Wild camping is a great way to experience the natural beauty of the countryside.

In Scotland the right to wild camp is established in law and is allowed as long as you keep well away from dwellings and roads. Further details can be found on outdooraccess-scotland.com

In England and Wales it is generally only legal to wild camp with permission from the landowner but in remote cases this is not always possible and wild campers are tolerated as long as they follow some simple rules.

-out of sight

-far from livestock

-don't build open fire

-stay for one night only

-keep groups small

-respect the environment

-pitch late and leave early!

Darren Christie, a dedicated camper submitted a petition to the Prime Minister earlier this year containing just over 2,000 signatures proposing to legalise wild camping in England and Wales.

The Government's response indicates that there are no plans to legalise wild camping at present.

It is discouraged in the Peak District and banned completely if the moors are dry. The best areas are in the Lake District and Snowdonia but remember there is no legal right to camp in the wild and there is always the chance you will be asked to move on.

You're invited to the live brasher web chat.

Brasher's very own Philippe Galland, will be taking questions on the outdoorsmagic web site, this Monday in a live web chat.

Two one hour sessions are scheduled between 12.00pm and 1.00pm, then at 6.00pm-7.00pm.

And we'd love to see you there.

Philippe, not only has enormous experience in the performance footwear category, but is an all-round outdoorsman too, adding climbing and mountain-bike to his, (as you'd expect), passion for hillwalking and trekking of all descriptions. (He even managed to convince his new bride last year that the Andes were the perfect honeymoon location.)

Philippe will be online to take your questions and offer his expert knowledge on a whole range of topics and issues pertaining to the great outdoors.

Everything from how our products are performance tested to his favourite outdoor routes.

From what you can expect from the brasher development teams in the coming seasons to why the web is an invaluable tool in developing our products and keeping in touch with our user base.

From what you should have in your backpack to the pitfalls of climbing after a whisky-tasting!

So put the 30th in your diary and join our web chat next Monday.

At brasher, we consider the appropriate, pre-walk selection, of outer-wear just as important as the boots you wear when venturing out.

Unless of course you can think on your feet should the weather turn.

Recently, Stu, who is brasher Marketing manager Zoe's husband, surprised her with a birthday getaway weekend at the classy Armathwaite Hall Hotel, near Keswick.

After setting out on a particularly idyllic Lakeland walk one day, the weather unfortunately turned cloudy, and then rainy, and then stormy!

It had been beautiful when they set out, so neither of them had taken waterproofs.

But as the heavens opened it was hubby to the rescue.

Resourceful, not say gallant, Stu quickly fashioned his gal the makeshift water-proof ensemble you see here.

His only useable materials, the doggie-doo bags they had remembered to take on the walk for Benjie, their ever-young 9 year old black Lab.

And a fine solution it was. He must have been in the Scouts. (Stu not Benjie.)

An so the day was saved.

(But not Zoe's fashion reputation.)

More photos here.

ps. This isn't the only example of brasherite-to-the-rescue resourcefulness. In a previous post here, you may recall Philippe using his Goretex boot as an emergency drinking vessel.

Photo credit: Mister Moo. More of his Flickr stream here.

Concerns about the credit crunch and worries about a potential economic downturn escalate, consumers are looking for ways of cutting holiday costs, rather than cancelling plans altogether.

With this in mind, bookings with the Camping and Caravanning Club are already up 10 per cent on last year, with many of its 4,000 campsites already nearing capacity for the summer.

'We're seeing a strong increase in interest, with more people looking for good-value holidays, particularly families and the younger market,' said spokeswoman Ruth Walmsley.

At brasher we've always considered campers to be key audience for our products, so over the next few months watch out for more posts on what's going on, and where, in the camping scene.

To kick things off, here are 10 of the best places to camp near a beach, in the opinion of the Travel Guardian.

Poking about on Google recently, we found another great vote of confidence in brasher footwear when we came across Alex Roddie's excellent web site:

A FellWalker in East Anglia.

Alex wrote a post entitled: '10 items of gear I rely on.'

And we were delighted to see that first in Alex's list of 10 outdoor essentials was a pair of brasher Hillmaster boots.

Alex comments in his introduction:

"This article describes ten of my favourite items of gear, in no particular order. I trust these items implicitly and would recommend them to anyone without hesitation."

Here's what he had to say about the brasher hillmasters:

THE BRASHER BOOT COMPANY
Hillmaster Classic GTX
3-season hiking boots

"As boots go, the Brasher Hillmaster Classic is, well, a classic.

Still among the most (if not the most) popular boots in Britain, the Hillmasters have been made for many years, and the subsequent alterations to the basic design have only made them better.

I bought a pair in February 2005 in preparation for the May trek. Comfortable right out of the box, waterproof, and with a low-cut ankle that makes walking in them a delight, I was impressed with the Hillmasters from day one.

They don't feel quite like any other kind of boot.

Apparently Brasher modelled their original hiking boots on running shoes, aiming for the same level of comfort while still retaining a stiff and supportive upper necessary for hillwalking.

The Hillmasters have it spot-on. I've walked many hundreds of miles in these boots, and they've taken quite a beating, but they're the most comfortable footwear I've ever owned.

If you've been having problems with blisters due to ill-fitting boots, or maybe if your feet just aren't Scarpa (or whatever)-shaped, Brasher boots might be well worth a look."

Footnote. since writing the review Alex has moved to a new site: Freeman of the Hill.