Philippe writes:
"After a few years travelling to the Glencoe and sleeping rough, I decided to treat my wife, Clare, with decent accommodation. I couldn't resist the desire to stay in the most famous pub/Hotel in the Glencoe: Clachaig Inn.

It not only has a choice of good beer, loads of whiskey but this is the place where all the climbers meet up at the end of the day. We arrived just on time to sample some of the greatest beer and certainly some whiskey - (however, my advice is to avoid the local one - it is lethal).

As a result of our evening's hospitality extravagance we couldn't face an early start and walk up to the Ben Nevis as initially planned. Instead, we opted for Stob Coire Nan Lochan as it was only minutes down the road from the Clachaig Inn and probably the same approach in term of time.

It was a beautiful day. Clear sky and to our big surprise a lot of stags just minutes away form the car park. Clare couldn't resist to compete with them and her spanking new carbon brasher pole... dear oh dear, oh dear.!

Anyway, after a good 2 hours approach we finally reached the basin of Stob Coire Nan Lochan and decided to climb SC gully. This is a classic Scottish gully very atmospheric and with 2 steep pitches at the start. Steep enough that the 1st ascensionist avoided that section by climbing the short rib on the left (add photos). Mind, they were using axes to cut step on the ice!!! The Crux (or hardest section) is at the start of the second pitch. A short right traverse onto the gully above gives you some great feeling.. Clare confirmed the difficulty by her increasing level of swearing... (Though I hadn't told her the grade of the climb and she thought it was an easier one.)

The final pitch is a long steepening snow slope with a corniced exit. Under the circumstances of the night before, a job well done by all concerened.

It was a great day out and we even got to enjoy some sunshine at the top, and of course snow showers (what do you expect it is Scotland?).

If you want to experience winter climbing, get in touch with a professional and enroll yourself in a winter climbing course. I highly recommend John White at High Point:

Based in the Lake Disctrict and also a keen brasher user...."

Footnote: You can more photo's of the climb here on our flickr pages.

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

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."

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.

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:

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.

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.

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

(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.

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?

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.)

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 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.

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.

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.