Jack’s Rake is an incredibly fun scramble up the face of Pavey Ark in the Lake District’s Langdales. It has been on the list for a while so I took a sunny morning off to go and get this one in the bag. Here’s the route I took and review of the morning.
Grown ups behaving badly at junior football games… if you’ve spent any time in the junior games at all, you’ve probably seen it yourself. And now grassroots coaches Simon Compton and Mark Jones lift the lid on some awful adult behaviour in the junior game in their new book “The Accidental Manager.”
The move from under 8s to under 9s is a big one on junior football, with a considerably larger pitch, a change from 5 a side to 7 a side and longer games too. So here are some tips to help your team with the transition.
Got way more hiking gear than you need and a potential addiction to acquiring more? Yes, me too. So I’ve been having a little nosey at storage ideas and here are some cracking ones.
Kayaking with kids can be an amazing and memorable adventure for the whole family. But before you pick up a paddle for the first time with the family, here’s a few things you need to know.
Cup final season in the junior football calendar is upon us. A big came can be a nerve wracking thing for an adult player, so imagine that pressure for the first time amongst the youngest players in the game! We talk tips for keeping kids calm before cup finals and other big games.
Having done Sharp Edge up to Blencathra last year, I wanted to head back and explore some other routes. My 8 year old also wanted to level up his scrambling and try a ridge. Hall’s Fell Ridge is less exposed (though more sustained) than Sharp Edge, so we headed out in April 2023 to scramble our way to the summit.
No sooner are the Easter holidays over than it’s time to start planning for the Spring half term in the hopes we might even get some better weather. But whatever the weather does, we’ve got some great, low cost active ideas for fun activities with the kids.
The weather was sublime and my deadlines were in the bag! So of course it called for an early start, a drive to the Lake District and hike up Blencathra via Sharp Edge. Here’s the route and how the hike went.
I first visited Corrie Fee in August 2022 en route to the Munro summits of Mayar and Driesh. I was blown away so decided to go back just to see Corrie Fee alone with more time to explore. I did that in 2023.
So you want to hike the UK’s wonderful hills and mountains in winter? Not sure what equipment you’ll need. Here’s our check list.
After crossing both Crib Goch and Aonach Eagach, I’ve taken a bit of time to weigh them both up. Here’s my comparison of the two ridge crossings and an attempt to answer the question, “which is tougher?”
Under 8s football adheres to the FA laws of “Mini Soccer,” which determine the age of players, time limits on games and other things too. Got a child going into under 8s football or considering it? Here’s everything you need to know about football at this level in England.
What size of football should children use? We look at FA laws governing ball size and the requirements for games in youth football. Pictured: Baby with a size 5 ball. Definitely not FA sanctioned! 😂
After crossing both Crib Goch to Snowdon and Striding Edge to Helvellyn, how do the two ridges compare against each other? Which one was the hardest?
After crossing both Crib Goch to Snowdon and CMD Arête to Ben Nevis, how do the two compare and which is the hardest? Here’s my take.
I climbed Ben Nevis with my 7 year old child. Here’s my take on climbing Ben Nevis via the mountain path with kids.
I finally ticked off a big hiking wish list item and scrambled my way across the Aonach Eagach ridge. Reputedly mainland Britain’s longest, narrowest ridge, I knew to expect a tough scramble and lots of exposure. But how was it? Here’s how I found the difficulty, exposure and route on Aonach Eagach.
Love a bit of indoor climbing? Well those of you fortunate enough to live in or near to Manchester are spoilt for choice when it comes to climbing centres. Here are some of the best available within easy reach of the city.
I hiked across Crib Goch in July 2022 as part of a Snowdon route. I’ve done a lot of mountain hiking but this was only my third exposed ridge. Beautiful and exhilarating with the weather conditions on my side, this is how I found the crossing.
As 68,800+ people packed out Old Trafford to cheer on England women’s team in their Euro 2022 opener, it’s important that we reflect on just how far the women’s game has come. And let’s not forget that 101 years ago, the FA effectively banned the women’s game. That ban would go on to last half a century. Here’s the story of how a factory football team of ladies became the catalyst for an FA ban on the women’s game.
The UK’s highest mountain by its most spectacular hiking route. That’s what the CMD arête to Ben Nevis promises. But how is it in reality? And how does it fare for beginners? I hiked to Ben Nevis via Carn Mor Dearg and the CMD arête. Here’s how I found what was my first notable ridge hike.
Striding Edge is a popular ridge route to the summit of England’s third highest mountain, Helvellyn.
But how’d you get there? How safe is it? And who is it suitable for.
We took a little wander out there to take on Striding Edge for ourselves and here’s our take on it along with some photos and video from a sunny day on Helvellyn.
We tried out Flick Football’s urban ball returner for a drop kick training session with our 7 year old. Here’s what we thought of it, the pros and cons and a bit more information about the product as a kick training device in the context of young players.
Under 7s football follows the laws of “Mini Soccer,” which determine the age of players, time limits on games and other things too. Find out everything you need to know about getting started with U7s football in England.
Traditionalists may not like it! But personally, I don’t like to risk being stuck on a hill or mountain with a dead phone or head torch battery. So I like to carry a portable charging device (or 2, or 3) with me. Here are the best portable charging banks for hiking that I’ve used. (And I’ve used a lot, by the way).
We don’t post loads on social (shock, horror, we know). But we will try harder… promise!