We spotted a very gratifying post recently on the blog of our friends at Country Innovation. Edited highlights above.

Poking about on Google recently, we found another great vote of confidence in brasher footwear when we came across Alex Roddie's excellent web site:

A FellWalker in East Anglia.

Alex wrote a post entitled: '10 items of gear I rely on.'

And we were delighted to see that first in Alex's list of 10 outdoor essentials was a pair of brasher Hillmaster boots.

Alex comments in his introduction:

"This article describes ten of my favourite items of gear, in no particular order. I trust these items implicitly and would recommend them to anyone without hesitation."

Here's what he had to say about the brasher hillmasters:

THE BRASHER BOOT COMPANY
Hillmaster Classic GTX
3-season hiking boots

"As boots go, the Brasher Hillmaster Classic is, well, a classic.

Still among the most (if not the most) popular boots in Britain, the Hillmasters have been made for many years, and the subsequent alterations to the basic design have only made them better.

I bought a pair in February 2005 in preparation for the May trek. Comfortable right out of the box, waterproof, and with a low-cut ankle that makes walking in them a delight, I was impressed with the Hillmasters from day one.

They don't feel quite like any other kind of boot.

Apparently Brasher modelled their original hiking boots on running shoes, aiming for the same level of comfort while still retaining a stiff and supportive upper necessary for hillwalking.

The Hillmasters have it spot-on. I've walked many hundreds of miles in these boots, and they've taken quite a beating, but they're the most comfortable footwear I've ever owned.

If you've been having problems with blisters due to ill-fitting boots, or maybe if your feet just aren't Scarpa (or whatever)-shaped, Brasher boots might be well worth a look."

Footnote. since writing the review Alex has moved to a new site: Freeman of the Hill.

With the May Bank Holiday coming up, we just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a free offer that we've just launched.

If you buy a pair of brashers at participating stockists throughout May, you'll also get this dandy and handy waterproof map case, plus a useful walking, scrambling and biking 'Explorebook'.

Produced in conjunction with Trail magazine, it features 12 great routes (including accurate maps) so it should be a great addition to your outdoor library.

While of course, a new pair of brashers would be a great addition to your outdoor enjoyment.

Contact us here, if you'd like more info.

Walking World, the popular online walking guide, has now notched up a massive 4000 walks on their database.

What a fantastic achievement.

What's more, every one of those walks has been submitted and verified by a Walking World member, and so is a fantastic testament to the power of user-generated content.

We take our our hats, (and brasher boots) off to all concerned.

Why not find your next walk over on the Walking World searchable database?

In London last Thursday, April 24th, it was 'Walk to Walk Day.'

See here, and here.

And to be honest, we're surprised it wasn't a nationwide event.

Although other than those at brasher Towers who walk to walk anyway, only a few people here joined in.

Because many of us walk regularly, and for miles every weekend anyway, so walking to work would be something of a bus-man's holiday.

Although we do think it's a great idea to encourage more people to take up walking. And who knows some people might get the bug and have a 'Walk to Work' Summer.

If they do, (unsubtle product plug alert!), we can think of no better choice for walking to, and wearing at work, than our recently introduced 'Everyday' range of footwear.

All day long comfort, straight out the box, they bear all the hallmarks of brasher outdoor performance, but styled with the urban wearer/worker in mind.

So well done everyone in London, (and elsewhere), who walked to work on Thursday, and if you need some appropriate footwear to keep going throughout the Summer, we can put you in touch with some great brasher stockists.

Featured shoe style: Borilo.

Featured shoe style: Mateka.

The other day in the office we were discussing our differing tastes in chocolate.

Then for some reason we moved onto choccies that had some connection with the great outdoors.

Obviously Toblerone came up with it's distinctive triangular chunks supposedly symbolising the Matterhorn, then one of our endurance sport fans brought up his choccy of choice the Clif bar, 'Walkers' crisps were mentioned, but not quite on topic. (Topic? Get it?) but Trail bars did merit an inclusion. As did Marks & Sparks 'Mountain Bar'

We even discovered 'The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory'. -The Peak of Perfection in Handmade Chocolates.

Can you think of any other confectionery items that have a walking, trekking, mountain theme?

We'll think of a suitable prize for the best entry by the end of April.

Here's a really nice post about our Hillmaster GTX, from the 'WalkWeb' blog of an Australian Brasher fan of many years standing.

We make no apologies for reprinting it in full here, and as a thank you, also adding it to the sites we like column over on the right.

"I bought this pair of Brasher “Hillmaster” GTX boots back in 1999, and they have since given 8 years of sterling service. I’ve used them in all conditions - from snow and pelting rain to hot dry days. They’ve covered many, many miles around a good part of England and Wales as well as Switzerland and Australia, along all kinds of terrain.

The boots are constructed of a leather upper with Gore-tex lining and a rubber sole. The waterproofing is generally very good, although it is wise to remember that no boot can ever be completely waterproof, given water can get in from the top and around the tongue. The soles on my pair have worn down quite a bit but still have plenty of life left, and they are still firmly attached to the uppers. I’ve had no problems with seams coming undone or indeed any other manufacturing issues. I should add that the boots have often been stored wet and have not been cleaned that often, I’ll also have to admit that I have sometimes opened up the boot bag in which they are stored to discover dust and dirt and a rather fragrant pair of socks stuffed in them from the previous walk, which makes their longevity all the more impressive. Comfort has been excellent right from the start - no blisters at all, and at around 1.3kg they are quite light for a solid pair of boots and this makes a big difference towards the end of a day of walking.

