of your backpack bone dry, although it does not cover the shoulder straps or hip belt. If you have been out all day hiking in the rain, bringing a soaking wet rucksack into your tent can make the rest of your outdoor gear damp. If you are staying at a hotel or guest house, or simply going home you will still need to dry out your rucksack if it is soaking wet. The rain cover will dry out much faster than a rucksack.

When packing a rucksack most people would use a rucksack liner, Mountain Equipment Wet & Dry Stuffsack or plastic bags to keep their outdoor gear dry. Therefore the rucksack protector is normally unlikely to keep your kit much drier than it would otherwise be. However, water does have a knack of finding its way into places, so if you are on a long hike and unfortunate to be in constant bad weather, the rain cover might be the difference between damp or dry camping gear. Camping can be bad enough in the rain, without having a soggy sleeping bag!

One thing to watch out for is that since the cover does not form a watertight seal, water can get inside the rain cover where it collects in a puddle at the bottom.

Rucksack covers do not only protect your rucksack from rain. If you are cycling with a rucksack, the cover will provide protection from mud on splattered up from your bike’s rear wheel.

If your rucksack has garish colour that is just too bright, then a black rain cover can be used to keep your back pack looking more sombre.

One of the cons of using a rucksack protector is that they are a hindrance if you want to carry things on outside of rucksack. Items like sleeping mats do not fit easily underneath rain covers.

In high winds the rucksack cover can get blown off. Therefore, after putting the cover over your rucksack and pulling the drawcord tight, it is worth tying the drawcord to the rucksack’s grab handle. Then if the wind blows the cover off, at least your cover won’t blow away down the mountainside.

In my experience, using a rucksack protector is worthwhile, but they are not everybody’s cup of tea.

Rucksacks with Built-In Covers

Some rucksacks have the covers built into them, for example, some Lowe Alpine and Berghaus rucksacks have built in rain covers. The raincover is normally zipped away in a pocket. When it starts to rain the cover can be pulled over the rucksack and is normally held in place with elastic. These covers are a much better fit that the generic rucksack covers since they are designed to fit a specific rucksack. They also have the benefit that they will not get blown off your rucksack in high winds.

Rucksack Covers for Travelling

If you are travelling a Life Venture Combi Transporter Rucksack Cover would be useful. This type of cover is not only a rain cover but also a transporter cover. It keeps all of your rucksack’s straps tidied away, preventing them from getting snagged and broken during flights or train travel.

Another worthwhile product if you are going travelling with a rucksack is a Pacsafe Luggage Protector. This is a wire mesh which prevents thieves gain access to your rucksack by slashing it open with a knife.

Review a Rucksack Rain Cover!

What is your opinion of rucksack rain covers? Are the worth the bother or are they your kit’s saviour from the rain? Let us know, click on comments below!

Camping, Walking and Climbing on Midway Atoll

Almost straying off topic from camping, walking and climbing, but keeping on the subject of the Albatross, I accidentally discovered a photo through a Google image search. The photo was taken on the remote Pacific Ocean of Midway Atoll.

Midway Atoll, also known as the Midway Islands, are located approximately 1450 miles to the north west of Honolulu, Hawaii. (See Google Map below.) Until 1993 The Midway Atoll was home to a United States Naval Facility. It has since become the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It is possible to visit Midway Atoll providing that you obtain a permit. However the three islands that make up Midway Atoll are tiny, flat as a pancake and covered with nesting birds. So there are no opportunities for climbing, walking or camping. As I said, this post almost strays off topic – but not quite!

The Albatross and Plastic Waste

There are 18 species of seabirds including the Short-Tailed Albatross, Black-Footed Albatross and the Laysan Albatross. There is a large coral reef and marine life is plentiful, with Monk Seals, Green Sea Turtles and Spinner Dolphins swimming in the Pacific lagoon.

With its highest point at only 13 m above sea-level, rising sea levels are going to be a threat to the Midway Atoll nature reserve over the course of this century. However, as can be seen from this photo, there is another immediate threat to the sea birds: waste plastic.

This Albatross has died as a result of eating plastic. Source: Chris Jordan http://www.chrisjordan.com

The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. Chris Jordan.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

You might well wonder where all of this plastic has come from, given that Midway Atoll is located in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. The answer is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Bottle tops and other plastic litter dropped into the sea and rivers, or blown by the wind from our streets end up in the ocean. Vast amounts of small plastic items, degraded plastic and other debris float just underneath the ocean surface. They are trapped in an ocean gyre, which is an enormous circulating current that swirls around, in this case, in the whole of the north Pacific Ocean. The problem of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is being investigated by Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX) which is…

Seeking the Science of the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.

Seaplex want to find out how much plastic is out there, how it is accumulating and distributed, as well as the effect that it is having on marine life. Hopefully from the information that they obtain it will be possible to formulate an effective method of collecting and removing the plastic rubbish. The solution will not be easy because, for example, using fishing nets is not possible since the plastic pieces are so small that they would just pass through the net.

