A new adventure - the Outer Hebrides October 2017

I am planning a trip through various Hebridean Islands for October 2017. I anticipate some tough walking conditions and need to considerably improve my fitness levels so my weekly walking programme will gain a new intensity. Well that is the plan so it will be interesting to see how I get on. I intend to travel fairly light in the Hebrides so time will be spent on getting my pack list as right as possible, bearing in mind that weather conditions, will probably have the final say as to what I achieve.


The middle part of the trip will include 5 days with members of Trimarc, the hillwalking and mountaineering club I joined just over 45 years ago. The rest will be solo and will involve public transport or Shank's Pony.


Living in London does present challenges to the hillwalker in that the nearest decent hills are about 150 miles away. My preparation will include a mixture of trips to the Wales & Northern England, and trips to local small hills such as the Cotswolds, Downs, Chilterns and the bumps in between. The tempo will be increased using cycling and walks up the pimples in London, particularly Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath.