John Pilkington, a long-time friend of brasher, has been described as "one of Britain's greatest tellers of travellers' tales". His Radio 4 programmes have won him several appearances on 'Pick of the Week' and one on 'Pick of the Year' . Last year he took a pair of Lithium XCR's on a six-month journey through the Middle East.

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran are in the news for all the wrong reasons. Starting in Beirut, I found situations quite different from the news stories as I followed a winding route via the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valleys of the Assassins to finish eventually on the Persian Gulf. I met a spectacular variety of people - Druze, Maronites, Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Azeris and both Shi'ite and Sunni Iranians - and to my surprise I found families and whole communities working together to survive the harsh climate and political strife.

Iraq was fascinating of course, but it was the people of Iran who made the trip unforgettable. They must be the most warm and generous in the world - for days on end I was hardly allowed to buy any food or drink. Worringly I managed to get arrested in the holy city of Qom, but was let off and continued south through the desert to Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, a rocky no-man's-land that hasn't changed much since Marco Polo was there in 1271. Marco Polo had been intending to take a local boat to India, but the boats looked so unseaworthy that he turned north and went overland to China instead. Have Qeshm Islanders got to grips with boatbuilding since then? Come to a talk and find out! There's more info at http://www.pilk.net/lecturedates.html

Incidentally my Lithium XCR's took a bit of a hammering towards the end of the trip in northern Iran. The ground was rough and steep and for the first time I had to do some real scrambling. Here's what they looked like at the end.

Yumna Martin recently went on a trip to Kenya to take part in some voluntary work with Christian Aid's partner organisation Maji na Ufanisi. She took with her a pair of Lithium GTX boots which proved to be a most useful piece of kit.
Yumna sent us a piece about her travels and how she got on during her two week trip.  

"Everyone was laughing at me at the airport, but once we had to climb all those hills in Kenya, I was the envy of everyone with their flip flops and sandals.

I've attached some pics, one of me on the mountain we climbed called Nzambani Rock.

The picture below was taken when we visited an HIV/AIDS support group. They showed us an alternative means to farming which provided them with a sustainable income. In the photo I am shredding leaves to make string with the plant fibre.

I've learned so much about the Kenyan way of life and the warmth and fighting spirit of Kenyan's, I'm off to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and after seeing the impact that the drought and climate change has had on the Kenya way of life, whose main source of income is farming, I'm very excited to shout for those who haven't got the means to be heard!"

You can see all the articles Yumna and her friends have written on the website www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk

We supplied a pair of Helium XCR's to Peter Eagan for use in the Everest Marathon. He has been wearing them throughout his training for the event and has sent us through his comments.

"I have now almost completed my training for the Everest Marathon and have trained almost exclusively in my brasher Helium shoes.

I have found them to be extremely comfortable with no rubbing on the heels like I have felt in other fell/trail shoes. I found the cushioning to be perfect for the type of terrain we will be running on, rugged and rocky tracks; requiring good traction on steep descents. 

The shoes are showing no signs of wear to the uppers and only a small amount on the soles so far.

The only problem that I have found is that the traction on steep wet surfaces is not as good as other shoes, I feel that perhaps they are not designed for that type of surface anyway. 

A number of friends have commented on the appearance and performance of the shoes saying that they are stylish as well as practical."

The marathon takes place this month and we will give you an update when we have any news from Peter Eagan, Bruce Walker and Adrian Davies who will all be wearing Helium's.

Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England and undoubtedly one of the most popular - but is it one of the best?

I decided to consider this question after meeting a farmer friend of mine in Langdale a couple of weeks ago. Bruce is a born and bred Langdalian sheep farmer, whose parents still farm at the head of the valley. If you cut Bruce in half, he'd have the word LANGDALE printed through him like on a stick of rock!

In spite of having spent many long days gathering sheep on the rough terrain of Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, Bruce had never been to Scafell Pike and so had decided to walk there with his family one September Saturday if the weather held.

The weather was good on the day, and I bumped into him (almost literally) as his Landrover tore along the track to Baysbrown later that afternoon on his way back. "Did youhave a good day Bruce", I asked "Aye, OK" he said, "but it's a b***** s***** up there isn't it" He doesn't mince his words does Bruce. "I'll not be gaan back".

I knew what he meant. I'd been to the summit many times over the years and when I was the National Park Ranger for Langdale I'd been up there on several occasions to clear piles of rubbish from the summit plateau. Maybe he had a point.

 As luck would have it, a few days later a lady contacted me who wanted to be guided up Scafell Pike. Fitness wasn't a problem for her, but she had limited map reading experience and was worried about finding her way. I suggested we walked from Borrowdale along the Corridor Route - arguably the finest way to the summit.

Saturday morning saw us parked at Seathwaite - "Welcome to the wettest place in Britain" the sign should say - but maybe that's something Seathwaite does not want to boast about! There are signs though - asking walkers on the Three Peaks Challenge to respect the residents of Seathwaite and to pass quietly through. Herein lies one of Scafell Pike's deep-seated problems - if you're the highest - every man and his dog wants to get to the top.

We only saw a handful of other walkers on the ascent - which is a wonderful walk and much of the top 1000 feet was shrouded in mist, but my companion was astounded at how many people were on the summit, and how many more walkers arrived while we had our lunch there.

The rocky summit plateau is liberally peppered with cairns, stone shelters old and new...and rubbish. Walk a few yards from the top and sit behind one of the many shelter walls and you'll find chocolate bar wrappers tucked under rocks, loo paper, banana skins and orange peel. As Bruce said, it's a *****

The approach walk is fantastic though, with stunning views into the head of Wasdale, onto Gable's screes and crags and into the magnificent ravine of Piers Ghyll. It's just a shame about the top!

The rough and rocky terrain of Scafell is a test for anyone's footwer, and I continue to wear my brasher Borgues for this sort of walk, which cope with anything below the snowline with ease and which have become established along with my Lithiums as favourites for 3 season walking. One of our instructors recently wore a pair of Borgues on Kilimanjaro, and the legendary Lake District author Bill Birkett now slips his brashers on in preference to anything else.

John White and the Highpoint Mountain Guides offer walking and climbing guides for walks and climbs countrywide and year-round.
www.mountainguides.co.uk Tel: 01931 713115

I've lived in south-east Northumberland all my life and, although I've spent some great times along the county's stunning coastline and picturesque border region, my recent experience with Northumbria Walking Group has opened my eyes to the scenic inland beauty that's right on my doorstep.

We met the group in Ashington and headed down to the River Wansbeck for a serene walk before heading into the countryside. We entered the pretty village of Bothal and crossed the stepping stones before heading back to the grounds of St Andrew's Church to refuel with our packed lunches whilst admiring the charming Bothal Castle.

The rest of the walk was across fields which felt like the Great Plains before heading back to our starting point via the new Pegswood roundabout and its 'Robin of Pegswood' sculpture which celebrates the mining history of the village.

I've now joined The Ramblers and can't wait to take in more local walks in my extremely comfortable brasher boots!

by Karyn McCloud