Plastic Waste in the Atlantic

Not just the Pacific…for the past 20 years the Sea Education Association have been studying an accumulation of plastic debris in the North Atlantic Ocean. Whilst the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is relatively well known about, plastic rubbish in the Atlantic Ocean has generally been overlooked.

Once a collection system is devised, it would be great if all the plastic could recycled. Perhaps it could be made into recycled fleeces and tents.

Lead Poisoning and Droopwing

In addition to death caused by eating waste plastic, 10,000 Laysan albatross chicks die each year from lead poisoning due to toxic, lead-based paint that was used on the Midway Atoll Naval Base. The chicks are unable to hold up their wings, which drag on the ground and become vulnerable to open sores and fractures. This form of nervous-system damage is called “droopwing.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have spent $1.5 million since 2005 to clean up 24 of 95 buildings that contain lead-based paint.

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Ben Nevis Escape Route

If you are planning to walk up to the top of Ben Nevis the first thing you need to know is the escape route from the summit. Regardless of the weather in the valley or on the mountain tops when you start your hike, by the time you reach the summit the weather may have closed in, resulting in near zero visibility. This has happened to me.

There are two dangerous gullies which must be avoided. Falling down them is likely to result in fatal injuries. They are Gardyloo Gully and Five Finger Gully. To avoid these gullies, from the summit trig point follow a bearing of 233 degrees for 150 metres (roughly 100 double steps), and then a bearing of 284 degrees. These are magnetic bearings that should be followed directly from your compass alone.

Ben Nevis summit seen from Gardyloo Gully. Source Geograph. © Copyright Angus and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence.

What is the Best Route up Ben Nevis?

The route that most people take up Ben Nevis starts in the valley of Glen Nevis, near the campsite. The footpath is well maintained. It runs along the side of Meall an t-Stuidhe, up towards the Lochan. At 640 m there is a T-junction where you turn right and head south across Red Burn, before the path zig-zags up a boulder field on the side of Ben Nevis. The final approach to the summit is a more or less a straight run up a gently undulating plateau. The route back down is simply the reverse. This tourist route is known as the Pony Track or the Motorway, due to the number of walkers on it! As a rough guide it takes about 9 hours to walk up and back down the mountain.

The first half of the Ben Nevis ascent is green and pleasant, the second rocky and mountainous. Source: Flickr by coda.

There are also scrambling, mountaineering and climbing routes to the summit, such as Carn Mor Dearg Arete.

Ben Nevis Best Hiking Gear

It is shocking to see what some people wear on Ben Nevis. On the two occasions that I have hiked up to the summit there were lots of people wearing jeans, t-shirt and trainers. Whilst the valley was lovely and warm with late April sunshine, the summit was cold. There was a thick covering of snow over the top 200 m of the summit. The visibility from summit was clear the first time that I there, but the second time that it started to snow and there was a white out. Visibility was down to a couple metres. This experience demonstrates the importance of being prepared for all weather conditions when hiking up Ben Nevis, or indeed any other mountain, such as Scafell Pike in the Lake District.

Kit list for Ben Nevis

Essential Gear and Clothing:

• Rucksack, 30 – 50 litres capacity should be sufficient
• Waterproof Jacket and Trousers
• Fleece Jacket
• Long Sleeved Mid-Weight Fleece Top
• Wicking Base Layer
• Waterproof Gloves
• Warm, Waterproof Hat: a Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap of course!
• Hiking Trousers, such as the Craghoppers Kiwi Trousers. Zip-offs are a good idea when it is warm in the valley, then you can put your legs on when it gets cold further up.
• Two Pairs of Trekking Socks, one thin and one thick.
• Stout Walking Boots
• 2 litre Hydration System
• Packed Lunch
• Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 392: Ben Nevis & Fort William
• Silva Compass

Emergency Survival Equipment:

• Emergency Rations
• Mobile Phone
• First Aid Kit
• Emergency Whistle
• Survival Bag
• Head Torch
• Spare Laces for your Boots

Optional Kit:

• Scarf – provides a lot of extra warmth for its weight
• Spare fleece top
• Gaiters
• Walking Poles
• GPS
• Sun Glasses – the snow gets bright when its sunny
• Sun Tan Cream / Sun Block
• Anti-bacterial handwash
• Flask
• Terra Nova Bothy Bag
• Victorinox Swiss Army Penknife
• Cigarette Lighter
• Camera

It is quite a list, but all this outdoor gear should ensure that you keep comfortable, warm, dry and blister free. Hopefully you will not need any of the survival kit, but its always best to take it.

Crampons and Ice Axe

Is it necessary to take crampons and an ice axe? In winter conditions, yes it is, and it is also necessary to know how to make a self arrest using an ice axe. The YouTube video below, from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, shows various techniques and is well worth watching.

In late April / early May when I walked up the summit was covered in snow. Providing you keep well away from the edge, the plateau is relatively flat and walking in the snow is easy enough without crampons. There were a few places further down the path which were covered in icy snow patches, several metres in length. At the time I did not have crampons and they would have been useful for these short sections.

It is important to be aware of cornices, where the snow overhangs the edge of mountain cliffs. These can give way under your weight, leading you to fall to your death. As mentioned above, keep well away from the edge when there is snow!

Best Avoided

During the summer months, Scotland is famous for its midges. Fear not, there are plenty of ways to avoid getting midge bites.

And don’t forget to take with you a Model T Ford car, a bed, a wheel barrow, a piano and barrel of beer. All these items have been taken up the top of Ben Nevis for either publicity stunts or just for a laugh. What bizarre item(s) would you take up a mountain? Let us know, click on “comments” below!

Climb, Mountain Bike, Kayak, Skateboard

Using Google Maps, Extreme Sports Maps, enables you to place your best location for extreme sporting on a map of the UK. You can zoom right in to give an accurate location and provide a description of your favourite trail, climb, river, spot or track. You don’t have to log in either, although they do like to have your e-mail address to send you updates.

Extreme Sports Map (ESM), The definative visual guide to Skateparks, Skateboarding Spots, Surf Breaks, Dirt Jumps, Mountain Bike Trails and almost every extreme sport spot you could shake a stick at.

Finding the best UK locations is easy. Each spot has a cross marked on the map with the type of extreme sport written next to it. There are literally hundreds of best locations in the UK, so you can filter the one you want. You can choose from Skate Park, Surf Break, Wake Boarding, BMX Track, Snowboarding/Ski, Wind Surf, Paddle (Canoe/Kayak), Street Spot, Downhill Trail, Kite Surf, Dirt Jumping, Climbing/Abseiling, Motor-X and Mountain Biking. The owners apologise if your extreme sport is not in the list, but invite recommendations by e-mail. Anyone know the best place for Extreme Ironing?

Zooming in on the map makes it easier to view different places in a particular area. You can also search for best places by postcode or place name. So whether you are looking for the best place to climb or the best place to mountain bike, using Extreme Sports Map will bring up a good place!

Best Place Map

As well as adding your favourite locations to the map you can also add to photos and YouTube videos to any of the the best places that are already on the map. And its not just the UK, you can find or add a spot anywhere in the world.

It all started after a long visit to South Africa where information about skate spots in particular was incredibly hard to get hold of, and then actually finding these places was near impossible. So Extreme Sports Map was born as a way of locating various parks and street spots, but now that idea has grown into being a visual guide to extreme spots everywhere.

Find or add best places to climb, ride, kayak, jump on Extreme Sports Map.

Extreme Sports Maps is not the only application for Google Maps. It has also been used by fillthathole.org.uk for cyclists to report pot holes in the road. There are many mapping tools available for general navigation, you may be interested in our review of on-line mapping tools.

If you want to share a great location you can also share it here on the CheapTents.com blog. Just click on “comments” below or send us an e-mail: blog@cheaptents.com.

Isle of White Coastline. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Barbara Murdter.

The Island has over 500 miles of well-maintained and signposted footpaths around 30 miles of Heritage Coastline, while more than half of the Island is recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Walks and Hikes

With three speeds of walk to choose from, gentle, moderate and brisk, and five difficulty level from easy to strenuous, the Isle of Wight Walking Festival something for everyone. Some of the walks are themed, for example the “Isle of Wight Ghost Experience”, “In the Footsteps of Thomas Rowlandson” and “Climate and Energy Walk”. There is plenty for nature lovers including “Red Squirrels in the Park” and “Dawn Chorus Magic”. If you like gardens then the “Glorious Garden” walk could be for you, it is a long but gentle walk through the lovely Parish of Shalfleet visiting some outstanding private gardens. If you are looking for romance there is the “Speed Dating Walk”, which boasts no less than three marriages of people who met on this walk in the past. For information about all of the walks visit the Isle of Wight walking festival website. They have a fun navigation bar depicting animated walkers and cute rabbits enjoying the Isle of Wight countryside.

Some of the walks are free whilst others require that you make a small charitable donation. In this way the Isle of Wight Walking Festival raises money for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, which cares for over 800 patients facing life-threatening conditions every year.

The Isle of Wight is famous for its chalk cliffs. Source: © Copyright John Hardy and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The Isle of Wight enjoys better than average UK weather. Considering that half the time I go walking in the Lake District it is raining and the cloud base is just above my tent, heading south to the Isle Wight sounds like a tempting idea. That said, its is always a good idea to take waterproofs when hiking anywhere in the UK!

The 12th Annual Isle of Wight Walking Festival will take place from the 8 – 23rd May 2010. However if you cannot make it then, there are still plenty of opportunities to get out your walking boots throughout the year. There are 14 trails on the Isle of Wight Walking Festival website that can be downloaded as PDFs. The trail guides contain detailed descriptions of the walk, a map and brief notes about interesting landmarks.

Interesting Facts about the Isle of Wight…

• It was an Independent kingdom briefly in the 15th century
• It has a rich maritime history: Cowes Week is the longest-running regular regatta in the world
• There are no grey squirrels and the red squirrel population is thriving
• The 1980s pop group Level 42 is from the Isle of Wight
• There are three breweries on the island
• One of the island’s largest events is the annual Garlic Festival
• The Isle of Wight is made up of a wide variety of different rock types
• There are two rivers called “Yar”, the Eastern and Western Yar.

