February is National Heart Month - an annual campaign increasing awareness of heart and circulatory diseases with various fundraising activities being held throughout the UK to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

This month The British Heart Foundation have launched a national health code and lifestyle check - BEAT. 

Be Active - Eat Healthy - Avoid Smoking - Take the Lifestyle Check 
(go to the British Heart Foundation website for more info)

Walking is a great way to Be Active and can help with your fitness and well being. Whether it be a regular walk each day or out for a full day at the weekend you can do as little or as much to suit your lifestyle.

The 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall running from Wallsend on the east coast to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast is to be lit up as part of a number of events in conjunction with the British Tourism Week.

On Saturday 13th March 500 beacons will be lit at 250metre intervals along the wall, creating an amazing 'line of light along the coast' which would definitely be worth a visit.

The floods which hit the Lake District last November have had an efffect on a lot of the walking routes in the area.

If you're planning a trip to the Lake District then a good website to visit is www.lakedistrict.gov.uk which gives detailed information of open and closed paths within the surrounding area.

See the link below:
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/index/visiting/planningyourvisit/paths.htm

brasher have even more reasons to celebrate this December as our new lightweight trekking boot Lithium GTX has just won Gear Of The Year Award voted by Wanderlust magazine.

As quoted by Wanderlust:

"These structured boots support the ankles, hold up well on rocky paths, are waterproof, instantly comfortable and as you'd expect, very light. They're a great compromise for travellers who like trek, or trekkers who love to travel"

To check out the tech spec on these boots click here.

Words from The Scotsman....

"At a modest 3,169ft, Ben More on the Isle of Mull isn't the biggest Munro, but it's one of the boggiest. I took a pair of brasher's Lithium GTX® walking boots up it at the start of October - after a week of almost solid rain - to test out the claims of water-resistance and breathability. And although I spent most of the time up to my ankles in black mud, my feet were still bone dry and toasty back at the car. I couldn't even get the Lithium's to leak by dunking them in a burn. Very impressive."

The Scotsman 17 Octobrt 2009