I’ve had more than a few unplanned nights on Scottish hills — late descents after navigation went pear-shaped, sheltering from sudden storms, or taking the pragmatic call to wait out fading light rather than push on. When you’re caught out, the choice of shelter matters: it shapes how warm,...
Dec 02, 2025
• by Aurélien Duval
Latest News from Outdoorangus Co
I’m out on the trail a lot, and one of the things that has become part of my routine is looking not only for the next view or bird song, but for the plants that don’t belong. Invasive non-native plants can quietly take over a stretch of hedgerow, choke a pond or destabilise riverbanks — and the earlier we notice and report them, the better the chance local groups have to act. In this post...
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I love the idea of a micro-adventure that starts the moment I step out of my front door and uses only public transport to get me to a stretch of coast I don’t often visit. The Norfolk coast is perfect for this: long, changeable, and remarkably wild in places, with compact towns and a decent public transport network if you plan well. Below I’ll walk you through how I plan a day or overnight...
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Choosing between a 30L and a 45L rucksack for multi-day ridge walks in the UK is one of those decisions that seems small until you're halfway up a wet, windy fell with your toes numb and your waterproof buried somewhere at the bottom of your pack. Over years of walking ridgelines from the Lake District to the Scottish Highlands I’ve carried both sizes extensively. In this piece I’ll walk you...
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Fog on the Pennine Way is a humbling thing. I’ve walked sections of it when visibility dropped to a few metres and the world collapsed into soft grey. In those moments GPS can feel like a miracle, but batteries fail, devices glitch, and relying solely on a smartphone or watch is a risk I don’t take. Over the years I’ve learned to trust a map, a compass and a few deliberate habits. Below I...
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Walking across farmland in spring and autumn, I’ve come to depend on more than my eyes to tell the story of the landscape. The soundscape — the calls and songs of birds — is a constant, changing record of what’s happening beneath hedgerows, on stubble fields and along wind-swept lanes. Over thousands of hours in the field, I’ve started to recognise patterns: which calls announce...
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I lead a lot of groups on daytime walks, but guiding a youth group on a beginner-friendly night walk is one of my favourite ways to introduce young people to the nocturnal side of the countryside. Night walks can be quietly magical — from the hush of hedgerows to unexpected calls of owls — but they also demand extra care to protect both participants and wildlife. Over the years I’ve learned...
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When I first organised a litter-pick on the village green near where I live, I expected to spend an hour collecting crisp packets and beer cans. What I didn’t expect was how quickly a simple community tidy-up would lead to conversations about the hedgerow, sightings of rare moths and the idea of adding a basic habitat survey to our regular rota. If you want to start something similar where you...
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The Jurassic Coast is one of my favourite places to poke along the shoreline — dramatic cliffs, fossil-bearing rocks and a rich, ever-changing intertidal world that rewards a slow, curious pace. I love a low-tide scramble: equal parts hiking, light scrambling and careful rock-hopping, with pockets of sheltered rockpools revealing small, thriving ecosystems. But planning a safe, responsible trip...
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I spend a lot of time crossing open moorland in the UK, and two of the deer species I bump into most often are red deer and fallow deer. At a glance they can seem similar — both are large, tawny, grass-eating mammals that favour open country at times — but once you know what to look for you can tell them apart quickly and confidently. Below I share the practical cues I use on the hill: visual...
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I spent a cold, soggy week on Dartmoor this winter testing five waterproof boots across peat hags, plunging bogs and long, muddy tracks. If you spend much time walking UK winter trails you already know the challenge: deep, suctioning mud, constant drizzle, and the kind of wet that seems to find a way through seams, collars or flimsy leather. I wanted boots that actually keep feet dry, give...
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