There is undoubtedly something for everyone and it is hardly surprising that the Isle of Wight is often referred to as Britain in Miniature!

Ryde and Bembridge in the north east of the Isle of Wight. Source: Flickr by PhillipC.

Shanklin and surrounding countryside on the Isle of Wight. Source: Flickr by garryknight.

A Pothole. Cyclists watch out!

The road in question is in the countryside, just on the edge of the city. There are no street lights and it was a dark, rainy winters night. I have a Cat-Eye Power Opti-Cube LED bike light, which I am very pleased with. It provides enough light to see where you are going when it is dark, but when faced with the glare of the headlights of on-coming traffic it is impossible to see the road surface.

The wind was behind me so I was cycling at a fair pace, looking forward to getting home. I had cycled past a section of road that I knew to have pot holes. In order to avoid them I had kept to a position further out in the road than normal. After cycling about another 5 metres I began to move back towards the edge of the road. It was then that I hit the nasty pot hole. Despite having a reasonable pair of suspension forks, when my front wheel hit the edge of the pot hole the bike stopped dead. I took to the air! Fortunately I was travelling towards the side of the road and not in the path of on-coming traffic. My flight ended abruptly when I ploughed into a wooden fence on the verge. Fortunately my injuries were minimal: just a big scratch on my forearm. Luckily too, my bike was undamaged although I really ought to buy a new helmet since the side of my head hit a fence post. A kind motorist who had seen what happened pulled in to check that I was ok, which makes a pleasant change from motorists usual disregard for the safety of cyclists.

The next day I rang the council to report the pot hole. They did not seem overly interested until I told them that I had fallen off my bike. To their credit the pot holes were filled in a few days later.

Cyclists Fill That Hole!

Now I have found out about another way for cyclists and other road users to report pot holes to the council, which I think is worth sharing. Its a nifty website run by cycling organisation CTC, called Fill That Hole .org.uk. Since cyclists are particularly vulnerable to pot holes and cracks in the road, I would recommend that all UK bike riders add it to their bookmarks.

Report a pot hole to the council using FillThatHole.org.uk

Its not all bad news. The discovery of this pothole has given me the opportunity try out Fill That Hole!

Its a relatively straight forward process. Just click on “Report a Hazard” and fill in the questions. These include giving a description of the pothole, including its approximate size and depth. The next bit I like. Using Google maps, you find the location of the pothole, click on the map and a little red flag appears indicating the position of pothole. You also need to add a detailed description of the location of the pothole.

When you click “next” a page appears asking you to confirm the location, and the highway authority has automatically been identified.

The next page asks whether you were injured, whether your property was damaged and what mode of transport you were using. Finally you need to enter contact details. Then you can submit the report. Job done. All you need to do now is sit back and wait for the council to chuck a lump of tarmac in the pothole.

You get confirmation of your submission by e-mail and also the opportunity to add comments, update the report when the hazard has been fixed and even upload photos of the offending pot hole.

You can also find out where other potholes are by searching on the map or via the list of authorities. The following is comment that someone has made about the stretch of road where I fell off my bike, as mentioned above:

The road surface at the side is just horrendous. Its full of lumps bumps and potholes. You have to try and drive/cycle/ride in the middle of it to avoid getting that bone shakin feeling! Its been like that for years and never been re-surfaced. Its heavily used so you have no choice but to drive in the normaly driving position at much detriment to car/bicycle!

Pot Holes Filled

One other feature of the Fill That Hole site is that you can see how effective different highways agencies are at fixing potholes. The site average for all highways authorities and councils is only 33%.

The pot hole that I reported had already been filled by the time I rode home 2 hours later. So I assume that it had already been brought to the councils attention and scheduled for repair before I reported it to them. So unfortunately I will be unable to report on Fill That Hole’s effectiveness until I am able to report another pothole!

Is your council reluctant to sort out potholes? Are you a cyclist who has used Fill That Hole .org.uk? Did the pothole get filled? Share your experience, click on “comments” below!

Google Trike

In their quest for information Google are not satisfied with knowing what our highways look like. Recently they have made some off road excursions on Google Trike. With enough pedal power, the trike can get to many places inaccessible by car. Using Street View it is now possible to see around the grounds of a number of National Trust properties in the UK.

Google Trike can go where the Google Car cannot. Source: Flickr by artberri.

Google Sherpa-Cam

There are only so many places a three wheeled pedal cycle can get to. The next development for Google Street View will involve getting off the trike and moving onto mountain trails, which will require leg power alone. For this Google are developing the Sherpa-cam. Prototypes are currently being trialled in the Lake District and in the Nepalese Himalayas.

It is not clear whether Google will take images of the whole of the Lake District or just the routes up the most popular mountains, such as Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, The Old Man of Conniston and Blencartha. One of the main problems that the Google Sherpa-Cam team face is the weather.