In summary, definitely the best pair of walking boots I’ve owned: comfortable and light with excellent performance and quality. I’m retiring this pair now because the leather on the top of the boot at the front has finally cracked after the flexing of thousands of steps (the leather in this area has also become a bit brittle), but my next pair will be Hillmasters."

From the brasher blog Editor: Dear Mr WalkWeb. Many thanks for that. We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Here's a lengthier post than normal for the blog.

We think it gives a great insight and first-hand account of trekking in the high Andes, and wanted to share it with you.

Philippe Galland one of our Product Managers, and his wife Clare, went to South America for their (belated) honeymoon at the end of last year.

Here's Clare's report covering altitude sickness, Christmas in the Andes and Eco-tourism.

"Philippe and I had introduced ourselves as climbers into our group of 9 fellow trekkers - hailing from Australia, LA, New York and South Africa. We thought we’d be fine with the altitude as we lived in the Alps for a while and went skiing from time to time on glaciers. Boy were we wrong.

We landed at Cuzco (3,326m) at 7am, after a 45 minute flight from Lima (0m). The guide sat us all down at the hotel with some coca tea and briefed us about the 7 days ahead. By 9am our heads were spinning and we decided to spend our (ONE!) acclimatisation day mostly asleep. We went to climb the stairs (the tour operators had put us on the 4th floor) and barely made it to the top. A lot of people say they feel short of breath, but I just felt like someone had punched me in the head and the stomach with a crow bar.

They say drink shed loads of water to avoid altitude sickness. I’m afraid I can’t tell you if it works or not because we felt too sick to make ourselves do that. Anyway after our day in bed and a day of looking around Inca ruins at Ollantaytamb we felt better and it was time to set off.

The first day involved a 7 hour walk from Qeshwarani village, including going through the 4,200 metre pass of Cuncani. I swear I thought I was going to die. My migraine started small but ended up so bad I couldn’t bear any light so I was walking with my eyes closed. Philippe was a little better so was hitting me with sticks like a mule to keep me going to camp before dark.

Now Peruvian mountains are just HUGE. I cannot make this more explicit. They. Are. Massive. They don’t fit inside your camera.

I’m ashamed to say that only two people were slower than Philippe and I - one of them had the runs and the other had never been walking or even camping before. What really narked us was that the others were no younger, they were ill equipped (the South Africans thought they could get away with bin bags as raincoats despite it being the rainy and snowy season) and had no background whatsoever in the mountains. One of them was a sales rep for L'Oreal wearing Nike trainers. She maintained her false nails and immaculate makeup for the entire trek despite us having no running water and only a 10kg baggage allowance, and she was always in front. A machine - or maybe a Stepford wife?

Our first night out fell on Christmas Eve and the local porters and chefs were in for a shock. We had found some mini fireworks at the local market before we left. Our native guide thought it appropriate that they should be in charge of setting them off. We all had to run for cover. The nutters were throwing them at each other and high into the air - absolutely hilarious.

But the reason it was the best Christmas ever was the children we ran into (well, staggered anyway). The Andes are pretty empty but there are hidden villages everywhere, so you are constantly bumping into small groups of random kids. They are generally tiny, covered in mud with red cheeks and only sandals on their feet, yet they can run over the mountains like they are mere hillocks. Our guide taught us a few words in their language (Quechua), and we bought toys from markets to give them instead of money or sweets. They are so poor that just giving them a ball or plastic truck to play with makes them ecstatic. For the adults we met along the way, we had a more morally dubious gift - coca leaves.

What really impressed me about GAP, who ran our tour, was that the guides, porters and cooks were all local native people, and everything was carefully calculated to help in the economic development of the area without ruining its culture. They weren’t perfect. The amount of spending money you need is vastly underestimated because of the tipping system, and no matter how careful you are, you’re likely to get sick at some point from some dodgy water or food. But on the whole it was well worthwhile, even if it’s just to gawp at the enormous mountains. Being in such an international group is also really great. For many of them, the trek was but a small part of a Big Trip, and just discussing what we would normally all be doing for Christmas was a real eye opener.

The second day was slightly better. It was Philippe’s turn to feel rough and my turn to hit him with sticks. We went to 4440m and camped at Huacahuasi Lake a few hundred lower. As we settled in for the night it started pouring with rain, so we huddled down and tried not to touch the sides of our dodgy looking hired tents. It was really toasty. The following morning we were woken by sun and as we went to leave the tent the door was somewhat crusty - it had snowed overnight and the views were amazing. It was Boxing Day.

On the last day, just as we were starting to get properly acclimatised, it was already time to go. But the amazing scenery and culture had made us forget about the pain it had taken to get us there. Unlike the many tourists who go to Peru to hike the Inca trail, we had chosen the less frequented Lares trek. We didn’t see a single non-native person for the entire trek."

Well not quite, but Lily's creator, and star of the hit teatime show on Channel 4, Paul O'Grady is recently back from South Africa after generously giving his time to help Save the Children out there.

His ambassadorial role for Save the Children involved meeting local kids that have been orphaned and now run their homes.

We were more than happy to provide Paul with a pair of Bosoli adventure travel shoes, for the trip.

Paul is also is a friend of Amanda Mealing of Holby City fame, who we wrote about recently after her charitable work in Sierra Leone.

He heard about us supplying her shoes and how comfortable they were, so consequently we were asked if we would supply shoes for his Save the Children trip to South Africa.

Paul's also helping Save the Children with a mammoth UK knitting campaign which you can read about here.

Here is a little piece on the brasher outdoor day last week from David Newell, who works in customer services:

"Last week, a bunch of us from brasher do what we like to do best, and got ourselves free from the office on our regular quarterly outdoor day.

