Zoe Brookes, Marketing Manager, loves spending time on Dartmoor. Therefore, spending New Years day out on the moors with husband Stu, and black lab Benjie was perfect.

The start of a new year and on a mission to climb new Tors, Zoe thought it was a great way to start her new year's resolution to "keep fit."

Starting off from their cottage in Dartsmeet, they walked along the beautiful River Dart to Postbridge. From there, up through Bellever Forest and up to Bellever Tor. It was a very windy day but on top of the Tor they managed to find the perfect sheltered spot to have lunch and admire the views followed by a photo opportunity for the photo album.

From here it was across to the second Tor of the day, Laughter Tor then across the moors back to Dartsmeet, just in time for tea and cake at Badgers Holt Coffee Shop, in Zoe's opinion the best carrot cake on Dartmoor.

A fantastic 10 mile circular walk enjoying a lovely stretch of riverside walking, high moorland and pretty valleys.

Further details of this walk can be found at go4awalk.com 

Zoe plans to climb many more Tors this year, to recommend a walk or to share your favourite Tor walks with us please email blog@brasher.co.uk

This is an account of brasher's Product Manager Philippe's recent day spent on Ben Nevis.

"Alarm clock went off...it's 4am. Every time I have to get up at a ridiculous time like this, I ask myself, Why am I doing this, I'm on vacation! 
After hours of effort fighting the cold, 3 hours of approach with 2 spent in the darkness and a good 4 hours climbing, I finally found my answer.
I just needed to look at the incredible smile and happiness of my climbing partner Steven who fulfilled an old dream - winter climbing on Ben Nevis.
These seconds of sincerity and achievements are all I need to erase the pain and sweat to get up early and climb a mountain.

There is nothing better than starting a new year with the highest mountain in Great Britain, climbing on Friday 2nd January a route called 'Good Friday'.
This climb finishes only a few metres from the summit and is a nice introduction to Ben Nevis.

Steven and I left the car park at 6am and reached the top at 1pm. The conditions were perfect, with little spindrift (small avalanches), snow, ice and very cold temperatures. At the top we were greeted by a hazy sunshine...and freezing wind...but delighted to spend a great day out. We had the route to ourselves as it seemed that everyone had piled up on the major classic: point 5 gully.

On a personal note, The Ben - as it is called by those who regularly visit - is a magical place. I have spent a lot of time in the French Alps, but this mountain represents a great challenge and deserves respect.
Weather can be great one minute changing to awfully cold in seconds. It's a mountain and it's moderate altitude doesn't remove the technical difficulty of some of the climbs when conditions are not perfect.

I will be back again and again. So many routes to explore, so many lines to climb and happy moments to remember.

You can see more of Philippe's photo's on flickr.

On a very windy day in December the brasher team headed to Middleton in Teesdale to spend the day out on the hills.

Bowlees Visitor's Centre was the starting point for our walk where we made our way up to High Force then out across the Pennines.

High Force is the highest unbroken fall of water in England with a drop of 21metres and is situated on the Upper Teesdale Raby Estate.

The walk to the waterfall was very scenic with fantastic views over the River Tees. The wind - quite fittingly with the name - was out in 'full force' which made conditions very rainy and blustery.

There were a few challenges along the way - crossing a stream wasn't as easy as it sounded. The wet conditions made the rocks very slippery with one or two of us ending up ankle deep in water!

 A sheep hut provided the perfect shelter for a spot of lunch.

Our route took us back to our starting point at Bowlees.
Before heading home we stopped off at a tea shop in Barnard Castle for a slice of cake and much needed mug of tea to warm us up!

"We have all gone walking for the holidays and will be back in the office on Monday 5th January!"

Bowfell and Angle Tarn in Great Langdale

Langdale is a beautiful part of the Lake District and certainly a favourite of brasher's Product Manager, Philippe Galland.

He can not only practice rock climbing with his wife and friends, but also enjoy scrambling or walking.
His choice in September was one of the classic walks to do.
Starting at the Old Dungeon Gill and taking you to Bow Fell via "The Band." The effort is worth the view in good weather.

A nice gentle gentle slope with amazing scenery will take you down Ore Gap. At this point the landscape changes again. Finally, after a rapid descent there is a chance to appreciate one of the most pretty lakes-Angle tarn-giving another dimension to this walk.
The footpath turns into a steep downhill back to the starting point.

The walk is around 8 miles with a fair amount of ascent close to 3000ft. It will take you around 6 to 7 hours to complete.

You can see more photos from Philippe and Clare's walk on Flickr

If you have any walks you have been on which you would like to recommend or share then please let us know.

Email Sarah at sshanley@brasher.co.uk