We have to wait for days when there is a high cloud base. There is no point hiking up a mountain with a heavy camera when all that can be seen is grey cloud!

Google Sherpa-Cam prototype on the trail to Everest Base Camp. Source: Flickr by Ilkerender and artberri.

Eventually we hope to take Sherpa-cam right up to the summit of Everest. Most people are not able to climb the summit themselves and so we believe that there will be a huge demand to see the entire trail to summit. Only once we are sure that the technology is fully functioning will we make a bid for the summit. Sherpa-Cam is heavy and once we have entered the death zone above 7000 m the risk to human life is high. We do not want to take any chances and so we will need a very experienced mountaineering team to help with this project.

What do you think of Sherpa-Cam?

Of course, there are many spectacular mountain views in many parts of world, but is it really necessary to have a street view of mountain trails? Google think so, but what do you think? Like the government who want to microchip walkers, are Google going too far? Click on the comments below and let us know!

South Georgia is home to a number of Albatross species and to attempt a solo sea kayak journey for the Plight of the Albatross can only capture a fascinated audience to encourage protection of one of the worlds most precious of seabirds.

South Georgia: Rough Seas for Kayaking!

The island of South Georgia is situated between the Scotia Sea and South Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 860 miles east of the Falkland Islands. It is about 105 miles long and 25 miles across at its widest point. South Georgia experiences fierce prevailing winds and ice cold waters which flow up from Antarctica!

Hayley Shephard will circumnavigate South Georgia in a Kayak. Source Flickr by michael clarke stuff.

Stunningly beautiful and rugged, this island wildlife sanctuary, once visited, is not easily forgotten. Its snow covered peaks, blue glacier ice and emerald green bays, are breathtaking sights. It is a real “oasis” in the stormy southern oceans and is home to sea and land birds, seals and reindeer.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands website.

Albatross’ Killed by Long-line Fishing

South Georgia is home to many Albatross. These birds can live up to 60 years, but are slow breeding since they only lay 1 egg every other year. On her website Hayley Shephard states that:

I am extremely privileged and honoured to have had the opportunity to observe the majestic Albatross that glides effortlessly on the up drafts of ocean winds, spending most of its life at sea, circumnavigating the entire globe frequently. They touch land only at an annual nesting site where they will reunite with their lifetime mate and begin the most elegant courtship behaviour you could only imagine. Their 12 foot wings are stretched gracefully, the tail feathers are charmingly erect and their stylish heads are poised in the most seductive stance and together they begin to dance.

Unfortunately Albatross are easily ensnared by long-line fishing lines, and are drowned. Research has shown that there are simple measures that can be taken to minimise Albatross fatalities. However persuading the fishing industry to adopt them takes time, effort and enforcement of regulations.

Simple measures can help save the Albatross from long-line fishing. Source Hayley Shephard.

• Setting the lines at night when fewer birds are feeding
• Weighting lines to make baited hooks sink more quickly
• Colouring the bait with harmless blue dye to put off the keen-eyed birds
• Towing a brightly coloured bird-scaring line alongside the baited line
• Employ rules and monitor controlled fishing
• Place conservation officers on board vessels

The South Georgia Patagonian toothfish fishery has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, in recognition for using sustainable fishing practices which also ensure minimal impact on other species, such as the albatross. Buying fish which has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) will help to conserve the albatross and encourage sustainable fishing practices.

Hayley Shephard’s Previous Kayaking Adventures

Hayley is an experienced kayaker and sailor. She guides tours in the Canadian High Arctic and in the remote, northern inlets of the Pacific Northwest. She has also undertaken two island solo kayak circumnavigation expeditions in the past. The most recent was around Haida Gwaii. This group of islands are located on the west coast of Canada, north of Vancouver and south east of Alaska. With the Pacific Ocean on the east the sea can be rough with strong currents circulating around the islands. To the east of the islands is the Hecate Strait, which has been classified as the 4th worst body of water to cross in the world. Hayley Shephard has also kayaked around Vancouver Island, again off the west coast of Canada. This journey was about 750 miles and took 67 days.

For more information visit the Kayaking to Save the Albatross website.

Hayley Shepard will be solo sea kayaking around South Georgia to save the Albatross.

Gorple Rocks on Black Moor in the Pennines.

The plan was to walk past Hurstwood reservoir and join the Pennine Bridleway, following it eastwards across Hameldon Moor up to Black Moor. Then I would make my way back to Hurstwood across Worsthorne Moor past Cant Clough reservoir. It pretty much went to plan.

From Hurstwood I followed the footpath to the north of the reservoir. The path was initially quite muddy and slippery but as I climbed the small elevation up past the wood, the ground firmed up due to the cold. The footpath was enclosed by pine trees to the right and a dry stone wall to the left. The dry stone wall had rocks sticking out of the side of it at regular intervals along its length, which I though was quite unusual. Looking over the wall to the north east, Pendle Hill could be seen across the valley, its summit enveloped in cloud.

Onwards and upwards along the Pennine Bridleway.