And as you can see from the photographs, what a day it was, as we experienced all the splendour and adventure of the Via Ferrata at Honister slate mines near Keswick in the Lake District

We set off on a cold day but the wet weather held out until after we completed the climb.

Honisters Via Ferrata is an adventure climbing system that uses permanently fixed cable for safety and protection up the rock face, (which was used by the Victorian miners.)

Via Ferrata is Italian for “iron way” and it is England’s first such structure, but of course, there are many found in the Dolomites and the Alps as a quick scan of Google will confirm.

The owner of Via Ferrata, Mark Weir says: “Honister Via Ferrata is not just a first for the Lake District but the first in England. Not only will this be popular with those looking to make hill walking more exciting and challenging, but it will also introduce people of all abilities to try out hill walking in a completely secure environment with the success of achievement at the end.”

On our trip, the team got clipped onto the cable and started the amazing climb and trek through disused mines and over bridges.

Relaxing over a well earned and much-needed pit at the end of the day, the whole team agreed that this had been a great day, and an outing, (if you've got a head for heights), that we would highly recommend."

Here are some photos of the day from out ever-growing flickr sets:

Sir Ranulph Fiennes appeared in The Daily Telegraph last week.

In a fashion spread entitled: 'Sir Ranulph Fiennes the reluctant model'. (A headline presumably based on the fact that he doesn't look too happy in some of the shots.)

However, in one outfit he's wearing, we were delighted to see that he's shod in a pair of brasher Supalite GTX boots. Hope he liked them.

And although he may have looked uncomfortable in front of the camera, we hope he approved of the legendary out of the box comfort our boots are known for.

Of course, Sir Ranulph is far more at home on a hill-walk than the cat-walk, and this week sees him setting off on a new monumental challenge.

Wednesday, the 2nd of April saw him fly out to Kathmandu to prepare to climb Everest. He will take the South Col route from Nepal, which was first climbed in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

An expedition, he hopes to raise £3 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care's palliative programme, Delivering Choice.

Please follow the link to the site above and support the cause.

Quite a few of us here at brasher take our dogs with us when we take to the hills.

Marketing Manager Zoe takes her Black Labrador, Benji, who as you'd expect for a Lab, loves splashing about in the water. (particularly when it includes leaping of huge heights, and going in after stones.)

Mike, one of the web guys, takes Munky and Zippy his Jack Russell Terriers whenever he and his Missus go walking in Scotland. (And always, unfortunately, on the lead, as Munky is a bit of a canine nut-case. Who given half a chance would shoot down the nearest hole in the ground for a few hours at the drop of a hat.)

While MD Andy, has a Lake District-loving Springer Spaniel called Otis. (As in 'Redding' or 'Lift' Andy?)

And Steve, our Sales Director, has just got 2 Collie pups, who are all of 10 weeks old. Called Ollie and Jake, they get a lot of exercise in the local woods, which they seem to think was created especially for them.

We'll upload some video footage next time we're out with the dugs and our video cams at the same time.

But for now you might like to search out similarly minded hilly-dog walkers on YouTube.

Here are a couple of our favourites.

This is Po, and here are a couple of nameless Labs. (We'll at least one is definitely a Labrador, the other, gorgeous as he/she is, Mmm, we're not so sure of the breed. Some kind of Spaniel? Answers on a postcard please ;-)

Have you got any doggie hillwalking videos?

We'd love to see them.

If you thought celebs only wore Jimmy Choo's and Manolo's, then think again.

Because Amanda Mealing of Holby City, travelled to the slums in Sierra Leone in February for Save the Children and we provided her with a pair of Supalite XCR's for the trip.

Much-travelled Amanda has guest-starred in popular dramas such as The Bill, Midsomer Murders and In Deep.

She also appeared as an ex-girlfriend of surgeon Alex Adams in Holby City before taking up her regular role as Connie Beauchamp; 'a super confident ballbreaker with a ferocious appetite for life'.

Good on you Amanda for helping bring attention to Save the Children's Kroo Bay Project.

Did Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon secretly wear brasher boots?

This is the sensational claim we can reveal today.

Ex-Brasher Marketing Manager from the 1970's Ms April Loof, made the assertion today on this her 90th birthday.

Ms Loof said that, yes her memory wasn't quite what it was, but she could clearly recall that a special prototype brasher 'Moonmaster' boot was worn on that historic day in July 1969.

However, sources close to NASA rubbish the idea, saying that as Armstrong's walk was in 1969 and the Brasher Boot Company didn't originate until the 1970's, there was something of a mis-match in the dates.

(Speaking of dates perhaps we might also draw your attention to the date of this blog post. April 01 2008.)

How was your walking over Easter?

Our product manager, Philippe Galland certainly caught the weather in the right mood when he ventured all the way up to Ullapool over the Easter weekend with his wife Clare.

You can see his photographs of the trip here on our flickr pages.

And remember if you've any outdoors photography you'd lie to share with us, please email them to Zoe, (zbrookes@pentland.com), and we'll showcase them for you alongside ours.

Did you watch 'Wainwright Walks' on BBC recently?

I missed the first programme but thanks to the good offices of the web and the BBC iPlayer, managed to catch it online.

Truly a case of the unmissable becoming unmissable.

It was a really nice way to spend half an hour of an evening, and coming hot on the heels of our recent post about Wainwright's Window being in peril, hope it generates even more interest in the great man.

If you did miss the er, unmissable, (the iPlayer only let's you access programmes up to 7 days after the event) series 1 & 2 are available now as a boxed set from the BBC shop.

