The project links together all the various Welsh coastal paths and brings them all to the same standard as one official route, with way marking and a website to enable backpackers or walkers of all ages and ability to enjoy the 870 miles of glorious scenery.

The path also links with Offa’s Dyke path, which runs along the border of Wales and England, making it 1027 miles. The only path in the world to circumnavigate a country.

This podcast features interviews with those involved in the project, the first runner to complete the route and the first official backpacker to undertake the path after the official launch.

Interviews include;

Sue Rice – Access Programs Manager with the Countryside Council for Wales
Full information regarding the path, activities, areas, accommodation and so much more can be found on www.walescoastpath.gov.uk

Dave Quarrell – www.walkwales1027.com Walking in aid of Cancer Research Wales
Dave is using Viewranger as my outdoors GPS, running on my HTC Desire smartphone. Tracking is based on the Viewranger BuddyBeacon, linked to Social Hiking to integrate all my Twitter and photo posts and voila, you can see where he is at anytime during his trip!

Tegryn Jones – Chief Exec Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority

Arry Beresford Webb – www.dragonrun1027.co.uk
The blog of her run and experiences can be found at http://dragonrun1027.wordpress.com/

James Hitchens – Operational Manager for the YHA in Wales
Map and YHA accommodation details www.yha.org.uk/places-to-stay/wales

Music: Paul Rose

Another one from the Luxe stable now being imported exclusively through backpackinglight.co.uk and once again offering excellent value for money v weight v performance.

At first glance there are similarities between the Lightwave, the Terra Nova Competition and Vaude Power Lizard.

As it shares the same footprint as the Power Lizard, it is larger than the Competition and offers plenty of space for the solo backpacker. Like the Power Lizard, it has enough room for 2 adults. Big enough for adventure racing and fastpacking, but maybe a little too cramped for a long holiday.

It depends on how close you are!

Unlike the Power Lizard, it does have two top vents for extra ventilation and larger end vents to keep condensation to a minimum.

Whereas the Power Lizard weighs 1kg the Lightwave is fractionally heavier at 1.27kg. However it is also a third of the price!

Many outdoors people have been talking about this tent for a while. Especially the bushcrafters, paddlers, cycle tourers and motor cycle tourers.

The demand is high for a decent quality, reasonably light and most importantly, affordable teepee style tent, which offers great coverage, plenty of storage space in a compact package.

backpackinglight.co.uk have just started importing this range and already the demand is high as this is the first tent in the UK which offers so much for so little. Less than £200 will get you the complete package, shelter, inner nest for 2, poles and pegs. Total weight 4.5kg, so not unreasonable for 2 to carry on foot.

But perfect for those with storage space in the pack or panniers.

For those who seek to camp out in the winter, there’s a removable chimney cap to enable the correct and safe fitting of a wood burning tent stove, for sauna type luxury.

The height on a normal day is 2.2m, but the central pole extends an extra 50cm or so to offer the chance to dig down in the snow and make even more room should you need it.

This shape of tent is a big hit with the kids. They love the whole teepee experience, and somehow the shape is more associated in their mind to outdoor wild living than the more complex and heavy, ‘tent bungalows’ which can often be found on campsites.

However what appeals most of all is the amount of free space this unit offers even with the nest clipped into place on the pole. By unclipping it, the nest drops to leave you with a large comfortable area to sit on while you watch the world go by.

The Mini Peak II is a new teepee style shelter which is now available in the UK from backpackinglight.co.uk and many are suggesting that this could be the solo shelter suitable for many interests and pastimes.

The shelter consists of the outer, the solo nest and a set of pegs. The pole is extra and this is due to the fact that many hikers in particular, will probably use their walking poles as the main support.

However it is available as an optional extra.

Complete (with the pole) it weighs 1.76kg, which isn’t bad considering the massive footprint it offers. Just using it as a tarp tent without the inner will provide plenty of space for two adults and their gear and this would save another 438gm. Use your walking poles and you have another saving of 314gm, resulting in a total weight of less than a kilo. Not too shabby!

For solo hikers, bushcrafters, cyclists and kayakers, this shelter offers great value for money. Many outdoors people these enjoy the company of their pet and so having a reasonable space for a dog to stretch out without tearing fabric is always a bonus.

The nearest competitor in this style of shelter in the UK is of course the Golite Shangri-La 3. A fantastic tent, no question, however the HH technical spec on the materials used in this shelter exceeds the Golite and would you believe it, it is also lighter!

And almost a third of the price!!!

But in the worst Irish summer in living memory the pleasures of idling among seals, fulmars and fishing boats soon gave way to heroic struggles through storm-tossed seas … and lock-ins playing music in coastal pubs.

