A few years ago Becca and I did our first mountain marathon together. We learned things and enjoyed it enough to do it again, and then again… Three years in and we may well have found the appropriate balance between challenge and enjoyment, but we still spent the journey home discussing successes, mistakes and what…
The big news in the outdoor equipment world in 2025 was the purchase of the Sheffield based outdoor clothing company Buffalo Systems by Ben Fogle and James Sleater. You can read more about this here – Â https://www.beyondtheedge.co.uk/buffalo-systems-reborn-and-revived/. As well as pledgeing to continuine manufacturing in Sheffield the new owners will be introducing new products and…
Choosing Gloves and Clothing for Scottish Winter Walking and Mountaineering As we head out into the hills this winter either for trekking, walking, mountaineering or climbing we need to make important decisions that will impact both our enjoyment and safety. We will check the weather and the avalanche forecast. Â We will prepare our maps and…
The clocks have gone back and suddenly the outdoors feels a little bit more intimidating. It’s colder, the winds bite more fiercely and of course it gets dark earlier and earlier as we approach the winter solstice. But with careful planning and packing we can continue to safely enjoy the moors, hills and mountains right…
European Animal Tracks Handbook Review A long while ago I lived and worked on the North Yorkshire Moors and in a small Pickering bookshop I spotted an intriguing book. It was a copy of Collins Guide to Animal Tracks and Signs by Preben Bang and Preben Dahlstrom. I promptly bought it and consequently spent my…
Toubkal Winter Mountaineering Kerry reflects on her highlights from our Toubkal expedition last December. Our next available expeditions are Saturday 3 – Saturday 10 January 2026 and Sat 12 – Sat 19 December 2026. Find out more here. For me the riad (hotel) in Imlil was a highlight of the trip, as where you’re…
The big news in the outdoor clothing world this summer has been the re-launch of Buffalo Systems. Buffalo is the legendary clothing system based on the arctic Inuit tradition of wearing animal fur clothing against the skin. Scottish mountaineer Hamish Hamilton replicated animal fur by using a thick fibre pile and he also invented Pertex…
Rab Evolute Hoody Review In my decades of climbing, walking and working in the outdoors I’ve been lucky enough to witness and also be part of a revolution in outdoor clothing and equipment. When I began climbing and mountaineering as a teenager the age of thick woolly jumpers, breeches and heavy cotton canvas smocks was…
Your meals and food on your Mountain Leader expeditions both for training and assessment expedition have a lot of boxes to tick: lightweight, portable, nutritious, easy to cook when the weather is poor and on a small stove, tasty and hopefully inspiring. Planning and preparing these meals is part of the process, and we really…
Outside Wins the Independent Retailer of the Year Award! Brilliant news from our favourite outdoor equipment shop; Outside in Hathersage has won two awards at the 2025 Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool. They won the coveted UK Independent Retailer of the Year 2025 and the 2025 Independent Retailer of the Year for Central UK. We…
Sungod Renegades There is always a dilemma with sunglasses; buy a cheap pair knowing that they will break at some point and that’s fine because they were cheap. Or buy an expensive pair and hope that you might look after them a bit better but knowing that eventually you will probably break or loose them…
Hill and Mountain Flapjack There are certain well established cliches in the outdoor world: a camper will have a mug (or frying pan!) hanging off their rucksack. A walker shall have a flask. Another is that outdoor people ie walkers, mountaineers, climbers and campers shall eat flapjack. Yes it’s definitely a clique but that’s not…