The benefits of yoga - for walkers

Yoga is an ideal activity for walkers

It's been happening across the UK over the last decade. Little by little a wave of yogis have been spreading the word about the superb benefits of yoga. These days most people will know about yoga and many will have given it a try. Perhaps not everyone is aware of the many different styles of yoga, including Hatha, Ashtanga and Iyengar, but a good number will be familiar with a range of yoga postures such as, downward dog, inversions, twists, backbending etc

The benefits for the general person include strength, flexibility, balance, posture, concentration and relaxation. If you have spent any time doing yoga you will know that all these aspects can be realised within a relatively short time and with practise can become an important part of your life.

But yoga is also of great benefit to walkers, too. In particular the core strengthening advantages of yoga, especially when practising the more dynamic Ashtanga-style of yoga, can help to combat aching back problems that often hit people who hike mountains.

Other benefits of yoga for walkers include:

* Improved energy levels

* Muscle strength in the legs

* Cardiovascular fitness

* Focus

* Stamina

For many people yoga is also a great way to ward off potential injuries. The repetitive motion of walking, especially if you suffer with poor posture or bad limb/body alignment, can lead to a host of leg, hip and back injuries. Yoga helps to realign body alignment and can therefore prevent potential walking aches and pains.

Why not sign up for a beginner yoga group in your area?

Happy Glamping and Glampervanning

Glamping in the purest sense

Words I've learnt this summer that still make me smile are Glamping and Glampervanning (the latter I think was coined by fellow bloggers Big Tree Campervans). Both reveal a growing desire from the general public for outdoors holidays but with a bit of luxury thrown in. So instead of seeing camping as a muddy, uncomfortable affair, Glamping was created to add all kinds of modern touches to camping.

Own-style Glamping

In the purest sense, Glamping is apparently more to do with static yurts and tents, which are kitted out with a wealth of 21st century luxuries, including heating, toilets etc. However, there are Glampers who organise their own tent and camping kit, and simply throw into the car as many modern gadgets as possible to make their camping holiday just that bit more glamorous.

Outdoors shops now sell a wealth of 21st century camping accessories such as solar showers, toilets, toilet tents, blow up mattresses, double sleeping bags, armchairs, proper cooking stoves, glasses, cutlery, crockery etc.

Have you tried Glampervanning?
Pic thanks to Angus Clyne

Glampervanning is similar except there's the added luxury of a warm van in which to live and sleep. While many campervanners still love the nostalgia of a VW van, increasing numbers are finding there are huge benefits to hiring or buying a more modern campervan. (That is, it's much less likely to breakdown/burn your bank balance in petrol!). And so an outdoors holiday in a modern campervan has been coined Glampervanning.

Whether you like the sound of Glamping or Glampervanning both offer a great base for an outdoors holiday whether you're looking for the convenience of a campsite or the get-away-from-it-all tranquility of a wilder spot. You'll also feel a great deal more inclined to embrace some of Scotland's great outdoor pursuits, such as walking, cycling, climbing, surfing.. oh the list is endless!

So many times I've found the weather in September and October to be ideal for an outdoors weekend or break during the school holidays. Who's up for a bit of Glamping or Glampervanning these next couple of months?

Get outdoors and be active!

Canoeing and kayaking are great outdoor

activities for children and adults

Get Active is a message we're hearing more and more. With rising obesity rates, especially among UK children, and greater concerns about the affects of inactivity on health, everywhere we look the experts are telling us to get off the couch and exercise.

The problem is that many people think that exercise = boring and repetitive workouts. But it really doesn't have to be this way.

Scotland's great outdoors offers a fantastic keep-fit playground. Simply being out of doors and active is guaranteed to burn calories and improve your mental well-being. Walking and cycling provide a great way to see the countryside, take in the views and get in shape. Many more people, especially families, are switching on to the benefits of these highly-accessible and relatively cheap activities.

Gorge walking and canyoning are becoming

increasingly popular in Scotland

There are numerous family-friendly cycle and walk routes criss-crossing Scotland and thanks to a number of outdoors companies, such as us (!) Glentrek, people can discover a wealth of new places to go walk or cycle.

But there are also a host of other activities that will get you fit and have you grinning, too. Multi-activity days and holidays are becoming increasingly popular in Scotland. Afterall this country is voted as Europe's number one outdoors capital. In Angus, holidaymakers could combine a few hours of cycling or walking with a morning or afternoon of other great outdoors activities, such as canoeing, sea kayaking, canyoning, high ropes, gorge walking, climbing and coasteering.

These activities are for a range of abilities, from novice to experienced, and for all ages and fitness levels. Until you try you'll never know how much you'll enjoy being active! Just ask us at Glentrek for further info (we can help you to sign up to many of these activities) or check out Outdoor Angus.