We're delighted to report that Bill Oddie, ornithologist and all-round Goodie, wears our boots.

Indeed we're told he's been an avid fan of brasher Supalite GTX boots for many years, loving the lightness, softness and comfort of the full leather boot.

You’ll see him sporting them in many of his television series including the latest Autumnwatch and the new series of Springwatch due to be televised in May of this year.

Bill works closely with Country Innovation, who specialise in clothing and footwear for the bird/wildlife market and who are a brasher Premier Stockist and Key Online Specialist.

Commenting on our boots Bill says; My only complaint is that my Grandson’s feet have grown and he keeps pinching them, saying ‘Wow Grandad, these are cool!’.

Philippe, one of our product managers is off to Ullapool.

He tells us:

"We have now completed most of the key Munroes around Torridon and also climbed some exciting routes around Beinn Eighe, even managing to take in one of the most demanding ridge traverse challenges in the UK: Liathach.

Now we feel it's time to explore a little bit further North. This year – and because of the current winter conditions – we are off to Ullapool.

If there is a cold snap in the next few days, the snow will consolidate and some ice should form.

The plan is to complete some winter climbs such as 'Lord’s of the Gully' (Left branch. Grade III) on An Teallach."

In telling us about his plans for this Easter, Philippe was reminded of a trip a year or two back:

"Two years ago Clare my wife and I were exploring the mountains around Torridon. One day we decided to climb Bein Alligin. It was a typical Scottish April day: windy, rainy and snowy conditions :-) During one of numerous motivational 'Tea stops’, we found a pair of glasses lying on the ground. We completed the walk and at the car park I asked a couple of guys if they could tell me where I should drop these glasses ? The guy inspected them and asked me if I'd found them below the Horn of Alligin? Which actually  we had. The glasses in fact, by amazing co-incidence, were his! And he told me that he lost them up there last year! "

Zoe in Marketing, and her husband, (not forgetting black labrador Benjie), are heading of to Monyash in the middle of the Peak District camping and walking for 4 days. (And also not forgetting Zoe's new digital camera, which she's promised will bring back with lots of new photos for our Flick gallery.)

They are planning to do various walks in the Manifold Valley, with fingers crossed that the weather is kind and, indeed everything crossed to ensure as Zoe says that: " With my poor navigation skills I hope we don’t get lost !"

Note from blog Editor: 'Zoe. Keep the questionable map-reading skills quiet eh? We try to imply here that all brasherites are granite-hewn, survival skill expert, map-reading geniuses, not to mention; grizzly outdoor legends. Please don't spoil the illusion.'

Last but not least, Martyn Yorke our Product Developer is off to Burbridge in the Peak District bouldering for the weekend in preparation for his 10 day, hard-core bouldering holiday in Font in April

Looking for a comfy pair of boots straight out of the box for Easter?

You could do a lot worse than our Borgue GTX.

But don't just take our word for it. Graham Thompson, gear tester extraordinaire at the authoritative and well-informed Trail magazine concurs.

A great review in the current edition describes the Borgue GTX as 'A great all-rounder that is ideal for most hill-walkers, trekkers and backpackers.' The reviewer also comments: 'For my money, The Brasher Borgue GTX provides more than enough comfort and performance. It transforms Brasher into a supplier of a broad range of boots, rather than simply the most popular boot in Britain.'

So if you're looking for a new pair of boots for Easter, (or the Summer come to that) you might want to give the Borgue GTX a spin.

(Photo used with kind permission of allybeag on Flickr.)

Recently some of the team spent a very enjoyable day out in the hills with Sir Chris Bonnington.

We were in Wasdale, and it occurred to us that a combination of facts could just make this the most interesting valley in Britain.

Fact One:
Wasdale Head, is home to the smallest church in England. St. Olaf's.

Fact Two:
At 252 ft, Wastwater is the deepest lake in England.

Fact Three:
Wasdale has the highest peak, Scafell Pike at 3209 ft, (we know you knew that, but it is worth mentioning.)

Fact Four:
Wasdale was home to the biggest liar. Will Ritson, Victorian landlord of what is now the Wasdale Head Inn, he had a reputation for telling porkies. So much so that an annual 'Biggest Liar in the World' competition is held every year in his honour.

We think that makes for a pretty compelling combination.

Do you have another contender for the country's most interesting valley?

We'd love to hear from you.

This is the first, (and possibly the last time) this blog will quote the ‘Journal of Theoretical Biology’.

But according to the Thaindian News web site, a new study maintains that: ” While traversing steep hillsides, trekking on a straight line might seem like the shortest route, but its the zigzag course that provides the most efficient and fastest way for humans to go up or down hilly terrain.”

Of course, old hands in the hills have known this for years. But it is nice to get official confirmation.

See the full article here.

We've heard on the grapevine, that there’s a ‘bouncy’ new competition in the pipeline, in which you could win a pair of the recently launched, newer than new, Calusa XCR high-performance, multi-activity shoe.

Full details will be on the Outdoorsmagic web site w/c March 3rd, but all we can tell you now is that the comp is built around our ‘What’s Your Playground’ theme, and there’ll be 10 lucky winners.

So don’t forget to check out Outdoorsmagic. And who knows? You could be stepping out this Spring in a pair of the newest, most sought after activity shoes available.

Whoops, we’ve been so busy getting the blog up and running recently, we almost forgot to give a plug for the launch of our terrific new web site.

We’re really pleased with it, and hope you like it too.

It debuted a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully complements this blog with it’s mix of product information on both our outdoor performance and lifestyle ranges, retailer support, reviews, new product introductions, brasher background and a whole lot more.

