Learn
Skills, safety and things worth knowing
Starting out
New to the hills, or back after a while: what to plan, wear and carry, and what to do if it goes wrong.
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4 min
How to plan a hill day
Choosing a route that fits the day: time, daylight, weather and a plan B.
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4 min
What to wear and carry
Layers, boots and the short list of things that should always be in your bag.
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5 min
Map and compass: the basics
Which map to buy, how to read it, and how to walk on a bearing.
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4 min
Where you're allowed to walk
Access rights in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in plain words.
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3 min
If something goes wrong
How to call mountain rescue, what to tell them, and what to do while you wait.
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4 min
Ticks, midges, cattle and dogs
The small hazards of a British hill day and how to deal with each.
Going further
For regular hillwalkers: winter, rivers, nights out and the long days.
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5 min
Winter walking: what changes
Snow, ice, short days and avalanche forecasts: what a winter hill day asks of you.
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4 min
River crossings and pathless ground
When to cross, how to cross and when to turn round; and moving well where there is no path.
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4 min
Wild camping and bothies
Where a night out is allowed, how to leave no trace, and how bothies work.
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4 min
Big days: pace, food and turning back
Planning and getting through a long round, and scrambling grades explained.
Reference
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Hill lists explained
Munros, Corbetts, Wainwrights and the rest: what each list is and how many are on it.
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How walks are graded
What Easy, Moderate and Hard mean on TRXO, with the bog factor and times.
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Hill words: a glossary
Gaelic, Welsh and Lakeland place-name words, and the terms walkers use.
To print or save to your phone
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Kit checklist: spring to autumn
Everything for a hill day outside winter, to tick off as you pack.
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Kit checklist: winter
The summer list plus what snow, ice and short days add.
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Emergency card
How to call for help and what to say, with space for your details. Keep it in your first aid kit.
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Route plan to leave at home
A blank plan: where you are going, who with, and when to raise the alarm.
Tools
- Walking-time calculatorNaismith's rule, with and without breaks.
- Grid reference converterOS grid references to latitude and longitude, and back.
- Daylight through the yearSunrise and sunset for any region.
- What fits before dark?Walks you can finish in the daylight left.
- Where's the weather best?Every region ranked by the forecast.
Longer reads
- How to read a mountain forecastThe valley forecast tells you about the car park. This is how to read the one that matters, and the numbers that should send you home.
- Scotland's right to roam, explainedYou can walk almost anywhere in Scotland. Here is what that means in practice, where it stops, and what it asks of you in return.
- Walking in the Highlands in stalking seasonFrom July to February someone may be stalking deer on the hill you want to climb. Here's how it works, how to find out, and how to plan a good autumn day around it.
- Hill safety, on one pageThe short version: before you go, navigation, kit and emergencies.