Who's into hill walking?

DH and I have found our niche, even if we are the youngest ramblers we ever run into on the trail!

Decked out like a couple of mannequins from Millet's, off we went on our Peak District holiday this week and it was GREAT. We enjoyed it so much, we turned around and went to the Malvern hills after we got home so we could squeeze in another day of glorious HILLWALKING!!! And I have already contacted a B&B in Wales about booking for our August hols there. Hooray! I'm so glad we've found a fun hobby. Running just wasn't doing it for us, even though we tried it for a month, but this hillwalking thing is awesome!

Any other enthusiasts?

My husband and I were just out hillwalking today.  Its a wonderful way to see the country and get some exercise in.  I'm 25 and he's 23 and we are always the youngest ones as well!

I wouldn't say we're into hill walking (no big hills, just gentle rolling ones near us), but we are totally loving Rambling with our ordnance maps. 

wE were in the Peak over easter and it was fab!  We have friends who live in the Hope Valley and know every single trail in the district i'm sure.  We're visiting them as much as possible!  I don't think I could get tired of English countryside.

The only thing I'm not crazy about are those bulls in farmers' fields. we were chased by one big one and followed by a herd at a gallop.   But I just found out that it is illegal for farmers to keep bulls on the public access footpaths so now I can report them. (If i don't get trampled first!)

Thus far, we're the only ones we've seen out on the trails.  It's amazing that we can be walking for 3 hours and not run into another soul - human that is..

Same here Mrs Pink! My husband and I love to go rambling with our map on the weekends.  I'm not into big hills though, slow slopping or an occasional big one is fine but not all of the time, I prefer the pastures or woodland. I really love the countryside, can't get enough of it and I don't think I will ever grow bored.

Unfortunately no walking of us this weekend because of the heat...unfortunately I just can't take it. Fall, winter, spring though are great! Of course, hoping it cools down soon so we can get back out there. 

We have also run into bulls, horses and sheep.  Luckily we haven't been chased yet but did have an issue with some horses recently. They were very gentle and come over to us....we were a bit trapped because we couldn't get through the gate.  My husband did have a problem with bulls a few years ago, he was on a run and came into a pasture and they started coming quickly toward him....so he had to dive through some bushes and got pretty cut up...but at least he made it out ok.

We are ramblers too.  We're in Yorkshire so we end up doing a fair amount of albeit very slow hill walking...under a considerable amount of protest from me...but in the end, it usually works out.  I've ended up hanging off a rock, getting lost & climbing into a sty full of aggressive pigs, falling face down into the mud, being chased by a mean dog, cornered by cows (no bulls yet fortunately!), and followed around by hungry sheep in the spring.  (The last bit's ok though 'cause they sure taste good. )  DH says we don't have a proper walk unless I end up crying about something that happens!

Carolyn, that sounds exactly like us!!  We are quite tired of running into cattle.  We're sticking to the bridal ways for now, until we can get our confidence back around the stupid bullocks.  We were chased by a herd of 25 or so, a few weeks back.  We were out for a walk last weekend but we had less than no fun because every field we crossed had some kind of bovine standing in our way.  We had a much more enjoyable time on the bridal ways. 

We're sticking to the bridal ways for now, until we can get our confidence back around the stupid bullocks. 

Yes, I feel very fortunate to have missed out (thus far) on the bulls.  I don't think I would deal well with that at all.  We got cornered by a bunch of cows once, with DH standing in front whilst they checked him all out -- and me behind, tearfully panicking 'They are going to eat you & then come for me!'  My friends here say the way to handle cows is to brandish a large stick (such as a walking stick) & act authoritative around them - haaaa! Out of the way!  Now if we can get up the nerve to do that...

Yeah the bridal ways are good, but I don't like dodging (o'er stepping) all the horse poo.  And sometimes, if it's a metalled track -- well I like walking on the soft ground better, especially if I'm getting tired & my feet are hurting.

Yikes!  I think we'll be staying away from this bit of N Yorkshire:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/5108850.stm

Yes, I feel very fortunate to have missed out (thus far) on the bulls.  I don't think I would deal well with that at all.  We got cornered by a bunch of cows once, with DH standing in front whilst they checked him all out -- and me behind, tearfully panicking 'They are going to eat you & then come for me!'  My friends here say the way to handle cows is to brandish a large stick (such as a walking stick) & act authoritative around them - haaaa! Out of the way!  Now if we can get up the nerve to do that...

I works!  I tried it last time we were out.  You look right at them, make yourself look as big as possible and make noise.  They backed right off.  Also, I went for a walk with the GirlGuides and we brought my co-leader's german shepard.  That worked too!

Now tigers..  I don't even want to think about that one!!!

for those of you who are into hillwalking and outdoor pursuits, a friend of mine has just started up this forum.

http://greatoutdoorsmotorbikesetc.forumup.co.uk/index.php?mforum=greatoutdoorsmotorbikesetc&sid=e9361590a4685899bcc5381b7ebca974

It's got a bit of everything from motorbikes to walking. It's only a small group at the moment but hopefully it'll pick up!

I'm interested in finding out more about it... where does one begin to learn about it properly?
(sounds like a nice weekend break kinda thing I'd love to do!)

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/

Also, buy an ordnance map for your area (about £7).  That will tell you all the footpaths and bridal ways in your area.  And get a good compass!  Most areas have a ramblers group.  They actually want you to join! 

Thanks!
(as the head starts reeling from all the 'weekend break' type getaways I want to do!)

Walking/rambling here is easy (even if you can't schedule an entire weekend break)...on Saturday or Sunday, get out to the country & walk around a bit, wherever -- it needn't be far from where you live.

You can make your rambles as short or as long as you want it.  Heck you could even walk the whole country and never see a road!

Quite often, DH and I will just go our around our house (we border farms) for a quick walk in the evenings.  We found a route that has a creek, woods, cow pastures (what walk of ours would be complete without cows!), and crops.  Add to that the school field and we have about a 1-1/2 hour loop that we can expand at will and stop at one of two pubs..

A favourite thing of mine is to start around a village with a pub and do a loop so that we can end in the pub.  If there is a church too, well then that is nice.  We've found some nice little churches in the middle of nowhere and the great thing, is that they're always open (or you can get the key from the rectory down the road..)

I'm interested in finding out more about it... where does one begin to learn about it properly?
(sounds like a nice weekend break kinda thing I'd love to do!)

We go as often as possible - and it's amazing how empty the countryside can be, even on a Bank Holiday, because a lot of people just drive to the well known beauty spots and don't wander far from their cars.

If you're really going to get into it - make sure you have and carry the right clothing (ie at least a decent cagoule, comfortable boots or shoes). You won't enjoy it if you're cold or wet half way through. And make sure you go with a group or someone that can map read until you've got the hang of it. Here in in (even in Yorkshire where the hills are quite low by Lake District/Scotland standards) it's perfectly possible for mist to come down quite quickly on the top of a hill even in summer. And temperatures can fluctuate - I've been in a t shirt at the bottom of a hill and needed a fleece and cagoule on the top.