As Zoe Brookes, our Marketing Manager here commented on launch day:

“We wanted to communicate our passion for the outdoors and educate visitors to the site on the breadth of outdoor experiences that can be enjoyed out there. The new site treats each visitor as an individual, recommending the right footwear for their preferred activity and encouraging them to share their experiences in the great outdoors.”

The site’s getting plenty of traffic from brasher fans new and old, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, why not click here and go and see what’s new for yourself?

The Wainwright Window in Buttermere Church, which overlooks Haystacks, has been battered by recent heavy storms over Cumbria, sparking fears the window could shatter.

With reports of more bad weather in the coming weeks, the Rev Margaret Jenkinson, vicar of Buttermere Church, took the decision to board up the window while its frame is strengthened.

Full story here on LiveForThe OutDoors with more information here at the Online Fellwalking Club, including news about the restoration appeal.

Great news in Country Walking magazine this month !

The new Provolution pole is the CW Winner in their walking pole test.

The verdict by the magazine's resident gear tester Tom Hutton is:

"19/20. Light yet incredibly tough trekking poles, with comfy handles and straps, and a superb flip-lock locking system. Hard to fault in your hand and on your pack"

Tom compared all the poles in the test on several different walks, awarding marks for comfort in the hand, ease of adjustment, usable length (important for taller or shorter folk), weight, pack-down size and if course strength.

Next time you're preparing breakfast after an overnight camp, don't bother to take the stove along, cook breakfast with your torch instead.

But not just any old torch, you'll need one like this,

Described as the world's most powerful flashlight, it pumps out a massive 4100 lumens. (Whatever they are.)

And will doubtless become the torch/cooker of choice obyoutdoor chefs everywhere.

To see it in action, you can go to the YouTube link here.

(Seen on the ever illuminating, LightHikersWorld blog.)

This is a great find from Telegraph TV's travel section.

A short, useful film about being out and about in winter.

(We particularly liked the orange bin-liner demo.)

Can't find a McDonald's at the top of the climb?

Then how about a hi-tech hamburger?

Swiss-based company Katadyn think they can satisfy the hungriest hiker with their fast-food in the wilderness product: Cheeseburger in a can.

The company are known as specialists who develop ready-meals for the outdoor, expedition and extreme athlete markets, and you prep the hamburger by simply bunging the can into a pan of boiling water on the camp stove.

Fancy something to wash it down?

No problem, because under the same; Trekking-Mahlzeiten brand you can also get a 9.27% red wine to go with it. In powdered form, of course, just add water.

Mmmmm, sounds scrummy.

(Thanks to Gizmag for the original story.)

For some people, achieving 2 out of 10 isn't anything to crow about.

But getting not one, but two brasher boots as finalists in The Independent's review of the ten best walking boots isn't half bad in our book, (or our blog and their newspaper come to that.)

At number 8:The brasher Supalite XCR.

And at number 1: The brasher Hillmaster GTX.

So a big thank you to The Independent, and a great big thank you to the walkers of Britain who make our legendary Hillmaster the best-selling walking boot in the country.

Footnote:
Breaking news. As of mid-Feb 08 an upgraded version of the Hillmaster GTX will be available throughout the country. Features to look out for are; additional comfort points, (yep, amazingly we've made them even more comfortable), a re-introduction of leather linings, (yep, we do take notice of customer feedback), same amazing fit, same light weight to strength ratio.

We came across a great blog the other day from a chap called Mark Reid.

Mark, (described by The Sunday Times as 'Wainwright with Booze'), is the author of "The Inn Way" series of guidebooks based on long distance circular walks via traditional pubs in the Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, North York Moors, Northumberland and Peak District.

We think it's a terrific idea; walking and pubs, a marriage made in heaven.

What's more, for every book sold Mark donates a percentage of the profits to conservation projects with the relevant National Park. Money raised helps fund activities such as habitat creation, tree planting, walls and barns restoration.

So Mark, cheers for the Inn Way series and please keep us posted as new editions come out.

Footnote: When we asked Mark his permission to write about him on our blog, he actually wears brasher Trailmasters. And has done for the last 8 years, getting through a pair every 18 months or so. A reflection we hope, on the number of miles/pubs Mark covers, rather than the typical life-span of our boots!

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service have a flickr photoset up here.

Their caption to the above shot:

"Mature cornice, Aonach Mor. Note: SAIS does not recommend standing on cornices. Do not try this at home."

We were really chuffed to discover this blog recently from an enthusiastic brasher wearer.

The more so when we read the posters comments about our boots.

The blog is called 'A walk to the bridge'. And it really conjures up an affection and appreciation of the countryside that only a walker could experience.

What's more it features some terrific 'seasonal' photography and insightful, first-hand observations of the natural world.

We also liked the reference to 'no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing', in this post.

(Where, we are delighted to report, the blogger, on listing the required kit for walking included: "...a pair of Brasher boots. These are essential. I wear mine every day and I treat them abysmally but they never complain and keep me warm and dry.")

There's also a further reference to: "and the abysmally treated Brasher boots that I wear most days." here.

(Bonus link: You can find a more fully illustrated version of the blog here.)

This is a good find; The University of Liverpool mountain database.

Storing information about more than 2600 hills and mountains in Great Britain and Ireland.

The mountains have been classified according to height and minimum reascent from all other mountains. The classes currently available are Munros and Munro Tops, Corbetts, Donalds, Grahams, Marilyns, Murdos., Nuttalls, Welsh Hills and English Hills.

The mountains can be searched by country and by region or by class of mountain.