At the boundary fence between Hameldon Moor and Black Moor the bridleway levels out and you can see the higher of the two Gorple Reservoirs. It was as this point that I could see that it was snowing, with the snow clouds advancing towards me. I quickly put my waterproof jacket, over trousers, Lowe Alpine Mountain Cap and Extremities gloves. There is something good about being warm and dry when in the midst of a windy snow storm! Thank goodness for modern outdoor gear. Thus equipped I proceeded eastwards to a point north of the Gorple reservoir dam, here I followed a slippery, muddy track to the dam. With the snow still falling, I walked past the rocky outcrops of Gorple Stones and down to the dam. Turning right I followed the footpath more-or-less back on myself. As I climbed towards the ruined building, a fell runner was rapidly advancing towards me. Despite my need for a full set of waterproofs when it is snowing, the happy fell runner was wearing shorts and lightweight waterproof top. Subsequently the snow stopped and I overheated!

The view from Worsthorne Moor across to Cant Clough Reservoir and beyond.

From the dam at Cant Clough reservoir I headed past the slag heaps back up to the Hurstwood reservoir. This track afforded views right across the district of Burnley and to Pendle Hill. The road from the reservoir back into Hurstwood is lined with pine trees and provided a very pleasant stroll back to the village.

There are plenty of excellent countryside walking routes in the UK. Source: Flickr by eamoncurry123.

There are several criteria by which the walking guide websites have been judged, as follows:

• Route choice and searching within the walking website
• Grading of walk in terms of technical difficulty and fitness level required
• Quality of walk description
• Descriptions of points of interests
• Are there any maps showing the walk, or GPS waypoints
• Any inspiring photographs?
• Information about pubs and tea rooms along the route
• Amount of advertising

In order to get an idea about the quality of the descriptions, about 3 or 4 walking route descriptions have been viewed for each website. The quality of the walks themselves is much more subjective. Unless stated, each website has a variety of walks covering a range of terrains, distances and technical ability. Therefore it is up to you to make a judgement about whether you may or may not enjoy a particular walking route.

There are five walking routes planners reviewed in the first part of this article, these websites contain walks that cover most, if not all of the UK. In the second part of the article, to follow soon, walking route websites that cover specific regions, e.g. Scotland, The Lake District and Snowdonia will be reviewed.

The walking route planners featured in this article are:
www.go4awalk.com
www.walkingbritain.co.uk
www.walkingenglishman.com
www.countrywalkingroutes.co.uk / www.trailroutes.com
www.walking-routes.co.uk
For those of you who just can’t wait to get to the end:
Best Walking Route Planner Summary

www.go4awalk.com

General / Searching for a Walk

This site is very busy with lots of text on the home page. You can search using a simple search box at the top of the home page, or select from menu options at the top or from a long list down the left hand side of the page. This list includes a selection of pub walks. Using the search box pulls up a huge number of results in a list over several pages, especially if you search using a general term like “Peak District”. Of course this is not surprising, but there is no option to refine your search, which would be helpful. The top two search results when searching for walks in “Northern Ireland” were for walks in the Lake District!

You can also search using a mapping system based on Ordnance Survey maps, which is a useful feature. There is a map of England, Scotland and Wales on which you can click specific OS map areas. Each walk is then represented by a coloured circle, with a number showing the grade of the walk. Move your mouse over a dot and the walk route is indicated. Click on the dot to see summarised walk details appear on the top left of the page. The full walk details are downloaded as a pdf file, which are handy to print out and take with you on your walk. You can also download GPS waypoints from here, if available.

In order to download a walk you must buy credits. For £14.95 you can buy 50 credits. Each walk is worth 1 credit. Walks are updated and you can download the same walk in the future without losing another credit.

Why should you open an account with go4awalk.com? On the join4walks page it clearly states that…

Every go4awalk.com walk is hand-crafted by walking professionals who really know and understand what makes a walk – a good walk.

However, on the “Talk To Us” page, people are encouraged to submit walks and rambles which will be published on the site. So there seems to be a bit of contradiction there!

There are an enormous number of questions on the Q&A page. Although you can search the questions, they would benefit from being put into a directory style structure to make it easier to find the question you are asking.

go4awalk.com - the walking information is good, but its easy to get lost on this website!

Walk Descriptions

The walk descriptions are downloaded as pdf files. There is a summary of the route which includes distance, time, grade and ascent. The walking route descriptions provide a semi-detailed map, showing roads and paths that intersect the route and some features such as pubs and trig points. The map does not show any contours, however there is a diagram showing elevation along the length of the walk which I like. The actual description of the route is quite detailed but it is wholly factual with no information about points of interest. There are no photographs or anything to provide any inspiration. Around the map are lots of blocks of text about various features of the go4awalk.com website, which I find a bit annoying.

It is possible to view photographs of walks which have been uploaded by users of the go4awalk.com website. There is also a section where people are encouraged to share information about points of interest. Since this information does not come with the walk description it can easily be overlooked.

