Alpkit – Too popular for its own good!

Learnt a lesson today, was after an Alpkit Filet Down Vest which at £60 is great value compared to the competition. For once I didnt buy it instantly but decided to appease the Wallet Guilt God and wait until my birthday in May.
Big Mistake!
As with a lot of Alpkit products they are very popular and [...]

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Stonethwaite, Lake District – April 2009

Finally got to use the new tent and gear on the first camping trip of the year that wasn’t in the back garden!
Took a train up to the Lake District (at £93 – ouch!) and headed down to Stonethwaite in Borrowdale valley which is an amazingly picturesque place surrounded by high fells on all sides [...]

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Not that lightweight…

Hmmn, did my first pass at kit needed for this weeks 3 night backpacking trip to the lakes and not overly impressed with the weight of what I selected! According to my calculations my total gear including clothing and boots worn is close to 14kg !!
This equates to 11kg carried and 2.7kg worn and its [...]

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Vango Banshee Part 2

Put the tent up quickly (as can be see from the flappiness!) and roomier than I thought it would be. Still cosy for two adults but more usable for two than I thought. The low profile seems quite sturdy as well so hopefully should do ok in windy conditions.

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Vango Banshee 200

Bought yet another tent this week to allow me to go camping with my daughter.  I’ve read of people using the Terra Nova Laser Competition to take the young ones camping but after trying it in the garden I couldn’t see how we would get any sort of decent nights sleep.
I was looking at the [...]

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Wainwright Walks : Coast to Coast

This week sees the return of Wainwright Walks, this time based on the Coast to Coast long distance walk.
I absolutely loved the first two series of Wainwright Walks, thought the way they were filmed was excellent and Julia Bradbury’s presentation was superb. Wasnt as inspired with the subsequent Railway Walks as found the locations of [...]

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Lake District Trip Plans – April 2009

Ok after much deliberation and day dreaming Im around 85% decided on my travel and camping plans for the Easter Trip to the lakes.
Ill be buying an extortionately priced open ended rail ticket (£93) which is more expensive than driving (see my earlier rant) but will hopefully make the journey easier and to be honest [...]

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Messing about at the castle…

Yet another beautiful Sunday morning and another walk over by Hadleigh Castle with a full rucksack to get the legs going prior to next week’s Lake District trip. What are the odds this fine weather won’t hold out until then ! 
Didnt take a camera with me for once, more by accident than design, although I [...]

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Rail Travel Woes…

In this day and age whilst we are all being told to stop driving our cars for the environment why on earth is it still cheaper for me to drive 300 miles + ?
Planning my trip to the Lake District in April and the cheapest ticket Ive found is currently £93 off peak whilst to [...]

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