At brasher, we think walking often goes hand-in-hand with photography.

('Walking'/'Hand-in-hand'? oh dear.)

Anyhow, it's one of the reason we big fans of the online photo-sharing site flickr.

You can see our growing collection of shots on this fantastic web resource here:

However, for those readers new to flickr, we thought we might bring to your attention this lovely short film, from Seattle-based commoncraft, explaining just how flickr works and why it's such a great idea.

Although we're not an out-and-out climbing brand, climbers in and out of the company might be interested in this amazing climbing wall in Japan.

Consisting of; "...English stately home-style accessories such as picture frames and deer heads instead of the usual rock-shaped holds", we think it rocks. And quite a few of us at brasher HQ would love to get to grips with it. Not least our resident in-house climbing addict Philippe.

Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, we're big fans of lots of the UK's walking and climbing festivals. (Here's just a selection courtesy of Google.)

And over the next few months we'll be posting about some crackers.

If have any favourites, please drop us a line and we'll try to include it here on our blog.

The Keswick Mountain Festival in May looks a cracker. As does the walking on offer at the North Devon Festival, also in May.

While next month; February 15-23 sees the Fort William Mountain and Film Festival.

Consisting of workshops, exhibitions, the history of mountain rescue, photography, film, lectures and biking events, it looks like Fort Bill really is the place to be that week.

So don't forget we'll keep you posted about some great walking festivals, and please let us know about any you'd like us to mention.

outdoorsmagic have a seasonally appropriate and informed article about the contents of your winter backpack.

Good advice, as always, not forgetting the further observations in the accompanying, 89, (at time of posting) comments.

(Most of which seem to concentrate on the topic of nutrition in the hills. And including to this reviewers eyes, and palate,some fairly unkind words about that confection of confections; Kendal Mint Cake!.

That's the title of this charming letter we received in the office last week,
from a fan in Dorset.

John Earley, an owner since 1999 of a pair of our Hillmaster GTX boots,
was so taken with them on his travels around the globe that he was moved
to compose the following ditty:

"From the mountains of Bolivia,
Across the deserts of Namibia.
To the Great Wall of China,
Trekking in my Brasher Boots,
Couldn't be any finer!"

Well John, we are sure the printed page doesn't do justice to your prose,
but we do appreciate your enthusiasm and comments.

We acknowledge too your modesty, when you suggest it's not quite Keats, or
Byron. (McGonagall possibly?)

And it prompted us to wonder aloud if any other of our readers have been moved to poetry by their boots?

Particularly when you have to join 30 other participants who have to cover
approximately 85 kms in 60 hours, as part of a seven day trip to the top
of Kilimanjaro.

A demanding, 4100m (13500 ft) ascent, over generally rough terrain,
arriving on the summit to a breezy, -14 degree welcome is just what
brasher fan David Bennett, of Bennett Safetywear did early this year, when
he raised £3,500 for Oxfam by taking on Kilimanjaro.

Accompanied by walking pal, Ad Rooijakkers, an ex-PSV football playing,
ex-Dutch marine, (we're are not making this up), they were shod in brasher
Trailmaster GTX's.

As David recalled:
"The Brasher boots were fantastic- not a single blister or even
the slightest red mark on either of us! And at the summit where the
temperature was about -14C my feet were a lot warmer than my hands!."

You can see a little more about David's trip here.

On Wednesday 19th December the brasher team headed to the hills on a pre-Christmas company-wide outdoor activity day.

We were split into three - very competitive teams!:

Santa's Little Helpers, Rudolph's Reindeers and Frosty's Snowmen.

We started at the Old Repeater Station, Grindon near Haydon Bridge then set off in our groups and walked along the roman wall to Caw Gap, passing Crag Lough and also the place on Hadrian's Wall where Robin Hood was filmed.

We all had a go at abseiling down Peel Crag's before continuing on our walk. At the end of the day we had the chance to test our aim at archery, with only a few stray arrows, but most of them hitting the target!

The teams had a few more tasks to keep busy along the way - ranging from a quiz to boiling an egg which helped to boost our scores.

We collected points for each of our tasks with the winning team being announced at the end of the afternoon.

Frosty's Snowmen were the team that came out on top and took the winning position with the help of a perfectly boiled egg!

All in all it was another fantastic brasher day out!

Adventurer John Pilkington has certainly seen more than his fair share of
the world. Often with a pair a brashers on his feet. Here's his story of
an epic journey across the Sahara.

His interest in the trip was stimulated by the fact that every week
throughout the winter, caravans of up to fifty camels arrive bellowing and
snorting in Timbuktu. They are at the end of a three-week, 450-mile trek
and each carries four huge slabs of Taoudenni salt, the ‘white gold’ of
the Sahara.

To find out more, John procured three camels and a Moorish guide,
put on his brashers and set off from Timbuktu to find stunning desert
landscapes and a life lived as it was a millennium ago, when salt was,
literally, worth its weight in gold. This is his story:

A Tale of Three Humps.

