Outdoor Travel Blog
A list of the best sailing books including memoirs, novels and biographies, constituting the most fascinating nautical tales ever penned
After recently compiling a list of the best sailing movies we’ve seen, I was prompted into some related reading. Fresh from a delivery of sailing bestsellers (and less-sellers), I’ve put together a list of the best sailing books.
Our beginner’s guide on how to choose a backpack will help you make the best choice for your backpacking needs, ensuring comfort and reliability
Whether you’re on a day hike through gently rolling hills or an extended expedition crossing an ice shelf, knowing how to choose a backpack most suited to your trip will make it infinitely more enjoyable.
There are myriad options available and it can be a confusing affair, but getting it right will ensure comfort and reliability day after day.
We take a look at popular outdoor retailers’ best-selling camping and hiking gear of the year
In general, I don’t tend to spend much money on clothing and non-photography related gadgets. I am comfortable enough loafing around in jeans and a t-shirt. On top of that, I hate shopping with a vengeance. If I really focus, I can avoid shopping malls for most of the year, succumbing only in the lead up to Christmas.
Our comprehensive Elbrus kit list includes everything you’ll need to conquer Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe.
Mount Elbrus in Russia, at 5,642m (18,510ft), is Europe’s highest mountain and a member of the seven summits, the highest point on every continent. Having just returned from climbing Mount Elbrus with specialists 7 Summits Club, I thought it would be useful to share my entire Elbrus kit list as a point of reference for future climbers.
A list of useful sailing apps used by professional sailors to navigate their way across the seas
During my recent tall ship sailing adventure, I picked the skipper’s brains about the essential sailing apps he uses for navigation, ship tracking, weather and tides.
Stefan, the owner and skipper of the Lady of Avenel, stands at the helm with his tablet mounted nearby. “Is this the future of sailing?” I asked him. “Never mind the future of sailing, this is the here and the now,” he responded wryly.
Having just returned from our first cycling trip – a tour of Myanmar – we look at useful cycling accessories we’d like for our next trip
We had an amazing experience on our cycle tour of Myanmar, but one thing we noticed was that we weren’t kitted out very well compared with fellow cyclists.
We are far more prepared for our hiking, climbing and mountaineering escapades than we are for adventures on two wheels. It didn’t stop us having a great time, but a few of the below cycling accessories would have made our days in the saddle just that bit easier.
With complex hierarchies, obscure heroes and indecipherable lingo, the outdoors community is more daunting than it should be
Many years ago, before the prospect of camping became a real and constant threat in my life, I was a city girl through and through. I had never slept beneath the stars, never bathed in a lake and never answered nature’s call in, er, nature.
We wrap up our series on this extraordinary country by browsing through the best books about Myanmar and the insights offered within their pages
Before I visit a country, I like to read a book or two about the destination to get a sense of the place and culture. For Myanmar, it had to be George Orwell’s Burmese Days, a dark and fascinating insight into British colonial Burma and the disgust Orwell felt towards the system he was a part of.
Outdoor magazines are a well-deserved indulgence for those who love hiking, camping, climbing, wildlife and the great outdoors. We list our favourite below
One thing I dearly miss from my less-nomadic life is magazines. In the age of internet clickbait, printed publications still have an allure that a computer or smartphone screen just can’t replicate. Whether through fascinating features on the latest first ascent, a thru-hiker’s account of a long-distance hiking trail or stunning photography from the world’s protected lands, outdoor magazines have always piqued my imagination.
We wrap up our series on the tiny tropical island by perusing the best books about Sri Lanka and the insights offered within their pages
Before I visit a country I like to read a book or two about the destination to get a sense of the place and culture. For Sri Lanka, I chose Roma Tearne’s Brixton Beach. Tearne, a Sri Lankan born novelist living in Britain, provided the perfect introduction to our trip.
We take a look at some of the best books about hiking, from thrilling adventure stories to technical trail guides and everything in between
We’ve used Amazon and Goodreads’ bestsellers lists along with some personal favourites to put together a list of what we believe to be some great books about hiking.
Our safari photography tips gleaned from a decade of photographing wildlife
Having spent a considerable amount of our travels in jeeps on game drives, I’ve managed to photograph some beautiful and rare wildlife over the years. Along the way, I’ve picked up some indispensable safari photography tips be it through trial and error, talking to expert rangers, or just comparing photos with other enthusiasts.
Here are some essential safari photography tips to help you get the most out of your wildlife experience.
Travelling green takes a little extra effort at first – but can soon become second nature. Here are some easy ways to travel green which will save you money too
We at Atlas & Boots strongly believe that travel is a force for good. However, when you consider the environmental impact of commercial aviation, the overwhelming numbers flocking to sensitive ecosystems and the tourist-driven strain on resources, travel doesn’t look quite so pretty.
We enlist some expert advice on how to photograph the northern lights
I’d been hankering after a Nikon ever since ruining mine in the Maldives a few years ago. Stuck with a clunky second-hand Canon, I often found myself fiddling with settings instead of getting the shot I was aiming for.
Knowing how to pack a backpack for hiking and camping trips will make expeditions of any length easier and more enjoyable.
I’ve written before about how to choose a backpack and why getting it right is so important. It should be noted, however, that even the best backpack in the world – poorly packed – can make a hiking trip frustrating at best and disastrous at worst.
Knowing how to charge your gadgets in the wild could be a matter of survival or (more likely) avoiding boredom during a rainy day spent huddled under canvas
Let’s face it: even if you’re a hardcore survivalist, a compass and map simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Whether it’s tracking your route with a hiking app, triangulating your position using GPS or letting your loved ones know you’re safe, adventurers these days rarely leave home without at least one electronic device.
A comprehensive checklist of what to pack in your hiking first aid kit, from apps that could save your life to must-have gear for the great outdoors
Peter and I have a running joke that I’ve fallen off my bike in the most beautiful places in the world, from Bora Bora to the Galápagos Islands. The worst fall happened when cycling through the quiet country lanes of our tiny French village.
Ready to take your first wild camping trip but unsure where to start? Here are some wild camping tips to help get you into the outdoors
Recently, as I prepared for a hiking and wild camping trip to Dartmoor, I wrote a post on the layering system and how to prepare for the capricious weather that comes with springtime in the UK. How pleased was I that I prepared well? Very.
I have a rule about restaurants: if one offers two markedly different types of cuisine, I won’t eat there. Think Thai restaurants that make pizza, or British gastropubs that offer Indian curry. More often than not, instead of doing one cuisine well, these multi-purpose restaurants will do two cuisines badly and are simply best avoided.
For a long time, I applied the same philosophy to multi-purpose products. But then I started packing for our trip.
Weighing 100lb is all very nice until you decide to backpack for a year. 1 mosquito net, 1 sleeping bag, 1 mat and it’s already TOO HEAVY.
— Kia Abdullah (@KiaAbdullah) 5 August 2014
It’s a predicament many a traveller has faced. When embarking on a long-term trip, every inch of space counts. To help future travellers pack lightly, we’ve put together a list of well-loved multi-purpose products that are ideal for travel.
Our selection of the best books about survival includes astonishing accounts of endurance to tales of daring escape and everything in between
Books about survival demonstrate what humans are capable of when pushed to their limits. Whether it’s the treacherous slopes of a mountain in hurricane-force winds, being cast adrift in the middle of the ocean or a hellish trek through arid desert, the challenges described within illustrate the true strength of the human spirit.
