This years Peak District Walking Festival runs from 25th April until 4th May.

Most of the walks during the 10 day festival are free and with a choice of over 100 guided walks there is sure to be something for everyone.

Further details can be found on the website www.visitpeakdistrict.co.uk where you can request or download a festival programme which gives details of the wide range of walks available.

I'm sure you'll be heading into the great outdoors to make the most of the long Easter weekend.

It's always great to hear of any interesting places to visit which can be shared with others who love getting out and about in the outdoors.

Send us a short piece on where you've been along with a photo to sshanley@brasher.co.uk and if we include it on our blog page you'll win a brasher map case.

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.

Richard Bailey recently had the opportunity to head out to Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas which was something he wasn't going to turn down!

"When the offer came to take four people to Stok Kangri (6153m) it didn't take long to think about it.
Once we left the town of Leh at 3500m we would be out on the hill for 2 weeks. Most of the time was to be spent trekking through some rugged high altitude terrain in weather that was likely to vary between very hot and cold and wet.
So which boots to take? The mountain itself would need plastic boots capable of coping with the coldest places at high altitude but the rest of the time was to be spent in my new brasher Borgue's. A few days work in the Lakes had confirmed my initial impression that these were light, waterproof and supremely comfortable.

The trekking throught the Markha Valley exceeded our expectations with staggering views and incredible walking unfolding everyday.
Each night we arrived at yet another dramatic campsite where our local staff did an incredible job supplying limitless hot drinks, three course dinners and even a hot shower. When a pillow complete with pink case was pulled from the back of a donkey the whole thing became surreal!

After 11 days and numerous high passes reaching heights of 5200m, we arrived in base camp. The weather was looking very doubtful but still alarms were set for 1.30 the next morning and it was with some regret that I swapped my now trusty Borgue's for the rather less comfortable plastics. The usual early morning mixture of nausea, excitement and nervousness greeted us all. I soon lost my breakfast, as usual, and we all worked hard to find a slow sustainable plod.

6 hours and a lot of hard work later found us on the summit ridge. The starry night had been followed by a cloudy dawn and now it was snowing steadily with limited visibility.
We plodded slowly upwards in the cloud each of us lost in simply putting one foot in front of the other.
My brush with Giardia earlier in the trip was leaving me without my usual energy. The ridge narrowed and suddenly out of the mist appeared a pyramid of frozen prayer flags. Breathtaking views unfolded back into India and out towards Pakistan. We all shuffled carefully onto the narrow summit and began to think about the long joirney home.

I literally lived in my Borgue's for most of this trip and I can honestly say they were faultless.
If you get the chance to visit Ladakh then grab it and when you do, take your brasher's!"