"Our days soon settled into a rhythm. At 5am I would awake to find my guide
U Batna kneeling towards Mecca, deep in prayer. Three glasses of
ridiculously sweet tea, then we’d saddle up the camels and be on our way
by six. U Batna spoke only Arabic, of which I knew nothing, but as the
trip progressed he taught me the words he needed to say to me, like
‘camel’, ‘sand’, ‘rice’, ‘tea’ and ‘keep walking’. The going was
exhausting, but by a combination of walking and riding we kept up a good
pace. At midday we would stop for rice and more tea; then carry on until
sunset. There was no road – travellers to Taoudenni take routes of their
own choosing.
After three weeks we reached the salt mines and I was utterly shocked by
the conditions there. There were no streets, no houses, no electricity, no
fresh water; not even any cooking fuel apart from camel dung. Daytime
temperatures reach 30°C in winter and more than 50°C in summer – a
footwear challenge that even Brasher might find difficult to meet. The 100
or so miners survive on a diet of rice and millet, supplemented by camel
meat when a caravan offers them a sick or weak animal for slaughter. To
slake their thirst they can choose between drinking the brackish contents
of local wells or paying a premium price for decent water to be brought
in. It’s truly a posting from Hell.
Salt has been mined in the Sahara since at least the 4th Century, but the
deposits at Taoudenni were only discovered in the 1500s. They come from an
ancient time of higher rainfall when there was a lake in the Taoudenni
basin, and having no outlet its water became steadily saltier until after
many centuries it turned into a pan of solid salt. Later this was overlain
by mud and gravel, so the salt seams today lie some 15 feet below the flat
surface of the basin. Working in teams of three or four, the miners dig
pits down to this level, then cut horizontal galleries in which they hack
out the salt using crude hand-made axes.
On the return journey I fell in with a salt caravan and found out just how
tough desert life can be. The two camel-drivers and thirty camels were up
before dawn and carried on well after dark, covering up to 35 miles a day
compared with perhaps 20 when I had been with U Batna. Once under way the
caravan didn’t stop. We even brewed tea on the hoof, using portable
braziers which the camel-drivers swung in the breeze as they strode along.
At night we cooked rice together on camel-dung campfires, and slept under
the stars.
From Timbuktu the salt is shipped up the River Niger to the port of Mopti,
where Moorish traders sell it on to people from a wide swathe of West
Africa. I joined one of the longboats, known as pinasses, and as we tied
up on the crowded Mopti waterfront I wondered about the future of the salt
caravans. Lorries are making an appearance in the desert, but camels have
the edge in that they don’t consume expensive diesel fuel, and as long as
there’s a demand for salt there’ll always be a role for the camels. But
will U Batna’s sons and grandsons want to spend their lives coaxing these
cantankerous creatures across one of the most gruelling deserts on Earth ? Somehow, I doubt it."

(Footnote:The boots John wore on his epic journey were originally called 'Kubes', and now are no longer in production. However the current evolution of that boot is the new Danso XCR. For details of John’s books and multimedia talks visit www.pilk.net)

We've always taken the fit of our boots seriously here at brasher.

Which is why our Sales Director Steve Fowler doesn't only know our boots inside out, but he's also a dab-hand at the all important art of boot-fitting.

Last Thursday, saw him put his skills to the test and gave a bespoke boot fitting to Trail Magazine's Technical Director, Graham Thompson, (pictured above), with a pair of our hush-hush new 'Borgue GTX' boots, due to be launched next year as part of our Spring/Summer 2008 range.

Graham is one of many influential gear testers in the outdoor industry and helps to point enthusiasts in the right direction for the very best in outdoor gear. We are certainly looking forward to his views on how the new boot performs under challenging trekking conditions.

Most people have very different dimensions to their foot which can affect both comfort and performance. And in fact, at the fitting, Steve discovered that Graham is naturally blessed with a slightly narrow foot, To arrive at the perfect fit the right combination of brasher volume adjusters and foot beds we're brought into play. This gives an absolutely fit, which can obviously make or break a day in the hills.

(Incidentally, you don't have to be a top magazine reviewer to get this kind of treatment. We train all brasher stockists to provide you with exactly the same fitting service.)

You can read Graham's verdict on the Borgue GTX in the April 2008 issue of Trail magazine.

Fingers, (and volume adjusted toes) crossed everyone.

We love Flickr, and update our shots regularly.

Click the image below to see the latest photography from the brasherites.

We hope you enjoy our photosets and encourage you to send in any remotely 'brasherish' shots to us for inclusion too.

Please send them to Zoe.

Over the Christmas and New Year break quite a few of us here at brasher have got some great walks planned.

(Of course, not quite as exotic as Philippe's), but nevertheless, we've got people heading for the Lakes, the Dales, Lanzarote and Exmoor.

So may we take this opportunity to wish you the compliments of the season, thank you for reading our blog, and please let us know if you too are going anywhere exciting over the festive season.

See you in the NY,

and best wishes from all at brasher.

A lot of our retailers are telling us there's been quite a surge in sales of walking poles coming up to Christmas.

(Who knows, you might find a pair in your stocking.)

Earlier this month, in a feature about Christmas present ideas, the Times Online suggested a pair of our carbon Provolution poles might make a brilliant gift.

Praised for the unique PowerLock system, which allow you to collapse the poles without removing your gloves, these carbon poles also got the thumbs up for their extreme lightness. (Little wonder then that the pole also got an amazing 18/20 from Country Walking Magazine too earlier this year.)

Designed with mountaineering, trekking and backpacking in mind, it's probably the perfect bit of kit for Santa himself as he does his rounds this year.

Philippe Galland works as a Category Manager here at brasher.

Outside the office he can usually be found, trekking, mountaineering or biking in some remote part of the UK's wilderness.

(Incidentally, you can see some of Philippe's excellent photography here on our Flickr page.)

Earlier this year, Philippe married the lovely Clare, however for one reason and another, they had to postpone their honeymoon, but this Christmas, the couple will correct this in some style when they jet off on a 3 week South American jaunt.

Philippe promises to file a report about their travels when they gets back from Rio De Janeiro, Buenos Aires, the Amazon rainforest and the Andes in Peru, and of course will let us all know how the brasher boots perform.