Tweeting about walking boots

We've been enjoying a few chats on Twitter recently, in particular there was a good exchange about Meindl boots. Meindl recently won an award in Country Walking magazine for Best in Test for their Respond XCR. (The Ramblers Association mag also recently awarded Meindl with a silver accolade in the Best Walking Boot/Shoe category).

We decided that this tweet was worthy of a retweet and so we found that some of our followers are indeed fans of these boots, too. It's always good to hear of recommendations when buying new boots.

Of course, everyone's feet are different and so some bots will suit some people while some will not. And it does depend on the type of walking or outdoors activities that you're doing.

But here's what two tweeters told us:

Mad Hunter Mike, aka Mike Hardy, of Arbroath, recommends Meindl boots. He's on his 6th pair and reckons the boots are the best. Check out MadHunterMike

James Campbell of Campbell Tours, based in Scotland, is also a big fan of Meindl boots. He says: "I wear the Kopenhagen shoe with my kilt. They are great for easy to moderate walking."

Another boot brand that's worth checking out according to another outdoors person that Glentrek is following is Hi-tec. FionaOutdoors tried a ladies boot while her daughter Little Miss Outdoors put a kids boot through a rugged hill walk. They both recommended their boots for light to moderate walking.

We'll be keeping you updated on any other boots news that comes our way via the fun and newsworthy Twitter network. Why not join in the chat? Glentrek on Twitter

Go long-distance walking

It started with the West Highland Way some 25 years ago - and now Scotland boasts a wealth of fabulous long-distance, waymarked walking trails. From the Southern Upland Way in the Scottish Borders to the Great Glen Way in the Highlands and from the Kintyre Way across to the Fife Coastal Path, walkers will find a long-distance walking route to suit their destination, as well as their scenic and terrain desires.

Waymarked walks offer walkers of all abilities the chance to safely navigate their way for days at a time through some of Scotland's most atmospheric scenery. (Good map reading skills are still essential in case you miss a waymarker.) It could be that walkers choose to tackle the whole route during one holiday, or they might decide to visit the walk for a day or a weekend at a time.

In the Angus and Perthshire areas there are several great long-distance walking trails, including the Cateran Trail. The circular, waymarked Cateran Trail is 64 miles long and starts/finishes in Blairgowrie, Angus. This trail offers walkers the chance to explore an unspoilt part of the Scottish Highlands and heads though atmospheric glens, farmland, forests and stunning mountainscapes.

The Cateran Trail takes its inspiration from the Caterans, the cattle thieves that roamed the lawless regions of the Highlands between the 15th and 17th centuries. The long-distance walking route makes use of many of the old drove roads and tracks once utilised by the Caterans. Today, signposts, stiles and bridges marked with the Cateran Trail logo, as well as direction arrows, allow for easy route identification for walkers. Glentrek have a five day self-guided walking break on the Cateran Trail.

You could choose to do the walk over less or more days and the type and style of accommodation can be booked to suit your budget or requirements. However you decide to walk this waymarked walk we reckon you'll find yourself hooked and keen to tick off a few more of Scotland's great long-distance walking routes.

Make tracks for a walking festival

If you thought that walking festivals were only for men with grey beards and rambler types brandishing walking poles then perhaps you should think again. There's nothing wrong with either (poles are great and in certain unkind lighting I can see the beginnings of a grey beard too) it's the image of walking festivals that's wrong..festivals attract a huge range of walkers, of all ages, with all kinds of interests and from an array of backgrounds.

With the number and diversity of walking fests growing every year in Scotland you may well wonder where to head for. Perhaps you'll choose an area that you've never been to before or you might decide to head to a festival in an already much-walked area so that you can join a guided walk that leads you along a route, or to a summit, that you've always fancied hiking.

There are many great reasons for attending a walking festival. First, you'll find an extensive range of guided walks, including historical themed walks, walks with nature, beginner-friendly walks, strenuous expeditions and a whole host more.

Walking festivals also offer a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded folk. These festivals appeal to solo walkers, couples and families, but they also provide the ideal arena for getting to know new walkers. Single walkers WAKE UP - some walking events have led to romance - and even marriage!

Most walking festivals also offer a range of off-hill events, including evening entertainment and associated outdoor activities.

Of course, we're going to be a little biased here in the Angus Glens but we think that our long-standing four-day award-winning Angus Glens Walking Festival is a little bit special. The Angus Glens provide a beautiful landscape and backdrop for a wide range of fabulous walks, and for all abilities. Many walkers return year after year to take in more of the growing range of organised hikes. The evening entertainment is also a real treat.

New at this year's festival, which runs from June 3 to 6, are two history-themed walks that explore the past of JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan who was born in the Angus town of Kirriemuir. There are another two new walks aimed at experienced walkers that head into Glen Clova and Glen Esk.

The festival is popular so it's worth sourcing your accommodation in advance – and booking on to the walks that take your fancy..All in all it's a great chance to see what beautiful Angus has to offer -see you there! .