Moray Way videos

Here's a link to the first of four videos I'll be posting about my Moray Way walk. One for each section of the walk and one on the gear I used.

This video covers the Dava Way and my first camp.

The Outdoor Trade Show 2026

Just back from this year's Outdoor Trade Show in Liverpool. To my surprise this was the 20th show. I didn't think there had been that many. As always there was plenty to see and plenty of people to chat with, often the only time I meet them face to face each year.

Three days in this vast hall with its temporary outdoor gear village.

Amidst all the new gear it was good to see Keela promoting its Legacy Project, which is about restoring, repairing, and reworking items so they last longer. 

Paramo has long been a leader in environmentally friendly gear. This year they showed a prototype jacket made with fully recyclable components. The jacket has no zips but all the features you'd expect. Production isn't planned to start until autumn 2028 though. However some of the design features such as zip-free waterproof pockets will appear on other garments as early as next winter. This sounds an excellent project.

Paramo prototype

Here's a look at a few new items I found interesting. I'm writing an over view of the show for The Great Outdoors magazine (last year's review here) and I'll be reviewing some of the gear over the next year. Many items won't be available until next spring or even later so don't expect to see them in the shops for a while.

The last few years have seen many new stoves arrive and there were two more good-looking ones at the show. Soto had a regulated stove that runs off plug-in horizontal canisters. The only stove I'm aware of that ran off these long narrow canisters was the Primus Grasshopper back in the 1970s. That stove used the canister as one of the stove legs. 

Primus itself had a winter/cold weather version of the new Lite Ultra  (which I'm currently testing). The Ulti Lite has a regulated radiant burner.

There were many new sleeping pads on display and some ultralight closed cell foam ones from Big Agnes caught my eye. There hasn't been anything new in this area for many years, all the attention going to inflatable mats. Big Agnes is a new lighter weight foam that is said to be as durable as heavier ones. Mats made from this are also more compact when packed, which will be excellent. An even lighter foam, is coming too. A full-length mat made from this will weigh just 99 grams!

The weights of some inflatable mats are coming down too. Sea to Summit's Ultralight Ion R5 mat only weighs 315g while having an R-Value of 5. It's also very compact.

Rab has revamped its sleeping bag range, something that seems to happen quite often. Completely new is a quilt in the ultralight Mythic range.

Of the many tents on display Robens has an ultralight trekking pole solo model, the Via 1, which is available now and which I have on test.

At the other extreme of backpacking tents Terra Nova had the Odyssey 1 and 2, which are designed for winter mountain use. The design is clearly derived from the Hilleberg Soulo, though with some different features. The solo Odyssey 1 is also lighter weight and less expensive (though by no means light and still costly).

Finally I liked Xtorm 3in1 Travel Charger, which combines a power bank and a wall charger. This looks excellent for long trips where both those are needed.

I wrote about last year's show here.

The Moray Way: some thoughts & pictures

First camp, on Dava Moor on the Dava Way.

The Moray Way is a 100 mile/160km walk linking the Dava Way, the Moray Coast Trail, and the Speyside Way. Forres on the coast is usually the starting point for the walk. However, as I live just a few kilometres from the Dava Way at Grantown-on-Spey it seemed logical to start there. Indeed, for the first time ever I set out on a long walk from my front door. Living so close by I really should have done this many years ago.

Crags at Huntly's Cave near the start of the Dava Way

The walk took a week. I camped on five nights, stayed in a hotel on one (in Forres). The weather ranged from cloudy and windy at the start to hot and windy at the finish. There were only a few light showers of rain. 

The Dava Way follows the old railway line from Grantown-on-Spey to Forres. This is the high point at 1052 feet/321 metres. All downhill from here!

With only a few days between finishing the walk and heading down to Liverpool for the annual Outdoor Trade Show I've barely had time to download my photos and videos, let alone process and edit them. Here are a few that show the different landscapes long the route. After my return from Liverpool I'll write longer pieces and post more pictures from each section of the route plus post a video or two.

The vast open space of Dava Moor covered in a white swathe of cotton grass.

The Divie Viaduct takes the railway line from Dava Moor into gentler, greener, fields and forestry.

Spring colours in a cutting on the Dava Way. The bright yellow of gorse was the colour of the walk.

One of the first views of Findhorn Bay on the Moray Coast Trail. The walk from the finish of the Dava Way in Forres to Findhorn on roads and roadside footpaths is not recommended!

A pine tree on the edge of sand cliffs above Burghead Bay, Moray Coast Trail. The forests of Scots Pine and Corsican Pine are to stabilise the sand and slow coastal erosion.

Second camp deep in the forest sheltered from the wind. Moray Coast Trail.

Beach, gulls, and Burghead. Moray Coast Trail.

The East Beach, Hopeman, Moray Coast Trail.

Heron on the rocks. I saw more birds on the Moray Coast Trail than on the other two sections.

