The funds raised by the lecture will go towards subsidising young people on their Scottish and Alpine training courses. They provide a very worthwile service and thousands of students have benefited from their courses over the last thirty years. At only £10 per ticket it is a great opportunity to support the trust as well as getting to hear Sir Chris Bonington, one of Britains most sucessful mountaineers. For more details on the Jonathan Conville memorial trust and to find out how to buy tickets  for the event see below.

What is the Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust?

The family of Jonathan Conville established the Trust after he died on the Matterhorn 29th December 1979, aged 27. He was a sound, ambitious climber who had been to school at Marlborough College, spent some time in Australia, joined the Army (Paratroop Regiment) and taught at the Outward Bound School, Lock Eil. He identified strongly with the outdoors where he constantly found challenge. The Trust’s aims are to encourage and assist young people to train for and pursue their love of the outdoors in the spirit of adventure, which Jonathan embraced during his life.

The Trust encourages safe and enjoyable practice in mountaineering, by operating subsidised training for young people, operating Scottish Winter Courses based in the Cairngorms and Alpine Mountaineering Courses based in Chamonix.

Boundless Horizons – Sir Christian Bonington CBE – Ticket Details

When
Thursday 3 June 2010 7pm – 8.30pm
Bar open 6pm – 9.30pm

Where
The Royal Geographical Society
1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR

Price
Tickets £10 Admits ONE

How to Buy
Please send SAE with name/email/telephone contact details to:

Melissa Kay
C/o JCMT
Titchbourne Barn
Redlynch
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP5 2JX

Cheques made payable to Jonathan Conville Memorial Trust
Telephone 01794 884118

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.

Ironman Triathlon Bolton

“Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life” Ironman registered trademark.

Top athletes can compete the course in just over 8 hours, however to finish the race, participants must complete all three sections within 15 hours. All finishers are entitled to call themselves an Ironman!

The Ironman Triathlon Swimming Stage is 2.4 miles. Photo by: Bakke-Svensson/Ironman.

The Liverpool Triathlon is an Olympic distance event, that is a swim of 1.5km, bike ride of 40km and a run of 10km. I completed it in just over 2 hours and 33 minutes, putting me in the top 27% of competitors. Its a good background but I’ll need to step up a gear or two if I am to complete Ironman, which is being held in Bolton on the 1st of August 2010. There will be a lot of training for me over the next 8 months, but by signing up for other events along the way I will be able to build up my stamina with no excuses for ducking out of the training.

What with the Christmas plus the snow and ice, my training volume has been lower than I would have liked. I’ve only been doing about 3 hours a week. I’ll need to be doing 8 or 9 hours a week if I’m to become an Ironman! My training will include running or cycling 13 miles to work. In addition to that I’ll be doing other personal challenges. For example, on my day off last Friday I rode 50 miles on the bike then ran a half marathon. This was quite a testing, but I got through it ok. Swimming is will be the toughest part of the challenge for me. The training is addictive so I should be able to keep it up.

The Lovell Telescope is a familiar landmark on the Cheshire plains. Source Flickr by cloudsoup.

Following on from the Jodrell Bank Sportive, is the Verenti Cheshire Cat Cyclosportive. This will take place on 28th of March and will be a slightly tougher challenge for me. This bike ride is going to be 100 miles long, 20 more than the Jodrell Bank Sportive. There will be a steep climb or two and plenty of undulating country lanes!

As well as keeping up with the Ironman training, I’ll be posting updates about my progress here on the CheapTents.com blog.

The winter sport of skibiking, or skibobbing as it is also known, has been around since the 1950’s. A skibike is quite literally a bike with skis instead of wheels. Most of the other normal features of a bike have also been removed, such as the pedals, chain and brakes. Skibikes tend to be ridden down hill only and let’s face it, only a wuss uses brakes! Skibikes do have suspension however!

The first skibike / skibob design was patented in 1892 by an American, Mr J. Stevens. It was not until the 1940’s, when a German and Austrian Engineers, Georg. Gfäller and Engelbert Brenter invented skibike type contraptions which were combined to form the basis for the modern skibike design.

