The Outdoors Station

Join me for my end of year frosty wander into the hills, when I stop for a while and roast some chestnuts on my Honey Stove. Looking for inexpensive ideas for next years break? Then imagine kayaking down the Nile, paddling your own wood Canadian canoe or having a custom made adventure with Jed Yarnold! Its all in this one!!

A bit late, but still inspiring, here's a few interviews from this year's Wilderness Gathering. A real 'back to nature' event full of knowledge, enthusiasm and ideas. We learn more about the art of manufacturing Saxon jewelery, how to tell a story, hear about life on Islay and talk to the authors of some new books to encourage youngsters to 'get out more'!

Extended Podcast. Where did it all go so wrong? We look at the facts behind the media storm from the weekend and talk to competitor Jeremy Webb maker of the video used by the BBC, Mark Weir at Honister Slate Mine, competitor Lucy Harris who spent the afternoon at the mine, Mark Hodgson of Keswick Mountain Rescue and finally Mike Parsons organiser of the OMM. Its a long one but make your own conclusions as to how big the tea cup really needed to be!

Extended podcast. This is part one of two podcasts which follow the recent OMM event in Cumbria. In this section we record the event itself, sharing our experience and those of others, as we all battle against the weather conditions. Rain finally stopped play and general flooding stopped the fun, so we record our thoughts and review the gear used, to see if it performed as it should. (Part two looks at the media storm reviewing the facts and the fiction)

The final preparations and gear check before Rose and I set off north to Cumbria for the OMM Mountain Marathon. The forecast isn't good, with 2 inches of rain and 60 mph winds on the first day of the event. Should make for an interesting podcast and gear test review!!

We're back and you can hear us panting and running along the hills training for the forthcoming OMM. Andy Howell meets Mary and Philip Lenerhan, hotel owners and mountain walkers in the Pyrenees, plus Nick Mayell a tracker from Shadowhawk Tracking, tells us why he's in demand in the UK.

In this the final podcast from the trade show series we speak with Andy Burgess the VP of design at Golite to understand more what goes into the design principles and philosophy behind their successful range. Plus Rose asks Coup what he takes with him in his bag, which he has had to pay for? Interesting!

In our never ending search for new products and information we talk about the work which goes into the small useful things with Sea to Summit head honcho, we chat about safety and theft with Packsafe, catch up with Brian Vargo for the US perspective and meet a very weary John Manning and Chris Townsend for their impression of the event.

How do you pitch a Lazer? Are Terra Nova really selling Tarps? A new super light super thin walking pole from Mountain King? A whole new range of female footwear from Inov-08? A whole new range of useful anti-bug lotions from Nikwax? Answers to all these questions can be found in this podcast. Enjoy!

In this the third podcast from the series, Roman really enjoys himself as he discusses new technical developments relating to the outdoor experience. Hear all about personal locater beacons, solar recharging panels, a new way to boil water and 2009 updates for the excellent Sat Map system. Gear freaks will love it!!