How to plan a hill day
Choosing a route that fits the day: time, daylight, weather and a plan B.
Most hill days that go wrong were decided at home: a route too long for the daylight, a forecast not read, nobody told. Ten minutes of planning the night before deals with all three.
Pick a route that fits the slowest person
Look at distance and ascent together. A 10 km walk with 900 m of climbing is a much bigger day than 15 km on the flat. Every walk on TRXO shows both, with a grade and a time range. If you're new, start with walks graded Easy or Moderate and under about 500 m of ascent.
Work out the time
Naismith's rule gives a fair first guess: an hour for every 5 km, plus an hour for every 600 m climbed. Add ten minutes' rest an hour, and more for a group, rough ground or snow. The time calculator does the sum, and the planner on each walk's page checks it against sunset.
Check the daylight
In December there are fewer than eight hours of daylight in much of Britain, and less in a glen. Plan to be down an hour before sunset and decide a turn-back time before you set off. What fits before dark? lists the walks that fit today from a given start.
Read a mountain forecast
A valley forecast tells you little about the tops. It is about 1°C colder for every 150 m you climb, and wind is usually much stronger high up. Check the summit forecast on the walk's page, then a mountain forecast from MWIS or the Met Office. How to read a mountain forecast goes through one line by line.
Have a plan B
- Know where you could cut the route short, and what would make you do it.
- Pick a lower walk nearby in case the tops are in cloud or wind. Where's the weather best? can point you to a better area altogether.
- Check access: stalking, lambing, path closures. Each walk's page carries the notes we know of.
Tell someone
Leave your route, start time and the time you expect to be back with someone at home, and agree when they should raise the alarm. The planner on each walk's page makes a link you can send them, or print the route plan.
The one rule
The mountain will be there next week. Turning back early is a decision, not a failure.General guidance from the TRXO team, last read through on . It is no substitute for training or for your own judgement on the day.