A ski bike has no wheels, they have been replaced by skis! Source: Flickr by richardmasoner.

A Skibike rider wears normal ski wear. There is a lot of snow spray when skibiking, much more than for normal skiing, so ski wear with a high level of waterproofing is best. A skibike rider also has a short pair of foot skis to assist with their balance.

Skibike Racing and Events

Many Skibiking events take place in Europe, such as the World Cup and the World Championship. The races are similar to normal Alpine ski events and include Slalom, Giant Slalom, Parallel Slalom, Super-G and Downhill.

The Elite World Championships will be held in Kichberg, Austria, from 25th to 29th of January 2010. Later in the year the Senior and Junior World Championships will be taking place. They will be from 24th to 28th February, in Gaal, Austria.

UK Skibiking Team

The sport of skibiking is not well known in the UK, because of the small numbers involved and a lack of continuity, support and sponsorship. Despite this UK skibikers have performed well in international skibiking events. Nic Platt is the current British skibiking champion. Other current skibikers in the British team include Tim Platt, Harry Dearden, India Muirhead, Nic Jones and Kenny Campbell.

Senior members of the British team include former British Champion Denis Osbaldeston, Richard Platt, Darren Walker, Alistair Platt, Kevin Rochfort and Tom Rogers.

Other famous UK skibikers include Anne White (1988 Senior World Champion 1988, World slalom Champion 1989) and Tony Marsh (European Champion 1982).

More Information about past and present British teams teams can be found at http://www.skibikeracing.co.uk.

Sit-Skiing for Rehabilitation

A variation of the skibike is the sit-ski. The sit has a chair mounted on main central ski. The skier is seated in the chair and then has hand held stabilising skis mounted on the end of poles. This is demonstrated in the YouTube video embedded below.

One charity support group which uses skibikes and sit-skis to help with rehabilitation of amputees is BLESMA, theBritish Limbless Ex Service Men’s Association.

[BLESMA] is the charity that directly supports all our service men and women who lose limbs, the use of limbs or eyes or the sight of an eye in the service of our country and we are with them all whenever we are needed for the rest of their lives.

BLESMA have helped to provide rehabilitation to service personnel through many different adventure activities. Ski Spectacular events are held in the at Breckenridge, Colorado, USA, by the Wounded Warrior Project and Disabled Sports USA. Members of BLESMA were given 6 days of tuition is given in snowboarding, mono skiing and three track skiing. Outdoor activities like sit-skiing help amputees to realise that there is life after amputation.

Entries Open for LAMM 2010

Entries are now open for the 2010 annual, two day mountain orienteering event, known as the LAMM: Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon.

Held every year in Scotland since 1994, LAMM is a trail running and orienteering event for pairs, with overnight camping at a remote location. To ensure fair competition and add an air of mystery the location is always kept secret until the last minute!

LAMM 2010 is to be held on Saturday 12th to Sunday 13th June 2010. The cost is £80 per team. In addition you must have a Sports Ident card. To enter the 2010 LAMM event and buy a Sports Ident card, click here.

Martin Stone and all at the LAMM team recommend entering the mountain marathon as soon as possible to avoid disappointment:

We have another great area lined up in one of the classic mountain areas of the Scottish Highlands with a scattering of big hills. Our planner this year is Andy Spenceley, who planned the excellent routes at Inchnadamph 2006, Glenfinnan 2008 and was our controller at Kintail 2009. Competition for places in the LAMM is now very keen and the event is always oversubscribed.

To cater for differing abilities there are several different courses: Elite, A, B, C, D and score course.

• Score course – Saturday 7 hours, Sunday 6 hours
• Elite and A courses will be similar to previous events
• B course will be positioned mid-way between 2008 B & C courses
• C course will be positioned mid-way between 2008 C & D courses
• D course will be positioned mid-way between 2008 D & Novice courses, with less technical controls than the other courses.

The score course is limited to the number of hours shown above, and competitors choose which orienteering controls to collect.

Lowe Alpine Outdoor Gear

Unsurprisingly, the main sponsor of the LAMM event is outdoor gear manufacturer Lowe Alpine, whose gear highly regarded by adventure racers, hill and mountain runners and participants of many other outdoor sports. If you need any trail running gear, a rucksack, waterproofs, thermal wear or any other outdoor kit, it can be found at CheapTents.com!

Although the event takes place in June, event organisers warn competitors not to be complacent about the weather and how serious the Scottish Mountains can be. Taking enough trail running outdoor gear is vital, since the freezing level can be at between 800 and 1000 m, even in the summer. It can still snow!

Please bring a selection of heavier garments to the event so that you can choose appropriate clothing/tent before you start. Please don’t make the same mistakes as in 2004 and come to the LAMM with only Summer equipment.

Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon 2009 – Kintail

The 2010 LAMM Mountain Marathon will follow a similar format to previous years events, with big mountains being the order of the day. The 2009 event took place in Kintail, starting at Morvich, Shiel Bridge, on the main A87 road between and Kyle of Lochalsh and Invergarry. The mountains known as the five sisters of Kintail are a famous landmark in the area. Those in the elite section had the pleasure of orienteering checkpoints at either end and either side of the five sisters!

The Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon 2009 took place around the Five Sisters of Kintail. Source: Flickr by Graham Lewis (Grinner).

Around 1000 competitors took part in the mountain marathon, which took place in the mountains north of Glen Shiel. Many of the hills there are very steep with lots of rock, so there was more climbing than usual, however the courses were made a little shorter to compensate. There was even an orienteering checkpoint at the summit of a Munro.

The prize for the leading Elite team was more punishment: a free entry to the Swedish Bjorkliden Arctic Mountain Marathon (BAMM), inlcuding flights and accommodation. This was won by Andy Symonds and Jethro Lennox.

The Adbu Dhabi Adventure Race, climbing in the desert.

Winter is upon us now in the UK. There was a frost this morning and there has been snow on some our higher peaks for some time now. Its time to put on lots of layers and maybe get out our winter accessories. You can’t beat hiking on a sunny winters day, seeing the snow in the trees and on the ground. The fresh, cold air invigorates your face, making your nose go cold. Best of all there is a log fire and a pint of real ale with your name on it, waiting in the country pub at the end of the walk. So why anyone would want to go to Abu Dhabi to take part in a gruelling adventure triathlon across the desert is beyond me…:-)

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge

The adventure racing triathlon starts today, the 4th, and runs until the 9th of December. The action will start off in Abu Dhabi and take place in the surrounding sea and desert. Teams of varying abilities take part from all over the world, including from the UK. There are 40 adventure racing teams altogether, both males and females, representing 20 nationalities. Whilst many world class top athletes take part, less well known athletes are encouraged too. The race organisers even pay the entry fees and flight costs for a few teams with no previous international adventure racing experience.

The innovative nature of this demanding sporting and cultural odyssey, with its unique emphasis on fairness, accessibility and camaraderie, represents adventure racing’s most exciting opportunity to race against the world’s most international field.

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009 Itinerary

Each days racing starts and ends at the same place for every team. The Adventure Race itinerary is as follows:

Day 1: Introduction – Quadrathlon. Abu Dhabi, Corniche Beach to Lulu Island and back. A 30 km warm up event featuring biking, running and kayaking, followed by 900 m swim “in case you overheat”.
Day 1: Main event – Sea Kayaking. A 33 km paddle to a small island north of Saadiyat Island. The night will be spent bivouacing on the island.

Day 2: Sea Kayaking. Starting at 6:30 there is a choice of two sea kayaking routes back to Corniche beach. The route choice is either 50 km or 80 km. Bus transportation takes the teams to their overnight desert bivouac at Liwa Dunes, Rub Al Kahli.

Day 3 & 4: Trekking. Again competitor’s have a choice of distance for this next stage. It’s either 70 km or 120 km, but at either distance, the trek through the desert will be a tough challenge, before collapsing exhausted at the end of the day at another desert bivouac.

Day 5: Mountain Biking. There are two mountain bike stages. The first is 33 km to the Qasr Al Sarab. The second is 55 km along a desert trail. Bus transportation takes the adventure racers to the nights bivouac location at Jebel Hafeet, near Al Ain city.

Day 6: Trekking, Mountain Biking and Running. The 21 km trek takes the adventure athletes on an ascent of 700m up the Jebel Hafeet mountain and includes an element of climbing with ropes. From there its a 37 km mountain bike ride into the city of Al Ain Oasis. The last section of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2009 is a 3.2km run to the finish line, at the Al Ain Museum.

Where would you rather be? Biking, running, kayaking and swimming in the scorching hot desert sun or going for a bracing hike in the snow in the UK? Let us know…click on the comments link at the bottom of this post!

The 700 m ascent of Jebel Hafeet Mountain. Photo credit Monica Dalmasso.

If the hot desert environment of Abu Dhabi takes your fancy, you might also be interested in hiking in Afghanistan or taking part in the Marathon Des Sables adventure desert race in the Sahara.

10 Interesting Facts about Abu Dhabi

1. Abu Dhabi is located on the Arabian Gulf, Abu Dhabi is one of the seven United Arab Emirates (See map below.)
2. The main hub of the city of Abu Dhabi is located on a island, 250 m from the mainland.
3. In 2006 the population of Abu Dhabi emirate was just under 1.5 million people.
4. The majority of the inhabitants are expatriate workers and it is relatively tolerant of different religions.
5. Alcohol can be purchased in bars and restaurants within four or five star hotels.
6. Abu Dhabi is twinned with Bethlehem, Brisbane, Houston, Madrid and Minsk.
7. Abu Dhabi is one of the locations where the Red Bull International Air Race where is held.
8. There are frequent sandstorms in the summer months and the temperature often exceeds 35°C.
9. The city of Al Ain is a desert oasis, located 93 miles (150 km) from Abu Dhabi, it is a favourite resort destination for people from the capital.
10. Each Abu Dhabi resident uses 550 litres of water per day on average.

View Larger Map

Thanks to Kraig Becker at the Adventure Blog for bringing the Abu Dhabi Adventure Race event to my attention.

Carl Loftus practising adventure running at the Winter Hill Fell Race.

We are always interested to hear from people of are taking on an outdoor related challenge to raise money for their favourite cause. We were recently contacted by tri-athlete Carl Loftus, of Warrington Tri Club, who is planning to do a bit of adventure running…

Running The Standstone Trail

The sandstone trail in Cheshire stretches from Whitchurch to Frodsham and takes in 34 miles of stunning scenery including Beeston Castle, Rawhead, Delamere and finally the Mersey view at Frodsham. And I’m going to run it all in one day!

Warrington Triathlon Club

The reason behind this is to raise money for a new junior section of Warrington Triathlon Club. The club started in 2004 and has steadily grown over the years, with club members representing Great Britain in the world championships for the last four years, we’ve also had regional champions and recently one of the club’s coaches was voted North West coach of the year. Last year we held our first open race, The Northwich Aquathlon. This was primarily a junior race, catering for ages 7 to adults. With almost one hundred competitors the event was considered a great success, and it was this enthusiasm from the participants that convinced us that the club should have our own junior section.

To get things off to a good start for the junior club we will need some financial backing and in order to do this Warrington Tri Club are going to be holding a few fund raising events. One of these will be my attempt to run the length of the sandstone trail. Having completed the Sandstone trail race a number of times, which, at 17 miles is only half of the distance, I have always fancied having a go at doing the whole thing. The incentive to raise money for the junior club is just the push that I’ll need.

Trail Running: Carl Loftus from Warrington Tri Club.

I came to the triathlon club in 2006 with a background in running and have done some landmark races including the London Marathon twice. Although this is a road race I have always been attracted to the off road side of things and have often found myself scrambling up hills or wallowing in mud on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I have been building up for this race by entering a few long fell races including the Windgather fell race, and the Winter Hill race, but none of them are as long as this!

Due to the race being so long I will probably have other club members running with me for sections along the way and hopefully they will bring extra supplies to keep me going throughout. I hope to complete the full length of the trail in around six hours but this is really an estimate, as I have never run this far before. The weather will probably play a big part in the run too as I will be attempting it at the end of February 2010. So mud and rain will probably play a large part in the post event discussions and whether people are going to be running it with me.

Can you help?

Running the 34 mile off-road Sandstone Trail is certainly going to be tough challenge! If you are interested in sponsoring or supporting Carl in his fund raising efforts, please contact him at Warrington Tri Club: warringtontri@yahoo.co.uk

The Khumbu Icefall at Everest Base Camp is the destination for Khumbu teams 1,2 & 3. Source: Flickr by mckaysavage

The Royal Navy Khumbu Challenge is currently under way in the Nepal Himalaya. This is particularly special expedition, since it is the inaugural expedition for Project Fortitude. Project Fortitude is a Royal Navy / Royal Marines initiative which will help service personnel who have been physically injured or who are suffering from psychological injuries. Through Adventure Training, Sport and Challenging Activities Project Fortitude can bring “Opportunity, Challenge, Focus, and Belonging” to injured personnel, which will help with long term rehabilitation. The Khumbu Challenge was officially launched last year by Prince Harry.

Exercise Khumbu Challenge

Five teams are taking part in Khumbu challenge: the Main Team, High Altitude Development Team and Khumbu teams 1 ,2 & 3, with the support of the Rear Link Office in Khatmandu. Altogether there will be 88 personnel taking part in the challenge, about 18 of whom have been injured or traumatised in Iraq or Afghanistan and who are undergoing rehabilitation. Khumbu is the name of the region in the Nepal Himalaya where the exercise is taking place.

The main team arrived in Nepal on the 23rd of September. The aim for the main team is to climb Ama Dablam (6,812 m), which will involve rock climbing, ice climbing and mixed rock and ice climbing. The name Ama Dablam means “Mother and Pearl Necklace.” The main team are all experienced climbers.

Khumbu Challenge Main Team will climb Ama Dablam, one of the most challenging climbs in the Himalaya. Source: Flickr by stevehicks.

The High Altitude Development Team are in the Khumbu to gain experience of high altitude climbing. They will be climbing the summits of Island Peak (6,182 m), Pokalde (5,806 m) and Lobuche East (6,117 m).

Khumbu teams 1, 2 & 3 include personnel who are undergoing rehabilitation. They will be trekking to Everest Base Camp (5,600 m) and climbing to the summit of Kala Pattar (5,545 m), which offers excellent views of Mount Everest and a 360-degree panorama of peaks including Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Kantenga, Thamserku, Tawatse, Pumo Ri, and Changtse.

For Khumbu teams 1, 2 and 3 the challenge will last about three and half weeks in total. Expeditions up to high altitude require acclimatisation in order to prevent altitude sickness. This means that when increasing altitude it is necessary to take rest days. These rest days do not include strenuous activity and only small increases in altitude. Therefore not every day will be a day of hiking.

After flying into Kathmandu, the journey to Khumbu begins with a scenic flight into Lukla airstrip, which is at altitude of 2804 m. From Lukla the hiking can commence. The administrative centre of the Khumbu region is a village called Namche Bazaar (3440 m), which is also at the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park.

It will take nine days of trekking and acclimatisation to reach Everest Base Camp from Namche Bazaar. Below Namche Bazaar there are pine forests, climbing above Namche Bazaar the scenery becomes more mountainous with less greenery. Climbing higher the scenery becomes more rocky and mountains, with snow, glaciers and moraine. Everest Base Camp is situated at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall.

Typical Himalayan Mountain Scenery. Source: Flickr by mckaysavage.

The settlement of Gorak Shep, high in the Himalayas. Source: Flickr by mckaysavage.

Exercise Khumbu Challenge will doubtless be a tough and awesome experience for all personnel involved! Good luck to all taking part!

More details about mountaineering Exercise Khumbu Challenge can be found on the KC09 Website.

With plenty of walking events in September, don't give your boots a rest yet! Source Flickr By Dave Masters

It may seem strange to be writing about Walking Festivals in September, but with a number of events being held nationwide this month, its not quite time for you put your boots away just yet!

Walking Festivals are an excellent way for people to get involved in walking, test equipment, meet fellow walkers and build up life long friendships.

