I once spent three hours in a sodden peat bog near the Cairngorms, squinting through a magnifying loupe at what I thought was a rare …
Wildflower Identification by Habitat First
Hot Weather Walking: Start Early, Finish Early
I remember a group I led back in 2014, halfway up a ridge in the Lake District, when the temperature spiked unexpectedly and the breeze …
Gloves: Always Carry a Second Pair
I once watched a group of otherwise capable walkers sit huddled on a scree slope in the Cairngorms, staring at their hands with a look …
The Complete Guide to Sleeping Warm Outdoors
I once spent a night huddled in a bivvy bag in the Cairngorms, shivering so violently I couldn’t even zip up my jacket, all because …
Camp Cooking That Does Not Need a Kitchen
I once watched a group of well-meaning hikers spend forty minutes trying to assemble a titanium gourmet kitchen set while a low cloud bank was …
Identifying Trees in Winter Without Leaves
I remember standing on a sodden ridge in the Cairngorms back in 2012, trying to explain to a group of increasingly shivering hikers that we …
The Complete Guide to Choosing a Tent
I remember sitting in a sodden valley in the Cairngorms, listening to the rhythmic thwack of rain hitting a cheap polyester flysheet that had promised …
Winter Kit You Should Not Carry Untrained
I remember a Tuesday in late November, somewhere on a north-facing slope in the Cairngorms, when the wind was screaming and the visibility had dropped …
The Repair Kit That Saves a Trip
I was halfway up a scree slope in the Cairngorms, the wind coming in sharp, freezing gusts that felt like they were stripping the skin …
Photographs Not Worth Taking
I remember sitting in the driving rain on a ridge in the Cairngorms three years ago, watching a photographer scramble over a scree slope just …