Gorse corridor, Moray Coast Trail. You can't always see the sea.

Magnificent cliffs between Hopeman and Lossiemouth, my favourite section of the whole walk. Overall the Moray Coast Trail is one I would happily do again.

Some of many sea stacks and caves, Moray Coast Trail.

View from a cave to Covesea Skerries Lighthouse.

Camp with tank traps! These second world war defences would have been on the beach but are now stranded a little way inland. I was in the trees to keep out of the wind again.

The line of tank traps stretches out of the trees and along open ground behind some big shingle banks built by the sea. The tank traps line runs unbroken for 5 miles/8 kilometres.

The collapsed viaduct at Garmouth. The Moray Coast Path crossed this to link up with the Speyside Way. Now you have to road walk to Fochabers to reach the next bridge.

Fourth camp with a view of the river Spey and the now distant sea. Speyside Way.

The magnificent Thomas Telford Bridge at Craigellachie. Speyside Way/

Knockando Distillery. There are many whisky distilleries along the Speyside Way and the smell of malt is often in the air.

Fifth and last camp. Right by the river. The Speyside Way isn't often this close.

A green corridor as the Speyside Way follows the line of an old railway.

Endless gates, endless barbed wire imprisoning corridors. I hated this section of the Speyside Way.

Cromdale Station, the last of many old stations on the Moray Way.

Almost home! The bridge over the river Spey at Cromdale. 

Thirty years ago I walked over all the Munros and Tops

The first of 517. On Ben More on Mull, May 18.

Thirty years ago on May 18, 1996, I climbed Ben More on the Isle of Mull, the first summit on a walk over all the 517 Munros and Tops - mountains and subsidiary summits in the Scottish Highlands over 3,000 feet/914.4 metres in height. The walk ended 118 days later on Ben Hope, the northernmost Munro, after around 1770 miles/2850 km and some 575000 feet/175260 metres of ascent.

Champagne on Ben Hope with Chris Brasher. September 12.

I did the walk because I love long-distance walking and I love the Scottish Highlands. I’d wanted to do all the Munros on one walk since reading Hamish Brown’s superb account of the first ever such walk, Hamish’s Mountain Walk. Adding the Tops made the walk more interesting and challenging – especially in the planning. Whilst there were guidebooks to the Munros there were none to the Tops and, as I was to discover, few paths.

On Schiehallion. June 19.

This long-distance walk was different to others I’d done (and have done since). All previous walks had been linear ones with the option of varying the route according to the weather, the terrain, or just how I felt. As long as I walked the whole way between the start and finish I’d completed the walk. This time I’d committed myself to visiting 517 summits along the way. The walk would only be a success when I’d stood on every one. That meant my route looked like tangle of spaghetti thrown on the map, zigzagging in every direction.

Camp high on Stob Coire Easain. July 17.

Camping is an essential part of long-distance walking for me. I go to spend as much time in wild places as possible, to immerse myself in them, to feel I’m living there. Staying there at night is an essential part of this. My memories of the walk are as much about the camping as the walking.

Camp in upper Glen Tilt. June 21.

The weather was cool, wet, and windy, with rain at some point on 64 days. I was often in mist. Navigation required care (no GPS back then) and my compass was in regular use. Even so it was clear on 343 summits and only cloudy on 174.

Loch Nevis appears below the clouds on the descent from Sgurr na Ciche. August 1.

Sunny days came and went. Just once there were six in a row, during which I walked from Ben Alder to Ben Nevis, traversing the Grey Corries and the Mamores. 

Windy on Meall Ghaordaidh. June 4.

Whilst rain and mist weren't welcome it was very strong winds that caused problems, at times forcing me down from the summits. When I couldn't stand up it was time to retreat.

Escaping high winds under the Shelter Stone in the Cairngorms. July 4.

Bothies and shelters gave respite from the stormy weather in places and I used these on fourteen nights.

Above the clouds on Creag Leacach. June 25.

Some of my strongest memories are of days when the mists sank down into the glens and I was walking above them in sunshine and days when the skies cleared at dusk and the sky turned red and gold as the sun set.

After sunset on the Five Sisters of Kintail. August 11.

The weather meant I had fewer high mountain camps than I'd hoped, most being below 1000feet/300 metres. One of the few high ones came just four days from the finish when I camped not far from Seana Bhraigh and watched a spectacular sunset.

Sunset from a high camp. September 8.

The images here are scans from some of the images from the 60 rolls of transparency film I took during the walk.

After the walk I wrote a book, The Munros and Tops. It’s still in print if you’re interested in reading more about my adventure.

A few more camp pictures.

On the slopes of Carn Dearg, Ben Nevis in the distance. July 16.

Camp below Sgurr Choinnich Beag. July 18.

By Loch nan Eun. June 22.

I've made a little picture video about the walk: