Hiking - Fat Girl Fit

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Hiking, Running, Sweden

Exploring The Beautiful Nature Reserves In Sweden

Sweden as a country is covered in 70% forest, which is 28 million hectares according to the Swedish Forest Industries Association. It also has almost 9% water coverage with over 95,000 lakes. You quickly get the picture I am painting that Sweden is like a natures playground and one of the reasons we fell in love with it.

When we arrived we quickly looked at where the local nature reserves and forests were and soon found we could download an app for our Kommun that is like a nature map and shows lots of information about cycle paths, hiking paths, canals, lakes and much more. This has become like our bible when deciding where we should explore next (and the dog loves it too).

Sjöbo-Knäppan

Sjöbo-Knäppan was the first that we visited in the height of winter and it was like a winter wonderland with everything covered in a white blanket of snow. It is on Lake Boren which is a short walk from where we now live.

The parking is limited but there are picnic areas, toilets, easy access to the lake for swimming (in warmer months) and the trails are all clearly marked with one being a boardwalk path in the trees.

Håleberget

Håleberget is our local favourite. We attempted to go in the winter but the steep winding road up to it that clearly had no one else make the attempt, judging by the snow, changed our plans. It is a short walk (two routes available) basically up to the top and then back but worth the views for sure.

The only thing I would say is that the road to the car park is single track with no real space to pass so in the summer when more people visit I would imagine this could be a problem?

Fålehagen

We actually looked at a house in the woods that is in the middle of one of the trails of Fålehagen forest and in the winter when we visited there were they were in the middle of putting in the ski lines for the winter cross country skiers.

At the car park there is a center where you can also hire skiis to use on the trails.

There are also MTB trails and frisby golf here, whilst it is also right next to Motala Golf Course.

Karshult

Karshult is round the corner to where we now live so super convenient. In the winter the fields that the trails pass were super deep with snow so made a short walk feel tougher than it should have!

Råssnäsudden

Råssnäsudden is very near Varamon beach (the largest fresh water beach in Europe) and a perfect short walk for our ageing dog. The trail follows the water line out to a small picnic area and back.

There is ample parking and there are also running tracks there too.

Omberg

We wild caped at Bokskogens when we went to Ekopark Omberg, which was a small area for 5 campervans that overlooked Lake Vattern. It was stunning with a short stairway to access the lake for swimming, fire pits, firewood, shelter and several picnic tables. We have cycled up Omberg on the Tjejvattern and Halvvattern events so had seen the stunning views from the top and the hiking and off road bike trails. We hiked from where we camped on the trails to Omberg Touristhotell, that we cycled past on the previously mentioned bike rides. We then hiked back into the park to the viewing station at the highest point of the park, Hjassan.

Tiveden

Tividen is hands down our favourite so far. We wild camped in our camper van at Sorangs Bergsjo fishing lake. It was a beautiful spot with a little jetty, fire pit, firewood, shelter and picnic table. We hiked the Trehorningsrundan trail, which was a 9.5km loop around the lake and stunning.

This is definitely one we want to go back and spend more time at but the walks are a little long for our doggo to join now.

Blå Lagunen Skanninge

So not a nature reserve but I had seen some videos of a stunning blue lagoon in Sweden and when I checked the location found it was only 12 miles from where we live. So……..it would have been rude not to explore and see if we can find it, and we did!

No car park as such but there is a layby on the nearby main road and it is a short walk on an easy trail to get to the lake. I will admit I was a little worried it would be one of those social media versus reality and we would arrive at a small grey puddle, but I am pleased to say I was wrong. We could see the lake through the trees as we approached and the colour was visible immediately (maybe more green than blue but still stunning)!

I am looking forward to exploring more of the natural beauty here!

Category: Fitness, Hiking

Ticking Off More Of the Wainwright Summits

When you have some holiday to use and a willing friend, the only answer as to whether we should book another trip to the Lake District to tick off some more of the Wainwright summits, is of course yes!

Accommodation

We chose to stay in Keswick again as it is such a central base for so much in the area. This time we stayed at 15 The Plosh and bonus it had two bathrooms and parking! If you know the area and most of the cottages that are available to book you will understand that having parking is such a benefit.

Kit Update

I had a few changes to my kit for this trip as below:

New boots and I went for the Merrell Accentor boots. I got these in Sweden and they are so comfortable and perfect if you have a wider foot. I always opt for Gore Tex just to make sure I am not caught out with wet feet as that is never fun, although on a couple of the walks I did end up with very wet feet!
Osprey Tempest 20 bag. I am a big Osprey fan when it comes to bags but I wanted one a little smaller and this is perfect although an easy to access pocket on the front strap for the phone would be good. I also struggled to get my bottle in and out of the side pouch without either taking off the bag or getting some help from my friend.
I got two new pairs of hiking leggings from Revolution Race and really impressed – my first leggings with pockets on the leg, which came in super handy, the fit was comfortable with no movement or having to adjust. I updated a previous post on hiking leggings with the details of these and you can read that here.
I borrowed my husbands trekking poles from Leki. He got these when he did the Half Marathon des Sables and I had got a cheaper pair to try (anything to help with the uphill) but they are in a packing box somewhere so I borrowed his. I am not sure if they did help but mainly because I am not sure I was using them to get the most benefit so need to practice a bit more I think.
Not quite kit but after doing a lot of consecutive long days we added a bottle of coke to our bags for a little added sugar/red ambulance if we felt it was required at the top of the summits (and after starting this I found I always returned back with an empty bottle)! Obviously another bottle of liquid is added weight for what could already be a heavy bag but I find I get bored of electrolytes very quickly and sometimes you want something else aside from water after multiple hours.

What Wainwrights Did We Complete This Time Round?

We actually made really good progress on this trip. We came this time having completed 27 summits previously and we left increasing the total to 57, which included:

Armboth Fell
Bakestall
Bessyboot
Binsey
Bleaberry Fell
Brae Fell
Brandreth
Carl Side
Fleetwith Pike
Gowbarrow Fell
Great Cockup
Great Sca Fell
Great Mell Fell
Grey Knotts
Hay Stacks
High Rigg
High Seat
High Tove
Little Mell Fell
Little Sca Fell
Ling Mell Fell
Longland Fell
Long Side
Lonsdale Fell
Meal Fell
Raven Crag
Rosthwaite Fell (Bessyboot)
Scafell Pike
Skiddaw
Skiddaw Little Man
Ullock Pike
Whinlatter

Best and Worst Of This Trip

Least Favourites:

Fleetwith Pike – we started by Gatesgarth Farm and it is clearly signed. You pass a white cross, which thankfully I did not know the meaning of before we started the ascent – it is a memorial for Fanny Mercer who fell from the top and died. This route is more direct, I believe, but it is a lot of scrambling and false summits although I was thankful to the cloud coverage as it meant I could not see the full extent of it. I am not a scrambler and I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest, which was coupled with my Garmin watch unhelpfully telling me I was at threshold heart rate – no sh*t!
Skiddaw – we ascended up the northern approach from Long Side. It was very steep and very loose underfoot with shingle, slate, scree, gravel. I had a meltdown as I felt like everything I stepped on or reached to hold moved, there were tears and my friend Lee guided me across the path to where there were some better stable rocks to use as hand holds. Poor Max (one of Lee’s dogs who hike these routes with us) came down to check on me and I snapped at him to go away (I apologised at the top).
Scafell – we didn’t manage to tick this summit off as our route went from Ling Mell Fell to Scafell Pike and then over via Mickledore. Mickledore is a grade 1 scramble and we ended up going down to Foxes Gyll but I did not have the confidence or nerve to climb up the Gyll so unfortunately we ended up having to go back up Mickledore and trace our route back.

Favourites:

Raven Crag – the steps up to the view and the sunset through the trees as we descended was super pretty.
Scafell Pike – this is the highest point in England and one that I wanted to tick off for a long time so was super pleased to get this one done even if the steps back down to Wasdale were a killer on the knees!

How Did We Get On By The End

This trip covered:

92 miles hiked
over 27,000ft of climbing
one instance where I nearly got taken out by a sheep
3 walks where I had a cry (I need to work on this)
30 Wainwrights ticked off the list

This takes our total now to 57/214 so made a really decent dent but a lot left to do! We actually met a man who was running some of the fells and he had completed the full list at the start of May but said it had taken him over 8 years to complete when he was further away from the area and that he had moved to the West coast and since then completed the remaining half in one year!

What Next?

You know when you look at kids and they have no fear? I feel like since I hit 40 I get more fear every year. I had multiple times when completing these Wainwrights where I don’t think I can do it, don’t want to look down, panic before I even start a scramble, huff and puff my way up and find the descent harder. My head almost always wins and I need to work on that and my confidence.

But for now, I need to rest my very very very very very tired legs and feet!

