In Your Element Blog
This is the place to find out what’s going on with In Your Element, Outdoor Experiences, Events, Staff and Company News.
Song of the Paddle
Why “Song of the Paddle”? The Song of the Paddle is a well-known book amongst open canoeists. It is written by Bill Mason and is subtitled “An Illustrated Guide to Wilderness Camping”. So,...
Norway: Outdoor Paradise
The Outdoor Paradise - A Ski and Kayak Odyssey in Europe's Great Wild This looks like a great read although it's only available for pre-order at the moment. The author, James Baxter, is a member of...
Wrapped in cotton wool: part 2
Carrying on where we left off yesterday... click here “Adventure sports bring considerable health benefits, both physical and psychological, and this is now fairly common knowledge. Even in relation...
Wrapped in cotton wool: part 1
Public Safety and Risk Assessment By David J Ball and Laurence Ball-King Is Britain wrapped in cotton wool? It’s a question posed by the authors in this book which looks at how legislation...
Re-using outdoor gear: part 2
Carrying on where we left off yesterday - Yesterday's post Sarah Howcroft sees her new website project as a start. “I do believe this is the only way we will see sustained progress.” The OIA boss...
Re-using outdoor gear: part 1
Recyling outdoor gear: first industry steps towards a greener future? How green is your outdoor gear? No, not the colour; do you ever consider the environmental consequences of the clothes and...
Winter mountain lectures
Spectacular winter mountains can also be a dangerous place to be. Scotland’s mountaineering experts are offering a series of events that could, they said, save your life. The Mountaineering Council...
Top sea kayaking venues
Thanks to Jim Krawiecki (Guardian.co.uk, Tue 1 Jul 2008) who gives us a quick guide round the best sea kayaking coastlines in Europe. Scotland features in this list, unsurprisingly. Europe has a...
Adventurers’ Essentials
Even if the Bushmen of the Kalahari used to go hunting and gathering for months at a time with pretty much only their weapon as essential gear, today’s adventurer needs to bring quite a lot more in...
Where’s the water?
This is the site where all paddlers including kayakers, canoeists, and rafters can find out what the river levels are in Scotland (including dam release information). Kayaking conditions are...
Hike up, wheels down!
Where shall we go next? I came across this recently in the Scottish Mountaineer Magazine (Mountaineering Council of Scotland Publication) and thought to myself, "That looks fun". In mountaineering...
Mera Peak photos
You may have seen my previous post in the lead up to Mike and Calum's Nepalese adventure. Well, we're back and have some photos and a route map to show you. The route map was produced using my...
Wildlife to watch out for
At any time of year Scotland is a brilliant place to watch wildlife, but now that Autumn is well and truly upon us and with winter approaching, here are a just a few things you should be looking out...
Hostile Habitats
This is a great read, and a book that I've looked at on quite a number of occasions now, either just for interest or for example, when I was looking for information in the lead up to my Summer...
Great Glen Canoe Trail
This guide is an essential resource to help you plan your journey through the Great Glen across Scotland. As well as the calm waters of the Caledonian Canal there are the challenging open waters of...
Path of the Paddle
Lessons from the master: A short film from canoeist Bill Mason illustrates the joy and poetry of paddling solo. All the basic strokes used to control the canoe are rendered with perfect clarity...
Beachwatch Cleanups
According to the Marine Conservation Society, Scotland has the highest average litter levels in the UK of six out of the seven sewage-related debris items: condoms, cotton bud sticks, nappies,...
Outdoor activity fatalities
Did the headline grab your attention? Good. Having recently attended an event in Edinburgh (the SYHA Youth Residential Experiences Conference, which was very good I have to say), I was wowed by...
Mera Peak, here we come
On the 7th October 2011, Boots N Paddles' staff, Mike and Calum will head off to Nepal to attempt one of its highest trekking peaks; Mera Peak [6476m/ 21,246ft]. In the year of their 40th birthdays...
SCA River Advisers
The Scottish Canoe Association (SCA) is a great place to start if you're looking for any information that's paddle-related. They have a large list of resources on offer for experienced and...