The book ‘Paddle – A long way around Ireland’ is a great read, something that, for once, the reader feels he could do himself. Just a guy out for a day, and then another, and then another. Until it became the stuff of legends.

Jasper talks us through the book and in this two part series, talks of his childhood history, his passion for nature and we discuss the crossroads where technology and adventure meet and sometimes takes all the fun out of it.

But in the worst Irish summer in living memory the pleasures of idling among seals, fulmars and fishing boats soon gave way to heroic struggles through storm-tossed seas … and lock-ins playing music in coastal pubs.

The book ‘Paddle – A long way around Ireland’ is a great read, something that, for once, the reader feels he could do himself. Just a guy out for a day, and then another, and then another. Until it became the stuff of legends.

Jasper talks us through the book and in this two part series, talks of his childhood history, his passion for nature and we discuss the crossroads where technology and adventure meet and sometimes takes all the fun out of it.

Here we discuss heading into and through the USA, the downright awkward Homeland Security and the generosity and hospitality of Americans generally.

There’s many interesting aspects and associated websites which have made their life easier and those of many long distance cyclists.

Hopefully we can touch base with them once again in another year and see how the trip has progressed.

Total escapism, so sit back with a coffee log into ‘The Sports Wool Diaries‘ and dream your next few hours away as think about your ideal big trip!

The primary method for maximising the heat output from any stove, is of course a decent windshield. These can take many forms and usually prevent the wind taking the heat from the base of the pot. This keeps the base of the pot hot, however as heat rises it is generally being lost up the sides.

One excellent solution is the Caldera Cone, which performs an excellent job of containing the alcohol stove and trapping maximum heat up the rim of the pot.

This video shows you how to calculate and make a conical windshield which clips to your pot and which can be used over any heat source. Until the Caldera, it doesn’t rest on the ground and support the weight of the pot, so it can be made from lighter and more flexible material.

It is designed to trap as much air as possible around the rim of the pot and maximise the heat output for any stove, be it alcohol, gas, wood or esbit/hexamine.

When cooking over a camping stove, the best way to save fuel and make it last much longer is to use a Pot Cosy. The modern term for a Hay Box and although the materials have changed, the principle is still the same. Simply place your hot cooking pot full of warm food, into the Pot Cosy, seal it and let the retained heat do all the simmering for you.

In this video I perform a simple experiment and show over an hour, exactly how much heat can be retained in this way. It was conducted on a chilly Spring day, however the final result is even more impressive during Winter.

I’ve been using this system for some time and I’m still amazed how many outdoors people are unaware of the practicalities. Whether you cook over gas, meths, alcohol stoves, wood stoves, solid fuel tablets or candles this item adds very little to the bulk of your pack, weighs a few grams at most and will keep your food cooking while you prepare your camp.

Listen to our Audio Podcasts No 336 and 337, where I cook up a three course full Christmas meal using one stove and a couple of cosy systems in a small tent during a December storm. Sure it took some juggling with the timing but the pleasures of the meal soon meant any stress was long forgotten.

You can make a Cosy out of most materials. An old sleeping mat, a few sheets of polystyrene even an old fleece blanket. However the modern foil encased bubble wrap is second to none, offering superior equivalent insulation properties.

A first look at the popular 2012 Pocket Stove manufactured in the UK by backpackinglight.

The Pocket Stove provides a variety of multi-fuel cooking solutions, for hikers, backpackers, kayakers, fishermen and bushcraft enthusiasts who want to keep things simple and cook over a wood burning camping stove.

The flat pack item is available in Stainless Steel (141g) or Titanium (65g) and packs away into a small folding tin, which will sit neatly inside most cooking pots, or mugs.

As a wood burner, the base plate sits in the lower slot and only a handful of twigs will bring a 400ml pot of water to a rolling boil as show in this video in less than 6 minutes.

If the tray is moved to the upper slot, it makes it ideal for use with Esbit/Hexamine tablets. Getting the best heat from the simplest solution.

The stove is designed to work specifically with a standard Trangia alcohol burner, which will slot into either of the locations on the stove. You’ll see it here in operation and it compares almost equally with the time time taken to raise 400ml of water to the boil.

It will also work well with most other top burning alcohol stoves, such as the Vargo Triad, the Evernew and other Pepsi can stoves.

Available in .7mm Stainless Steel and .5mm Titanium. The latter results in users getting an incredible flexible cooking solution, for considerably less weight.

Titanium wood burning stoves are the ultimate in lightweight backpacking, hiking solutions and you’ll never need to worry about gas or other made made fuels ever again!