Category: Cycling, Hiking, Running, Sweden, Van Life

What Is There To Do On The Göta Canal In Sweden

The house we have purchased in Sweden is a 5 minute walk to Lake Boren, which joins part of The Göta Canal, also known as ‘Sweden’s Blue Ribbon’.

This morning is the annual docking at the dry dock where the boats go out for the season. This is a 200 year old tradition where they add the water to the dry docks where boats are stored and there just so happens to be a cafe next to it, Mallboden, that sells tasty food whilst you watch it all unfold and they were actually the ones that told us about the docking today.

A Bit About The Göta Canal

The canal was historically the main waterway from the east to the west, starting at Söderköping on the east coast. The canal navigates some of the gorgeous Swedish countryside and goes past Lakes Roxen and Boren before joining the Vattern.

We knew of the canal from our previous visits to Motala to see friends and participate in the Vatternrundan bike ride. Now we have moved here and been exploring we were intrigued as to how far the canal is and where it goes.

The canal has 58 locks over the 190km distance that it spans and there is a lot to see and do with full information on this website. Given the distance of the canal this means that it also boasts the longest avenue of trees with circa 10,000 trees and as they need replacing there are around 50 trees per year planted by sponsors and should you be interested in being a sponsor you can find more info here.

What Can You Do On The Göta Canal?

You can hike and cycle the towpaths or take a boat along the canal and even better it is completely car free!

There are events on the canal, including:

guided bike ride or you can hire bikes or ride your own and there are routes available here
boat trips on the canal and on the lakes that it passes
cruise on the canal over 3 days
rent a kayak or canoe
Kanallopet run in May with options for 5km, 10km or half marathon distances
stand up paddle boarding (and in the past there was a race for this, which could return)
part of the canal had an event for skiers in the winter as a one day event

There are many food and drink stops too, that include:

Mallboden – their tarta Flambé is one of our favourites and they also have a few pitches for motorhomes right next to the canal as well as hostel accommodation
Camarda – this is an Italian deli, which is on our list to visit but comes highly recommended
Cafe Baltzar – this is located in an old shipyard, which also has shopping and above a museum
Tva Sma Hus – this is located where the canal joins the Vattern and a perfect stop for an ice cream
There are many more to choose from here and I would love any recommendations you might have!

More Info…

There is a lot of information about the canal available on the West Sweden website here.

You can also divert from the canal to neighbouring towns to explore, for example it is 24km from Tividen National Park, which is one of the favourites we have visited here so far.

Category: Fitness, Hiking, Product Reviews

What Hiking Leggings Are Best?

We all have favourite kit and honestly this is one of those things that is personal preference – I prefer hiking leggings to trousers as I find they give me better range of movement when both hiking and also climbing and scrambling.

And yes I do have my favourites but here is an honest review of some that I have tried and tested:

North Face – Women’s Mountain Athletic Leggings – £50. I have a lot of their clothing (tshirts, fleeces and jackets) and always a fan, however, the leggings were not great (at all). They were very poor fitting and too big in some places and snug in others. There was a lot of movement when hiking and I had to pull up and readjust a lot (like constantly), which is far from ideal. Unfortunately not a pair I would use for hiking, like I recently did in the Lake District, probably more for local short dog walks.
Columbia – Hike Leggings – £35. These were nice fitting, with a little movement but nothing too much. I did slip over on a descent wearing this and ended up with a very wet backside, which stayed wet for a very long time – this may sound odd but others that wick better will dry quicker.
Berghaus – Aether Leggings – £45. Really comfortable and no movement at all. Was a little worried when I received them as they looked very small but they were fine and material was super wicking too.
Rab – Flux Pants – £45. These are my go to leggings. They are super comfortable, no movement and have withstood a lot of scrambling and rock surfaces where I use my backside as a crampon! Plus they wick quickly when wet.
Rab – Skyline Tights – £70. These are more robust than the others and feel slightly warmer with a little compression. They also have zips at the ankle should you need to adjust for socks/boots.
Revolution Race – Energy High Waist – £69 – a friend of mine recommended this brand and since moving to Sweden (they are a Swedish company) I see it everywhere so figured why not. Their about them says they are the hikers who got tired of overpriced, badly fitting clothes and honestly from a few wears they have done a great job in my opinion. No movement, super comfortable, pockets on the legs, which considering all the leggings I have this was a first and now a must going forward!
Revolution Race – Summit Core – £75 – more robust feeling than the above pair from the same brand but all the same excellent qualities plus more. These have reinforced knees, which is great as I tend to be more of a nervous scrambler and often use my knees and bum!