Until then, here's just a flavour of the kind of thing Philippe gets up to:

"My girlfriend, (now wife) and I were in France a couple years ago walking in the high plateau of Vercors in the middle of summer. It was a very hot day and I actually left my water bottle and whole supply behind in a hut – too late to go back. We couldn't find any accessible point to drink as there was a serious draught up on the plateau. We became very, very thirsty and needed to re-hydrate quickly before any serious problems developed. The only spring shown on a map was very dry and any water it offered was very difficult to reach, way below ground. The question was, 'How to reach it?' But luckily, needs must, and an idea occurred to us. I used my Goretex boots with all the laces attached together to create a small rope and as it is water proof.. I could fill up my boot and drink it - Tasted sock though but thanks to my brasher boots and Goretex's ability to keep water in sometimes as well as out, the rest of the day was saved."

Hope you don't have to 'rough it' quite as much on your belated honeymoon Philippe.

We've just found out that our latest women’s winter walking boot, the Gore-Tex, Tambora GTX, has been accredited with ‘recommended’ status in the December 2007 issue of TGO magazine.

To say we are tickled pink would be an understatement.

Praised in particular for its weight, sole unit “gripping well on all terrain” and decisive lacing, the reviewer Judy Armstrong, also described the Tambora's footbed as “one of the best”.

Has anyone out there tried Tambora GTX?, we’d love to hear your experiences and comments…

Here’s a wonderful post about brasher shod walker Christopher Lambert crossing Europe with a sketchbook in his backpack. (Here's a link to find out more about this charming book on Amazon. And as an added bonus, a direct link to Christopher's site.)

Beautiful stuff. Many thanks for the heads up to Katherine Tyrrell at the TravelSketch blog.

In early November John Tremble, our National Account Manager, and Sales Rep, Bill Woodruff, spent a few exhilarating days honing their Mountain Leadership skills in the Lake Ogwen region of Snowdonia National Park,

Camping at Gwern Gaf Lichaf, they were following in the footsteps of Lord Hunt trained in the area before the first conquest of Mt Everest in 1953.

John and Bill's days in the mountains contribute to their qualification as recognised Mountain Leaders.

John and Bill took the time off work in a combination of holiday and company sponsored leave to help them develop their mountain skills.

Over 2 days our men of the mountains did 2 major climbs of over 3,000 ft: Y Garn from the North ridge route and back down through the famous 'Devils Kitchen' into Cwm Idwal, where a steady climb up into the mist at 2000 ft saw the temperature plummeted to below freezing and the chaps got a very creditable layer of frost covering on their fleeces !!

John log for the trip reveals, that they met 2 parties on the way up - including a school trip with some very cold kids.

The first day's 6 hour walk in total culminated with a stop off in the wonderful and most welcome, Lake Ogwen coffee shop for a warm-up and a thaw out!!

On the next day, a Friday John and Bill climbed Tryfan one of the most spectacular peaks in Snowdonia. Approaching from the campsite after a cold night in the valley.

Taking a circular route from the camp up towards the Glyder peaks, then up onto the south summit of Tryfan which changes the walk into a grade 1 scramble over shattered boulders, some of them huge; dumped by the ice as the glaciers retreated.

The weather throughout was challenging: Thursday very cold/wet especially in the mountain top area. Friday turned into a lovely cold but sunny day with clear skies on Tryfan but cloud over Y Garn to the North

Footnotes:
To compare boot properties in tough conditions, John used the Towa GTX on Thursday for Y Garn, and the Aso GTX on Friday for Tryfan. Bill put the Aso GTX through it's paces on both days.

All in all a great 2 days with a great environment to put our boots to the test with spectacular scenes too.

John found that the Towa very comfortable with great heel support and solid underfoot. No blisters and generally a good out of the box experience.
Commenting that the Aso is a heavier boot, but ideal for the tough scramble type walking encountered on Tryfan, with superb ankle support and a very solid sole unit. Reporting too that they handled the tough and rough rocky conditions very well.

On Thursday 27th September a sizable chunk of us at brasher enjoyed a few, fun filled hours, out on The Cheviot Hills.

Three groups of us tramped to the top of Simonside, in just over two hours (and several tired legs later.)

It gave us the chance to test our navigation skills (or lack of in some cases!) with the more experienced brasherites amongst us, sharing their knowledge about how to correctly read a map and use a compass.

On the way back after helping to look for a lost dog, with the unfortunate name of Jinx who hopefully found his way back to his owners!

We all met up and drove to a nearby pub, The Anglers Arms at Weldon Bridge, where we had a delicious, and fortifying meal before heading home for a much needed rest.

On the whole it was a great day out which was enjoyed by all.

We don't normally look like this. When this shot was taken, we were all practicing our synchronised Kendal Mint Cake munching skills.

If you're an old hand in the hills, you'll be aware about the importance of checking the weather before venturing out.

But with new walkers discovering the joys of jaunting all the time, we thought it might be a good idea to share a couple of our favourite online weather resources. (Not least because we all do like a natter about the weather don't we? And checking it out throughly is a good habit for every walker to get into.)

So if you're a first-timer, one link we'd like to point you to is the good old Met Office.

Forecasts cover daylight hours and contain the following information.

• Hazards list.
• A brief summary of the weather on the hills.
• An indication of height and extent of the lower cloud.
• Visibility.
• Wind and temperatures on the hills.
• Freezing level at or below summit level.
• A general outlook for the next few days.

The forecasts are issued daily.

The Mountain Weather Information Service is also worth a look, as are your local BBC weather forecasts.