24 articles
From day walks to long-distance trails: planning a route, estimating walking times, choosing kit and knowing the rules of protected areas.
A good walk often starts the night before, with a map spread across the kitchen table. This section helps you plan each outing: reading a map and making sense of waymarks, working out timings that allow for the ascent, judging how demanding a route really is, planning an escape route, and knowing where to find the official forecast. Every guide starts from a practical question, the kind you ask while packing, and answers it first.
Kit gets its share of attention, without the obsession. Walking boots, rucksacks, waterproofs and head torches: we explain how to read a spec sheet, what the advertised figures actually describe and which details matter for the way you walk. Those who weigh every tent peg will find ways to lighten the load; everyone else will find ways to stay dry without spending a fortune. To compare kit, we start from manufacturers’ published data and the relevant standards, and we cite our sources. When someone on the team has genuinely worn a piece of kit or followed a route, the article says so, and they tell it themselves.
Walking also means crossing land with its own rules. A national park, a nature reserve, a public forest or a private estate may treat dogs, fires, wild camping and straying from the path differently, and the picture shifts again on either side of the Scottish border. Every rule we cite links back to the official text or the land manager that sets it, with the date it was last checked, and we keep what is banned clearly apart from what is merely tolerated. For long-distance walks, our route guides gather the logistics: stages, huts and other places to stay, bookings, water and public transport. In the mountains, they stick to waymarked paths.
The section is written for first-timers and regular walkers alike. If you are just starting out, the basic guides explain how to pick a circular walk that suits you and what to carry for a day on the hills. If you are out most weekends, you will find more specialist subjects, from multi-day walks with everything on your back to the standards behind your kit. And whenever a figure matters, we tell you where it comes from.
HikingPractical guide
A blister comes from repeated rubbing, helped along by warm, damp skin. To avoid one: boots in the right size and already broken in, socks that stay dry, protection on the vulnerable spots and a stop at the first sign of heat. Here is what the studies have measured, often in soldiers or runners, and the NHS advice for a blister that’s already there.
Guillaume Hoarau··14 min
Elbow at a right angle, 0.68 or two-thirds of your height, 5 to 10 cm shorter uphill and longer downhill: the height chart and what the studies say.
Guillaume Hoarau··15 min
20, 30 or 40 litres? Suggested volumes by trip length and season, why two 35 L rucksacks differ, back length and the weight you shouldn’t exceed.
Guillaume Hoarau··13 min
OS Maps, Komoot, AllTrails, Outdooractive and Footpath compared: base map, offline downloads, GPX and prices in pounds, from publisher pages, November 2026.
Julien de Jurquet··10 min
Enter distance and ascent: the tool gives walking time by the simple calculation, DIN 33466 and Naismith’s rule, with the limits of each of them.
Julien de Jurquet··9 min
How to leave no trace on a walk: the 7 Leave No Trace principles, litter to take home, going to the loo outdoors, plants, wildlife and littering fines.
Nolwenn Bastide··12 min
Is mountain rescue free? Yes in England and Wales, and in France outside ski areas; in Switzerland or Austria, you pay. Rules checked in October 2026.
Arnaud Couderc··11 min
Ticks on a walk: how to cover up, where to check back home, how to remove one the NHS way and when to call your GP. Plus Lyme disease and the TBE vaccine.
Nolwenn Bastide··10 min
Cows with calves, a bull by the footpath, a guardian dog in the Alps: what the Countryside Code, the HSE and the law say, and the moves that keep you safe.
Arnaud Couderc··13 min
Walking with children: how many miles and hours at each age, back carriers, water, sun, altitude, and what to do if your child gets lost.
Guillaume Hoarau··13 min
How much water and food to take on a day walk: at least 1.5 litres each, drink before you feel thirsty, and eat a little at every stop.
Julien de Jurquet··9 min
Walking boots: low or high cut, flexible or stiff sole, the BMC’s B0 to B3 ratings, the A to D categories, crampons, fitting and breaking in.
Guillaume Hoarau··9 min
Plan a walking route you can trust: choose a reliable source, read a 1:25,000 OS map, check the GPX track and keep it offline, battery included.
Guillaume Hoarau··12 min
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