Summary – go4awalk.com

In summary, there are lots of walks featured on go4awalk.com, however I found the website very busy. It is not always easy to navigate the website and I spent a long time looking for information. In particular, trying to find information again that I had found previously was difficult. The descriptions of the walks are thorough but uninspiring. The ability to search by OS map is a the best feature. The pdf downloads are handy to print out to take on a walk, but they could do without so many plugs for the website.

www.walkingbritain.co.uk

General / Searching for a Walk

The presentation of Walking Britain is very clear and easy on the eye. Walking routes can be found using a directory structure focussing on National Parks, National Trails, Areas of Outstanding beauty and Counties & Areas.

There is also a search facility where you can search by National Parks or Areas by grade of walk, search for walks near a postcode or grid reference. For some regions, such as the Lake District you can also search by map.

There is some advertising but it is not too intrusive.

Walking Britain - a well presented website with lots of walks.

Walk Descriptions

Each walk has a summary including distance, grade and ascent.

The full description of the walk will depend upon which one you happen to chose and who the author is, which should perhaps be expected since anyone can submit a walk to www.walkingbritain.co.uk. Walk 3209 – Llanfrynach and Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, is a scanned image of a walking map produced by the Youth Hostel Association. However, most of the walks appear to offer personalised written descriptions.

Some of the walking routes have basic descriptions with little detail. For example, Walk 1182 – Kinder Downfall from Hayfield, the description is short and to the point with only a small amount of additional information. There is not much in terms of additional navigational notes or points of interest. There are photographs, which is always a plus in my opinion.

Other walking routes have more detailed and interesting descriptions, such as Walk 1601 – Bowcombe Down, Ashengrove and Upper Watchingwell from Carisbrooke. This description would benefit from having some headings to make it easier to find your place in the text whilst out walking. It does contain grid references throughout which are useful to relate the text to the map.

There are outline route maps on the website, however these are basic so would need to be used in conjunction with an Ordnance Survey map. There does not appear to be any support for GPS.

Summary – walkingbritain.co.uk

In summary, walkingbritain.co.uk is easy to navigate and not overburdened with text. It is easy to find walks in the area that you are looking at. The quality of the walking route descriptions is variable, some stick to details of the route only whilst other walk descriptions contain photographs, additional interesting points and comments about the walk. It would benefit from having an improved map based search and more detailed route maps.

www.walkingenglishman.com

General / Searching for a Walk

Mike Brockhurst’s Walking Englishman is a popular website which passes on his enthusiasm for walking. Mike has walked all of the routes himself and his descriptions reflect his personal experience. He states that it is…

my intention is to inspire you all to get out and enjoy the country as much as I do. Go on, you won’t regret it.

The site has a simple, straight forward design. The walks can be searched by region or long distance path name from a list down the left hand side of the page. Most of the walks are in Northern England: Yorkshire, The Lakes and the Peak District. There are also walks in Scotland, Snowdonia, Crete and Italy. The walks can be selected from a list within each category by the name, which is either the name of the walk, the place or the mountain, e.g. “The Mosedale Horseshoe”. There is also a one sentence summary of each walk.

The walks are graded into easy, moderate or hard which is denoted by a green, yellow or red circle respectively. There are also a few scrambles which are also denoted with a red circle.

All the walks are free and there is no advertising!

The Walking Englishman - inspiration to get out there and walk!

Walk Descriptions

The walking route descriptions start with a walk summary, including time, distance, ascent, hazards, parking and refreshments. There are OS maps onto which the route has been overlaid. Next there is an elevation profile followed by the Story of the Walk. There is not a huge amount of navigational detail about the walk. The story of the walk really is a story, describing the weather conditions, details about the terrain and the feelings and opinions of those on the walk, especially when faced with technically difficult parts of the walk or scramble. Featuring classic quotes such as…

I stuttered down like a geriatric for the rest of the walk vainly trying to keep up with the two goats ahead of me.

…in the Kinder Scout from Edale route, The Walking Englishman makes a compelling and inspiring read. The are also a number of photographs for each walk which help to visualise the story and the route. For some routes more photographs can be found as slide shows on The Walking Englishman You Tube channel.

GPS Waypoints and Memory Map files from the walk can be downloaded. For some walks a “Route Card” is also available. The route card contains waypoints and some observations.

Summary – walkingenglishman.com

The menu system makes it is easy to find good walking routes on the walkingenglishman.com website, although it is advantageous if you already have a knowledge of the area where you intend to walk. The route descriptions focus on telling the story of the walk, as opposed to describing the navigational aspects of the route. However they do contain interesting details and provide the inspiration for getting out and going walking. Whilst there are a lot of walks featured from the North of the UK there is only the Cornish Coast Path in the South of the country.

www.countrywalkingroutes.co.uk
www.trailroutes.com

General / Searching for a Walk

The walking routes on these websites are provided by Country Walking magazine and Trail magazine respectively, hence they are only available to people who have a subscription with the magazine.

