Welcome to the Our Sporting Life hiking blog. I’m Stacey and I’ve been hiking religiously since 2020. Lockdown helped me discover local trails and since then I’ve been bagging munros, Wainwrights, as many hills and mountain ridges as I can find, plus flatter trails too. I’m absolutely hooked. Most of the hiking blog posts here are written by me. I cover routes, reviews, gear and other features relating to hiking (mostly in the UK because that’s where I am). And I’m a firm believer that nobody should write about a route they haven’t done themselves. That’s why we don’t have thousands upon thousands of route reviews, but instead a smaller number of the ones we’ve done ourselves and can do into more detail on.
Sometimes, other members of our team of guest contributors may share hiking articles here too, but we only publish content on topics that the writer has experience of.
On a sunny Friday afternoon in August, I headed over to Eryri to enjoy a hike and scramble up Moel Siabod via the glorious Daear Ddu ridge. Here’s the route and my review of what is, in my opinion, one of the finest mountains in Wales.
Tryfan is something of a mountain rescue hotspot, with Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue regularly called out. With recent fatalities and the frequency of call outs, we take a look at just how dangerous Tryfan is and how to stay safe on a mountain like this.
A beautiful and short child/family friendly walk in the Scottish Highland featuring two stunning waterfalls, a beautiful gorge and lots of interesting bridges for little legs. This one is the Golspie Big Burn walk and I took it with my 3 sons in August 2025. Here’s the route and how we found it.
I do love me a bit of adrenaline. And Via Ferratas have so much appeal. But we’re actually quite short of Via Ferratas in the UK. With that said, I headed to the Lake District to try out Honister Slate Mine’s Via Ferrata Xtreme. Let’s dive in…
On a sunny July Friday, I took a 12km circular hike in the Peak District which included the Roaches and Lud’s Church. Here’s the route I took and how it went.
Inov-8 might be better known for its running kit than its hiking gear. But after buying a couple of hiking clothing items and, more notably, switching to Inov-8 for my hiking boots, here’s my take on whether or not Inov-8 also makes a decent hiking brand
What are the best hiking brands available to buy in the UK? Well based on several years of hiking and spending thousands upon thousands on hiking kit (some good, some bad, some ugly), here’s my take on the best hiking gear brands you can get your hands on.
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) is an incredibly busy summit. But just how many people visit? How busy does that keep mountain rescue? We look at these and more figures in our Snowdon statistics round up.
You’ve probably heard grades referenced when talking about scrambling. But just what is involved with Grade 1, 2 and 3 scrambling? We take a look at the differences.
It seems like an endless debate online as to whether mountain hikers “should” wear hiking boots, lower hiking shoes or trail runners. But which is best? Let’s take a little look.
Having traversed both Liathach and Aonach Eagach, this is a summary of both and a comparison as to how the two fare in terms of difficulty. As ever, this is very subjective and based on my own views.
I’ve had my eye on Liathach for years and finally made up there on an early May weekend. What a beautiful hike and scramble. Here’s how I found the hike, the Munros and the pinnacles.
The Tarmachan Ridge has been on my must-hike list for some time. After bagging the Munro of Meall Nan Tarmachan in relatively poor weather last July, I went back on a clear bright day to enjoy a solo hike across the entire ridge, rebagging the Munro and bagging the 3 Munro tops along the way.
I hiked up Ben Chonzie last week for a little solo. I won’t lie. This was the dullest Munro I’ve ever hiked up – but fortunately, the view at the top that day (with cloud inversions) was a saving grace! Here’s the route, some photos and a review
“The Big Bookle” has been on my hiking bucket list for as long as I’ve been visiting Scotland to hike. So with a week of exceptional weather coinciding with a little hiking trip North of the border, I set out to the bag the two munros and the munro top of Buachaille Etive Mòr. Here’s the hiking route and how that walk went.
With the immense weather we’re currently having, I took an impromptu trip to the Lake District yesterday to complete my fourth crossing of Striding Edge. I’ve already written about this hike before, so I won’t repeat myself. Instead I got some photos and videos relating to the bypass paths and the Bad Step which we’ve had several emails over the years asking about. Hopefully this helps.
T shirt weather is on its way back! The clocks have gone forward and the days are getting longer. I, for one, am delighted. But let’s not get complacent when it comes to hiking safety just because the mountains are starting to thaw.
I’m an avid hiker who was using an Apple Watch since the first iteration in 2015. I recently switched to Garmin (Garmin Epix 2) while keeping an iPhone and my other Apple Kit. Here’s an honest review of my experience with both Apple Watch and Garmin as a hiker and someone who tracks all their health and fitness data through a watch.
Hiking. It’s addictive you know. Well, at least I think it is. But as far as addictions go, this one’s pretty good for you. Here are some of the many benefits of making hiking your new hobby.
Thousands of Brits every year research the prospect of climbing Mount Everest, despite the fact that hundreds of people have lost their lives on the world’s tallest mountain. Here are some other facts, stats and figures about Everest that you may not have known!
So you want to walk 10000 steps? But just how far is that in distance terms? Let’s take a look with our distance and steps calculator.
5 games of football in the 3 days prior isn’t how I would normally prepare for a mountain hike. But then again, I don’t normally hike in groups either. But on an early March Monday, I set out with 5 of my football teammates up the mountain path of Ben Lomond. Here’s how that hike went.
I hiked up to the summit of Skiddaw from Mallen Dodd – one of the shorter walking routes up Skiddaw. It was a stunner of a February Friday morning with blue skies, clear paths much of the way and a stunner of an icy summit up top. Here’s how that solo hike went.
Tryfan’s North Ridge route offers up some absolutely spectacular scrambling and incredible views. So I was delighted to stick the out of office on and head over there for a hiking morning on a sunny May Friday. Here’s how it went!
Hikes and Walks Near Manchester Manchester City Centre isn’t somewhere you might associate with peaceful hikes and walks. But there are some pretty impressive routes
This stunning 8km walking route takes in a couple of stunning waterfalls, a breathtaking gorge and a Harry Potter filming location. This is Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove. And here’s how I found this magical Malham wander.
I don’t like changing hiking boot brands. I really don’t. But having used Merrell hiking boots for so long and having issue after issue more
I walked around Derwent Water in the Lake District using the 15km circular hiking trail. Honestly, as far as flat walks in the Lakes go, this one is absolutely brilliant. Here’s how it went.
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).
Kinnoull Tower is perched on a cliff edge overlooking the River Tay and just by the side of the A90. I’d always fancied a wander up there, each time I’ve driven past. So finally, I went and did it. Here’s some photos and a little review of a small hike with BIG views.
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!
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