As you will all have noticed October is here now, the weather has cooled a little, its damp and the nights have really drawn in with the sun taking just a little bit longer before it decides to rise and shower us with its brilliance. One aspect of staying safe, particularly whilst you are out in the hills and mountains is having a form of lighting that will support you and enable you to be safe, should you over run a late afternoon walk or indeed if you are competent enough to be spending your time out night navigating. Everyone will typically have their own personal favourite ‘bits of kit’ an ..read more

After several telephone conversations, people details, an outline of the overall objectives and thoughts on location, I duly set to work in building a comprehensive day out for ‘Team Rock Fall’. The location chosen was the Peak District National Park, partially for the mix of fitness levels of the team, but equally as important was the location, which was ideal for the team travelling from Derby. So twin routes planned, one for the ‘fitter’ bunch and a more relaxing route for the more ‘casual’ walkers. My intention was to get the team as ‘far away psychologically’ from the constraints of w ..read more

Yes, I know, you will have to forgive me for the dreadfully tenuous play on words, but this is a topic that I think is worthy of mention, particularly as we all should be a little more ‘considered’ in our purchases, recycling and the ‘end of life’ extensions we can make to prevent waste! In this instance I wanted to talk about the very excellent Mountain King walking poles, and how they fit all the above criteria and more. The first point is that are manufactured within the UK, in Newcastle upon Tyne, which is great. It supports the local economy, it also means that once manufactured they are ..read more

Continuing our theme of simple tips, we just wanted to present a few simple ideas on how we chose to use our flask, that can save some degree of excess luggage and of course, help reduce the weight you might be carrying on a simple day out. Ingredients: · 1 x 1litre flask · 1 x freeze dried meal · 1 x packet coffee mix · 1 x long handled spoon Both Chris and I have used this methodology on numerous occasions and the beauty of it is in its simplicity. Using the flask of pre boiled water, when you arrive for your lunch stop, you can use approximately half of the contents to add to yo ..read more

This is a topic that usually divides the room. The ‘old guard’ will probably say, no need just line the rucksack with a decent quality bin liner and bingo, all of the troubles of wet gear are gone! But hold on to that thought for just a moment, what if you are one of the current breeds of outdoor swimmers? Where do you put your stuff after your dip in order not to get everything else in the rucksack damp too? Where do you locate those smelly wet socks when you have changed them after the unfortunate ‘bog hopping’ incident? For me, I am a big fan. Their versatility is the key point that makes t ..read more

So, June’s here, the Jubilee celebrations have been and gone and in one of my first outings to the Peak District National Park, I once again found myself thinking back to the home page introduction in May, where I talked around the benefits of brushing up (or even developing) some degree of Navigation competence. On Friday, whilst doing a ‘recce’ for some future clients, I ‘rescue’ a lost family who were out hunting for ‘Over Exposed’. For more details about that, have a visit to our blog page to get the full account. Continuing our theme of simple tips, we just wanted to present a few simple ..read more

positiveoutdoor365 ( Instagram ) The Jubilee Celebrations save of the day! I just wish people would have the common sense to understand that the Peak District can be a challenging environment, particularly if you have ZERO navigational skills….. rant over! I posted the above on Friday 3rd after a classic ‘save’ of a party with limited navigational competence! Here’s the other side of the story (my dilemma) to allow people to appreciate what happens when you f@ck up big time! After preventing them from following the Pennine way all the way to Torside,(and a taxi back to Snake summit no doubt ..read more

Mobile phone: The mobile phone that you carry with you can be useful for a multitude of things, most of which, you will already be familiar with. On a personal note, we chose not to use the mobile for navigating, as being ‘old school’, our preference is map and compass. If you use any of the navigational apps available,(and there are a number of very good one available) just be conscious of the fact that should you lose life in the phone, you potentially may have lost all contact with the outside world should you need assistance in terms of locating and recovering folk. The following a re just ..read more

Rucksack lid Contents: Essentials for ease of access as follows. · Hat & Gloves For cold weather a woolly hat can be a life saver, helping to retain body heat For sunny days a peaked cap will reduce the glare and prevent your head from over exposure to the sun Cooler days, simple lightweight glove or glove liners will suffice Wet or cold days, ensure you have a quality glove on board.( lightweight gloves are not easy to put on when hands are particularly wet & cold) · Single snack chocolate bar/biscuit When you get the ‘Rumble Tums’ its always good to have a snack immediately acc ..read more

Maps – OS or Harvey? Ordnance Survey maps offers either Explorer or Landranger format. · OS Explorer – excellent details, 1:25,000, great for detailed walking routes. · OS Landranger – Great for bigger area coverage but less details at1:50,000. If you are unsure which Map scale you would be comfortable with, why not follow this link for further details: Getoutside Ordnancesurvey Maps These Maps can be either paper maps or laminated. For the little extra cost we would advocate buying the waterproof laminated version. Harvey maps are all Laminated and cover most areas within the UK. · Superwal ..read more