Walking Festivals differ in size and duration and will offer a range of walks and tours for differing levels of walkers, all festivals should offer guided walks or walking tours, so they are ideal for inexperienced walkers and will allow you to practice your navigation skills in the care of experienced group leaders. For the more adventurous some festivals offer unguided walks. Please note different events have different booking procedures, some are turn up on the day others are book in advance so I have included links to organisers.

General Guidelines for Walking

Walking Festivals will have their own guidelines and it is your responsibility to ensure that you know them, some general tips are:

• Make sure the routes you go on suit your experience and level of fitness.
• Use an Ordnance Survey map. You may also need a compass.
• Wear suitable attire, walking boots/shoes and bring waterproofs jackets and trousers.
• Make sure people know where you are planning to walk, your estimated time of arrival and contact them when reach you destination.
• If you allowed to take you dog make sure they are under your control at all times.
• If going out on a longer walk take some refreshments.
• Take your litter home

UK Walking Events in September

1. Wales Valleys Walking Festival

05-20 September:
This is the fifth time this festival has been staged and all walks are free of charge although they need to be booked three days in advance.

Situated in the valleys to the North of Cardiff in South Wales, the festival offers walkers the chance to see spectacular views of the Vale Of Glamorgan, glimpse into Britain’s industrial history with walks and tours of early industrial sites as well as looking at further back, such as Norman Castles and Prehistoric Burial Mounds. For those more nature orientated there are a number of wildlife and country side management walks, and on the 6th September a sponsored walk for Breast Cancer research.

Visit The Wales Valleys Walking Festival Site

2. Bedfordshire Walking Festival

05 – 13 September:
This is the first “walking” of this festival, which has over 60 walks that are primarily aimed at people who enjoy easy to moderate walks, walk for health or are new to walking. For lovers of severe walks do not despair as their is a 40 mile 3 day ramble for you. Bedfordshire is a small county with a varied landscape, including woodland and chalk hills. There are also many interesting towns and villages.

Walks are free, although you can make a donation if you want to. All walks are lead by local volunteers who are members of the Ramblers Association.

Visit The Bedfordshire Walking Festival Site

3. Pendle Walking Festival

05 – 13 September:
The Pendle walking festival has over 80 free guided walks from easy to challenging. They include the Pendle Witches Walk and the Pendle Three Peaks Challenge and new for 2009 the 45 mile Pendle Way over four days. My particular favourite walks in this festival are the pub to pub walks.

Pendle situated in between Manchester and Leeds and in its own right is a stunning area, being located within easy distance of the Lake District and Bronte Country, it is often forgotten. But a visit to the area will soon have you wanting to go back as there are many country walks and activities.

Find out more about the Pendle Walking Festival

4. South Pennines “Walk & Ride” Festival

12 – 27 September:
This is the second staging of this event and it has over 100 activities that range from walks, info walks, cycle trails and horse riding straddling the Yorkshire/Lancashire border.

Most events are free of charge and do not require advance booking, however due to the size of the event you will need to make sure of this yourself, by consulting the website. Activities take place across the South Pennines from Rochdale to Otley and for a small taste there is a historic pub tour of Rochdale, An exploration of witchcraft in the Pendle Hills and tours of Bronte Country (Howarth). With easy access to the areas involved if you are stuck for something to do in September this is ideal.

Visit The South Pennines “Walk & Ride” Festival Site

5. Coniston Walking Festival

25 – 27 September:
This three day festival is based around Coniston and has a number of walks, pony treks, lectures and films. Check out the website for prices and booking.

The festival has guided walks lead by Leo Holding and Rebecca Stevens, which will be enjoyable and informative. Rebecca Stevens is also giving a lecture on her adventures being the first British woman to climb Everest as well as being the first British woman to climb the highest mountain on each continent.


Visit The Coniston Walking Festival Site

6. Kielder Walking Festival

05 – 13 September:
This is second time this event has been staged and operates in Kielder Water & Forest Park, located between Newcastle and Carlisle on the England/Scotland Border. Kielder Water & Forest Park is the largest man made water and forest park in Northern Europe. There are a number of guided tours and unguided walks of different length and severity. Make sure that you are well prepared especially as petrol is not available within the park.