And for tops I wear a lot of my mountain biking clothing as it is comfortable, breathable, wicks really well and does the job perfectly!

I also regularly look at the Fjallraven clothing but the pricing is a little wowsers – I would be interested to know from anyone who has tried and tested them if they are worth the investment? I did invest in a winter coat from them when I moved to Sweden and have a warm beanie for the snowy months, both of which are amazing, plus I have a couple of bags.

Category: Fitness, Hiking

Back To The Lake District For More Wainwright Hiking

Last year I put up a post about how a friend and I had decided we would start to try and tick off some of the Wainwright fells in the Lake District (you can read that here). Last week we went back for more!

Why Go To The Lake District?

Super easy question! If you like being outdoors you can’t go wrong! The Lake District is one of those places that is picture perfect around almost every turn.

It is, however, somewhere with unpredictable weather and often referred to as one of the spots in the UK with the most rain so need to be ready to adapt your plans and keep checking the forecast! The plus side of it being somewhere with a lot of rain means it is very green and lush and when there is a lot of water the waterfalls are in full force and lakes full.

You can also spot a red squirrel although we were not so lucky.

If hiking the fells is not for you there are many outdoor activity centres with different things on offer and of course many lakes to walk around that do not include the climbing and are most suitable for prams and wheelchairs when using the paths.

Accommodation

Last time we stayed in a yurt but as we were staying for longer this time we thought it might be good to have a proper bed, bathroom and facilities to wash kit so we opted for a cottage in Keswick. We stayed in Crag Cottage with Sally’s Cottages and it was very central so we could walk to everywhere in town. There is no onsite parking so you do need to leave your car in the nearby car park but the cost of this, for one car, is included in the booking cost.

Keswick has a number of outdoor stores so if you need any additional kit there is plenty of choice and many a nice pub too to refuel post hike!

How Dog Friendly Is It?

I didn’t take our dog as she is 13.5 years old now and the walks would be too long and too tough for her but my friend took her two cockers and they loved it!

I would also note that almost all shops and pubs we went were dog friendly, which is nice, some had towels for muddy paws, dog menus and all had fresh water and treats too.

You will see other dogs on the walks and if you are unsure check the route out online and see as there are some ridges where people do not advise taking dogs – it is more commons sense. If you do walk with the dogs just be conscious of your surroundings and signs for farm animals – it was lambing season when we were there so there were a lot of signs asking for dogs to be kept on leads.

Planning A Route

I mentioned in my previous post that we had found the website from The Walking Englishman, which includes routs to tick off multiple summits across a number of walks as well as the GPX file. We did have a Garmin GPSMAP 66ST to load the routes on to but also our phones and both had the Ordnance Survey app we could load the route to as well.

I will fully admit that my friend Lee was master navigator and was amazing as we found with the some of the routes that they were not sticking to paths and we did not want to trespass across farmer land so needed to adapt and also quite a few times we found there was no path, which was interesting!

Kit

In my last post I listed my kit and it was pretty much the same, however, I think for next time I will look to downsize my backpack. I have an Osprey Radial, which is 26 to 34 litres as it can expand and I love this bag – really comfortable and great for hiking, cycle commuting and everyday use. However, I found that I didn’t need this much space for my kit and so when I was scrambling there was a bit of movement. As someone who is not the most confident when scrambling, movement in the bag did not help so I think next time I may look to invest in one slightly smaller but ensure I can still fit the essentials.

Photo credit to https://www.instagram.com/songasport/

What Progress Did We Make?

This time round we completed 16 more, including the following:

Allen Crags
Barf
Broom Fell
Dodd
Fellbarrow
Glaramara
Graystones
Kirk Fell
Latrigg (sunrise hike)
Ling Fell
Lords Seat
Low Fell
Rannerdale Knotts (sunset hike)
Sale Fell
Seathewaite Fell
Walla Crag

We covered over 53 miles and over 15,000ft of climbing. This takes our total now to 27/214 so still a very long way to go!

Category: Hiking, Van Life

The Camper Van Goes To The Isle Of Wight

We are always up for any excuse to have a weekend away in the van. Plus weekends away mean minimal holiday days need to be used allowing more time to go away over the year!