It is possible to search for routes by name, location, post code or grid reference. There is also an interactive map, however this is very basic and only allows you to select from one of nine areas within the UK and Ireland. Once you have a long list of walks you can then refine your search, which is a useful feature. You can search within the results based upon distance from a particular location, walk length and difficulty levels of easy, moderate and hard. With Trail routes you can also search for routes with scrambles.

It is also possible to view walks using Microsoft virtual Earth. This enables you to zoom and pan the map, select to display aerial photography, see a descriptions and open route details. This is a feature that will be improved for the Country Walking and Trail routes website relaunch.

Country Walking & Trail - Lots of good walks, but only if you have a subscription.

Walk Descriptions

The route summary for each walk contains a short written introduction and summarised details such as distance, time needed, difficulty and the magazine issue in which the walk appeared. There is a brief description of the terrain. In the case of Country Walking the number of stiles is given, whilst for Trail routes the total ascent is shown. From here it is possible to view the detailed description, a route map and an OS route map. You can also download a PDF route card, GPS waypoints and Memory Map data. Trail routes also have a elevation profile.

The walk descriptions are quite detailed, in particular pointing out turnings that may easily be missed. There are a limited number of comments about points of interest and the terrain.

Summary – countrywalkingroutes.co.uk and trailroutes.com

There are a good selection of walks across the country. The search facility works well when the refined search is used. The map based search is does not show the location of each walk, which it should do given that the websites support popular, well established walking magazines. This may well be improved upon with the forth coming relaunch of the sites.

The walk descriptions are thorough and of consistent quality, but could contain a bit more detail about interesting features of the walk.

www.walking-routes.co.uk

General / Searching for a Walk

Walking-routes.co.uk is a directory of links to many other websites that contain walking routes. Some of the external websites cover the whole of the UK but many are specific to small areas.

This website has a straight forward design that is quite clear and it is easy to see where everything is. You must like orange.

The home page is split into five main categories based on walk locations, i.e. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and National Parks. Within each section there is a list of counties and cities or National Parks, with a number in parentheses indicating the number of walking websites in that sub-section. Click on the the sub-section and pop-up window appears containing a list of place names or website names. These are all links to external websites. Clinking one of these links opens the website in a new window. I would prefer for each sub-section not to open in a pop-up window. Also, the sub-section page would benefit from having a map of the area showing place names, since this would help people who are not familiar with the area to get their bearings.

“Walking-Routes” – 100’s of links to 1000’s of walks.

The links are to other websites containing walking route descriptions and not to the walks themselves. This means that there is no easy comparison between walks, in terms of exact location, length, time or grade.

You can search all the sites that walking-routes.co.uk links to using a customised Google search. This displays Google style search results within the walking-routes.co.uk website, providing links to the other websites and walking routes. When you click a link you leave the walking-routes.co.uk website.

There is some advertising but it is not intrusive.

walking-routes.co.uk - a compendium of links to UK walking route websites.

Walk Descriptions

Since walking-routes.co.uk links to lots of other different websites the descriptions of the walks are extremely variable. Its pot luck whether the site that you end up on has good, detailed walking route descriptions or not.

In some cases I found that the site that I clicked through to did not appear to have any walks and that I had to spend time trying to find the walks. In these cases walking-routes.co.uk would benefit from having a link direct to the walks page of the external website.

I did not find any walking routes that were compiled by walking-routes.co.uk themselves.

Summary – walking-routes.co.uk

Since there are links to so many external websites you are sure to be able to find a walk in any area of the UK using walking-routes.co.uk. The directory style search is reasonably straight forward, however, the external links could be improved upon in some cases by linking directly to the walks page of the external website.

Since the links are to external walking websites, rather than to specific walks within the websites, you still have a bit more searching once you are on the external website. Using the custom Google search it is possible get straight to walks in a specific location.

Which is the Best Walking Route Planner?

In order to create the best walking route website you need:

• an easy to use text search facility, including the ability to refine your search
• a simple directory style search facility
• a good map based search facility
• summaries of the walking routes, including distance, time and grade
• detailed descriptions, including grid references and information to help with navigation so that you do not go the wrong way
• information about coping with the terrain in different weather conditions
• quality mapping
• photographs and descriptions of points of interest to provide inspiration
• easy to print route cards
• downloadable GPS waypoints

A feature that could be useful is for people who have done the walk to give a review about it.

There is no definitive best walking route plannar out of the ones that have been reviewed here. If I already had a subscription to Country Walking magazine or Trail magazine then I would have a look at those websites first, but I would not get a subscription just for the walking routes since there are plenty of good walking routes available for free. The Walking Englishman has done lots of great walks and tells a good story, so is well worth looking at. The walk descriptions and pdf downloads on go4awalk.com are good, but I find the website is too busy and its not easy to search for walks, unless you use the OS map based search. The design of Walking Britain is easy on the eye and the search works well, however it could benefit from a better map based search and better maps of the routes. And finally, using walking-routes.co.uk you are certain to be able to find a walk in any part of the country, but you still have a lot of work to do trawling through the external websites that actually contain the walks.

Which ever walking routes planner you chose to find a walk we hope that you will find a walking route that enjoy!