The park also features plenty of other activities that can be enjoyed by all, such as wildlife, including a family of Ospreys an observatory, horse riding.

Visit the Kielder Water & Forest Park Site

7. Scottish Borders Walking Festival

05 – 13 September:
This festival has over 60 walks ranging from easy to strenuous with many other social events based around Jedburgh and Hawick. Be warned you four legged friend is not allowed on any of the walks and there may be charges for walks and activities.

This aim of this years festival is to take you back in history along famous reiving routes and will fill you with stories of the conflicts that for three hundred years made the borders almost lawless.

With workshops on Nordic and Fire Walking, a musical on reiving, treasure hunts and candle light walks through Jedburgh this festival will appeal to the all.

Visit The Scottish Borders Walking Festival Site

The Location Of Festivals And In September

1.Wales Valley Walking Festival.
2. Bedfordshire Walking Festival.
3. Pendle Walking Festival.
4.South Pennines Walk & Ride.
5.Coniston Walking Festival.
6.Kielder Walking Festival.
7. Scotish Borders Walking Festival

Map Source: Wikipedia, By Equestenbrarum

This List Is Not Exhaustive

By no means is the above list detailing every event in September, your local walking association, council or tourist information will have information as to events close to you. If you know of any events please submit a comment with the walking event and links and we will post it for you.

In the meantime, Happy Walking!

Lost? The last confirmed sighting of the Ivory Billed Wood pecker was in 1987. Source: BirdFair 2009 YouTube Video.

In global terms, things continue to get worse – but there are some real conservation success stories this year to give us hope and point the way forward.

BirdFair 2009

The money from the BirdFair events from 2007, 2008 and 2009 is being used to help fund the Preventing Extinctions Programme. The emphasis on the 2009 part of the project has been called “Lost and Found.” Martin Davies of the RSPB, and co-organiser of BirdFair, explains on the BirdFair 2009 YouTube video (see below).

Extinction is forever. People say that, it sounds a bit like a joke, but it is absolutely true!

Of the 192 birds on the critically endangered birds list, it is not clear whether 45 of them are extinct or whether they still exist. In recent years, birds that were though to be extinct for 50 or 60 years have been re-discovered. The aim of Lost and Found is to raise the profile of these particular bird species in the hope that their existence can be verified and conservation work can begin in earnest. In addition to this, it is hoped that BirdLife will obtain more BirdLife Species Champions, that is, organisations and individuals who make a financial commitment to help conserve a particular bird species.

Lost and Found – Cebu Flowerpecker

Cebu Woodpecker Bird rediscovered in 1992. Source: BirdFair 2009 YouTube Video.

The Philippines is a country with 190 endemic and 600 migratory bird species. However, more than 200 Philippine birds are now included in the World Conservation Union’s red list of critically-endangered species. In addition to habitat loss and threats from non-native species, illegal hunting of birds in the Philippines is a major problem, as reported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Philippines. Due to these threats, the BirdFair funded conservation of bird species in the Philippines is particularly important, challenging and rewarding.

The story of Cebu Flowerpecker is living proof that by focusing our efforts and resources, we really can make positive difference for the world’s biodiversity. On reflection, this is a remarkable achievement, especially when you consider it’s driven by 20,000 birdwatchers standing around in a few fields in Rutland for a weekend.

Tim Appleton, of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, and co-organiser of BirdFair.

Other Bird species on the BirdFair 2009 Lost and Found list include:

• Ivory-billed Woodpecker
• Jamaican Petrel
• Hooded Seedeater
• Himalayan Quail
• Pink-headed Duck

Hopefully within a year or two there will be some very exciting news about these and the other Lost and Found bird species!

Other critically endangered bird species that BirdFair has helped to conserve include Rimatara Lorikeets, Gurney’s Pittas and the Albatross.

BirdFair 2009 YouTube Video

Tim Appleton and Martin Davies, organisers of BirdFair 2009 talk about BirdFair and the “Lost and Found” campaign.