The crossing to Isle of Wight, with Wight Link, has several options for routes including:

Lymington to Yarmouth (40 minutes)
Portsmouth to Fishbourne (45 minutes)
Portsmouth to Ryde (22 minutes although this route is not for cars and only foot passengers and cyclists)

Booking the ferry was easy online, I downloaded the app, which gives a QR code for quick check in on arrival, however, the registration of the vehicle was recognised and we were through very easily. On the way back we were early and offered to go on the ferry due before us (they departed once an hour). Staff were very friendly and accommodating and it was good to see all the dogs on the crossing – we were not sure how April would be as she has never been on a boat and not the best with some floors but she seemed to love it! There was a poster on the ferry that estimated there would be 4.6 million passengers during 2023.

We had booked to pitch the camper van at Grange Farm in Brightstone. We managed to get a pitch right near the edge of the campsite overlooking the sea. We had an electric hook up grass pitch. The site had really good facilities with toilets, showers – even a bath which we have never seen before on a campsite, and more for kids including two playgrounds. There were also goats, pigs, alpacas and rabbits everywhere! They also have two street food options onsite – one offers breakfasts, fish and chips and drinks and the other wood fired pizzas. There is also a shop with loads to offer and you can pre order fresh pastries and breads the day before for collection the following morning. Staff here were lovely and couldn’t be more helpful.

You could walk directly from the farm down to the beach and walk along the front and it is located on Military Road, which stretches from Freshwater to Blackgang. The road has scenic sea views for the entire stretch.

There is so much to see and do on the Isle of Wight and something for everyone. We managed to pick a weekend where there were a few things going on:

an ultra walking/running challenge on where participants were completing a route the circumference of the island, which is 106km in total, either over 1 or 2 days
a cycling event much the same as the above with different distances on offer including the full 100km or the 55km option
a beer festival at the steam railway

We did a lot of hiking, found a delightful tea room called Tandem Team Room serving a lot of fresh homemade cakes and is also a B&B.

There are so many walking routes and friendly faces in local pubs. Some of the footpaths were not as maintained as we thought they would be, but roads are not overly busy – the coastal path was lovely with stunning views.

Of course I had to take the opportunity to visit the Mermaid Bar and will admit until we were there this weekend, I actually had no idea that this gin was made in the Isle of Wight.

If you are interested in a short break off the coast of England with stunning landscapes, beaches, and something for everyone young and old the Isle of Wight is definitely one to check out. The Isle of Wight is also very camper van friendly and we didn’t have an issue navigating any roads or parking. It does follow the same rules as mainland England so wild camping is not allowed unless you have specific permission from a land owner.

This was the third time I had been to Isle of Wight – once when I was at school, once when our son was younger and now this trip. We will definitely return!

Ferry crossing was gifted but all opinions are my own.

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Hiking

Christmas Gift List Ideas

I am not sure about you but I hate when people ask me for ideas for Christmas or Birthday presents as it is like a tap has been turned on and all ideas I previously had disappear!

I do, however, have some gift ideas that I can recommend and you may find useful.

The new book from GCN and Mark Beaumont, The Complete Guide to Cycling, £16.99. I have reviewed this book and you can read what I thought here.
One of the bottles on offer from Hydrate M8, whether it be a water tracker bottle or an insulated bottle now we are in cooler months. You can use discount code _FAT_GIRL_FIT_ for 20% off your purchase.
Big Bobble Hats, a firm favourite of mine and you can never have enough! You can use discount code FATGIRLFIT20 for 20% off your purchase.
Winter cycling cap – I have one from Rapha though they are no longer made but this Stolen Goat hat looks very similar and they are fab in the winter months when out in the elements, £35.
Queens of Pain, Legends & Rebels of Cycling book, £25. An inspirational read about female cyclists over the years.
Kapz customised headset caps. I have one of these that says Fat Girl Fit (in pink of course) and it is a fab subtle customisation to any bike. They also have stock designs, all from £18.95.
VeloPac Ride Pac from £20. I have had these on my gift guides before but they are fab and I am a huge fan so here it is again!
Fleece – it’s definitely fleece season and I am here for it, so any fleece. I recently got this one, which is very retro!
Five Tens MTB shoes from the Breast Cancer campaign, £130. I recently got these and they’re the usual Five Tens fab shoes and have pink and boobies on them – what’s not to love!
Ordnance Survey Maps – of like me you like to be outdoors this shop is like a treasure trove including custom maps that you can find here and they currently have 15% off too!

Happy Christmas shopping!

