Hints and tips: gear and where to buy it
|
menu
|
|
Home
|
Introduction
These pages gives you some hints and tips about walking in lowland Britain, with a few ideas on what else you need to do before venturing into highland areas. If you live in east London, it also tells you about local suppliers.
Please treat this as ‘starter’ information for lowland walking in good conditions. As you progress to more difficult country you will increasingly need more specialised gear. Wild country walking, even on recognised trails, is a hazardous activity and it is essential to be well equipped and well prepared. These notes do not cover this aspect in any detail.
Also see: getting fit, eating and drinking
What to wear
Footwear
In lowland England
I often wear fabric boots that cost under £30 in 2005 from the Hawkshead mail order catalogue (pictured) . If it
is going to be very wet or rough underfoot, a leather boot, or fabric boot
with waterproof lining, is a better option, and essential in highland areas. Scarpa served me well over many years, but after my second pair wore out in
2005, to my surprise I replaced them with Raichle
Mountain Trail GTX - surprising, because I had intended to buy another
non-Goretex boot, but there are few of these on the market now, and none
readily available that fitted me well. (Never, ever buy a boot that is
less than a perfect fit.) I've been very pleased indeed with their
performance so far - first serious use on Dolgellau to
Capel Curig in Snowdonia on my cross-Wales walk.
Wellington boots, town shoes, or anything made by Doc
Martens, are entirely unsuitable. Trainers can be OK in lowland areas as
long as it is dry (which vast areas of clay-drained Essex rarely are).
One of my most recent
kit additions is a pair of Teva
sandals, designed for serious outdoor use. I wouldn’t use them on the most
rugged paths, but they took me happily up a Pyrennean foothill in summer
2002.
With a boot,
a calf-length walking sock will keep mud off your trousers and stop your
feet sweating up. I use Smartwool
, made from merino wool – best I’ve ever had. Sports
socks are OK with trainers. With Tevas, just the bare
skin.
Trousers or leggings
Obviously do not wear anything that you mind
getting mucky. Purpose-made walking trousers have the best combination
of quick-drying fabric, cut and pockets. Track suit bottoms are OK as long
as there is not a piercing wind (so no good for upland areas). Jeans
become very heavy after rain and take ages to dry. Shorts are fine if the
weather is warm but can be a (real) pain if the path is overgrown with
brambles or nettles.
Layering
Three thin layers
insulate the body much better than one thick one, and are more adaptable
too - this is a cardinal rule of serious walking (though challenged now
by the arrival of 'soft shell' gear, not covered here). In any reasonably mild
weather, especially in lowland Britain, don’t wear too much – walking
keeps you warm.
This starts next to the skin with the base layer. Most people
have thin cotton tee shirts - alas cotton gets damp quickly. Much better to invest a few pounds
more in a wickable base layer that moves condensation quickly away from the
skin. I often spend a whole day (apart from stops) in just
one layer, a wickable tee.
Next
comes a fleece jacket, all but essential for highland areas or in
cold weather. This will give warmth but you will still need to stop wind
or rain. For this you should carry waterproof and breathable trousers
and jacket. In an emergency, anything nylon will do, but worn for long you
will get very sweaty. Look for ‘breathable’ fabrics like Gore-Tex, which let moisture escape.
These can be
expensive but one day in the wet will convince you of their worth. You
should view walking in the rain as nothing more than an inconvenience.
Hats
Hats keep off strong sun and light showers. In cold weather, they
stop a great deal of heat being lost through the head. Best non-winter hat
in the world is the Tilley
hat, but there are many imitations. Wintertime, cover your
ears.
Equipment
Equipment can be split into two main categories - that which aids the
walk,
and that which is essential from a safety point of view. OK, you’re not too
likely to be inaccessible to a rescue team on the London Loop, but it’s
always good to get into good habits. You need to be able to guard against
emergencies like getting lost (easy) and incapacitated (requires more
talent).
Rucksack
Your rucksack should be big
enough to carry all your spare clothing and food. Put everything in a bin
liner or similar because no rucksack is waterproof. Do not carry anything
in your hands whatsoever. Hip belts help take the weight off your spine.
On day walks, one of the best things about walking with a partner is that
you can take one rucksack between you and take turns in carrying it!
Map
A map is essential not only for route finding but also to add to
the enjoyment of a day in the country. Why? Because with experience, you
will find how a map lets you read the landscape. In the UK, Ordnance Survey maps are
the best known - use the Landranger (1:50,000) or Pathfinder (1:25,000)
series. Harvey's also make
excellent maps, designed especially for walkers. You will see that I
use computer-loaded Anquet
maps for route planning -
height and distance calculated for you by the PC,
plus the chance to exchange routes over the net.
Guide book
Most trails have dedicated guide
books. As OS and Harvey's maps are so good, exceptionally detailed route
descriptions can be a waste of space. They are perhaps most necessary in
urban areas, where it's all too easy to miss the footpath behind the row
of garages! The Long Distance Walkers'
Association handbook is a reference to guide books, and the Ramblers Association
site lists plenty too,
but it's worth doing a Google search for your
selected trail.
Compass
Take a Silva-type compass and know how
to use it - it can be essential even in lowland walking to check which
path one should take. Practice how to use a map and compass, including
walking on a bearing, in an area where you can't get lost like a large
park.
In due course, test how many strides you take for
every 100 metres, and get accustomed to how long it takes you to walk a
kilometre or mile, both over different types of ground.
Trekking poles
Only for the more difficult stuff. You look daft
using them in Essex or on the South Downs
Way. But across Wales they are wonderful. Mine
are by Leki and don't have the anti-shock device, hence giving a surer feel.
First aid kit
You should put together a small first aid pack with
plasters, antiseptic cream or wipes, and ibuprofen (best painkiller for
walks as it acts on strained muscles too - assuming you are tolerant to
it). Blister treatment - Compeed type is the best. Sun cream, in summer
months (approx early May to September in the UK, if you're lucky); also
midge repellent in Scotland.
Attracting attention
In highland areas a whistle and torch are essential
as is a bivouac bag or similar. Mobile phones are highly contentious
in the walking community. If you take one, be a considerate user - and
above all do not use it to call emergency services unless it really is a
matter of life or death.
Gear suppliers
National chains
Army
& Navy (that's the east London discount chain, not the
department store; there is a branch in Manor Park, just a few yards from
the start of the Centenary Walk), Milletts and
similar stores have basic equipment at cheap prices. Some of
it can be very good value. You might even track something down at
Argos or Aldi!
Places like Marks and Spencer can be worth
trying too, as are mail order suppliers like Hawkshead - though some of
their stock will have a greater emphasis on fashion than
practicality.
Specialist stores
You will not get
really good specialist gear suitable for sustained wild country walking,
sold by people who know what they are talking about, from any of these
places. For this, you need to look to a specialist.
Field & Trek are a major
national supplier with an extensive mail order facility. Their catalogue
is on sale seasonally at WHSmiths and they have Essex shops in Chelmsford
and Brentwood. Blacks are similar.
Snow & Rock, often thought
of as catering for the more technical end of the market, opened
a massive store in Romford in 2005.
It’s also worth looking in your area to see if there
is local specialist supplier around, such as John Pollock in Loughton;
they are also at
Barnet.
The central
London branches of all the major suppliers are centered around Holborn,
Covent Garden and Kensington High Street.