Category: Fitness, Hiking

Hiking The Wainwright Fells

I’ve said before to surround yourself with like minded individuals. I’ve been injured recently and to keep my knee mobile I have been walking a lot and so when a friend and I discussed doing more of that and the subject of walking the Wainwrights came up we both said yes without needing to think about it.

We soon got to planning how and when we would start and I am writing this as we have had our first trip to the Lake District and ticked off 11!

What Are The Wainwrights?

Alfred Wainwright MBE was a fell walker and published author of a volume of books relating to the Lakeland Fells.

There are 214 fells in the Lake District that are named after Alfred Wainwright. There are lots of websites with information a plenty about how to go about these, lists to tick each fell off, distances, elevation and much more!

When people aim to complete the Wainwrights they may refer to it as hill bagging and the objective is to climb/tick off as many as you can.

What Is A Crag/Fell/Pike/Pass/Knott?

There are various names to the climbs but the majority fall into the following:

Crag – a steep rugged rock or cliff
Fell – a mountain or a very big hill
Pike – a peak
Pass – a gap in a mountain or ridge
Knott – hill
Rigg – ridge

Reference Material

Excited for a new challenge I got on Amazon straight away to find some books and ordered one to tick off the fells as we complete them. I will be honest I thought it was a pocket sized book and it is A4, quite large and I got one for each of us – we joked that they were similar to a colouring book.

When wandering around Keswick we actually found these in a local shop, which are much more convenient.

I also ordered the Lake District map set from Ordnance Survey.

How To Tick Off The Wainwrights

We found a great website by The Walking Englishman who had information on how you complete the Wainwrights in the fewest number of walks (that number is 36 walks by the way). The journey to the Lake District for us is around 5/6 hours in the car each way so not something we can easily do every weekend and so there was an appeal to finding out how we could complete as many as possible per walk.

This website has the fells listed, grouped into the 36 walks with further information per walk that includes distance, elevation and how many fells are ticked off per walk.

It also provides GPX files per walk and references the Ordnance Survey maps that I had already purchased. My friend also has the Ordnance Survey app on her phone.

How We Started

We agreed that a long weekend would be most ideal, both because it would be less holiday days to take from work and makes most sense given the time the round trip to and from the Lake District would take us.

We looked at the routes and how we could tick off the most on our first trip and decided to start with The Newlands Watershed, which includes 10 of the fells. This turned out to be a little ambitious for our first walk and we met others along the way who were doing 1 or 2 and we realised we were perhaps trying to go from zero to hero. We ended up completing 7 the first day, 3 the following day and then a final 1 before heading home. Those 11 completed include:

Dale Head
Hindscarth
Robinson
Knott Rigg
Ard Crags
Scar Crags
Causey Pike
High Spy
Maiden Moor
Cat Bells
Castle Crag

We created a spreadsheet (love a spreadsheet – don’t judge me) to include a list of all the individual fells and also the 36 walks so we could easily track our progress.

Accommodation

There is so much accommodation in the Lake District and it varies massively! It can vary from a tent up to luxury holiday rentals and price varies from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Knowing this would be the first of many trips we had a budget in mind and were open to any options aside from tent camping. We found a lot of holiday rentals had check in and out on Friday and Monday’s only and this was not negotiable to add a day either side, which we wanted, with a Thursday to Monday stay so that ruled out some options. We were also looking for accommodation where dogs are allowed.

We ended up booking a yurt at Inside Out Camping in Keswick. This was a site with yurts in their own private field, located next to a stream and close by to the walking trails.

Kit

Both of us have dogs and appropriate clothes etc for hiking so to all intents and purposes we were good to go. But you can always have more stuff!

The weather in the Lake District can be temperamental so we knew we needed a kit list for the hikes and this included the following:

clothing layers so we can remove/add as needed (I find some of my MTB tops great for hiking as the material wicks sweat really well)
hat, buff, gloves, socks
hiking boots (I also took a spare pair of trail shoes too)
backpack/bag to carry essentials
water bottle
jet boil
travel mug/flask
battery pack/charger cables
headtorch (just in case – plus spare batteries)
rubbish bag (always leave no trace and take litter home with you)
first aid kit plus foil blanket
tissues/wet wipes
snacks (obviously)

Following our first weekend we covered over 35 miles hiking and are now 11 fells ticked off and will update you more as our adventures continue!

Also huge shout out to the third furry member of our little hiking group – Max, who was an absolute trooper!

Have you done the Wainwrights? Any hints and tips you want to share feel free!