Some ideas for stocking fillers for lovers of the outdoors.

As always a few ideas for the Christmas stocking fillers.

Bivy Bag

A Bothy bag / a great bit of kit its magic of you ever need it in an emergency or to get out of the weather. They all are lightweight and a place to get out of the weather even out for a walk. Kids love them and they can become a Den and a fun place to be! In an emergency in winter they can save a life. I carry one even on short walks! Well worth thinking about it may even save your life. Get a bright one.

A decent head-torch can be great stocking filler so useful in winter when the days are short. I carry two one as a spare – there are so many to choose from nowadays and always spare batteries . A must carry it’s dark in December in Scotland in early winter at 1530 and light after 0800 not much time of out in the wilds.

Good gloves are essential if your hands are cold then you can do little. Navigation and even putting on your torch becomes hard work. I carry at least two pairs more when climbing in winter they are essential. Thin working gloves and other pair that fit over that are windproof etc. Again so many choices.

Headwear is important hats balaclava and a buff a great piece of kit. Fairly cheap the Buff and they are made by and sold for so many good causes like Mountain Rescue Teams. They have so many uses and make an ideal stocking filler. I love them.

If you love the outdoors the winter is the time to appreciate it. I would advise a course on navigation and winter skills. Learn safely how to read the weather and the winter experience. There are so many Outdoor organisations who can teach you basic skills and advanced skills. How many outdoor winter lovers have done an Avalanche skills course this is another must do to keep you safe no matter how experienced we think we are.

Joining Mountaineering Scotland or the BMC is worthwhile as there is so much information and courses available to you. They also help fight for Access the environment to the wild places and represent us at many levels. This is so needed today in the environment issues that are occurring.

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I also love to support the Mountain Bothies Association the MBA. What a bunch of volunteers that look after the remote mountain shelters in the UK.Mountain Bothies Association – Life membership is available, please contact our membership office for details. An online voucher for Life membership can also be purchased from their website.

The Bothies give something back.

The purpose of membership is to support the maintenance work of the MBA- your subscription enables us to buy the materials to repair the bothies and to run the association. Members receive a copy of the Members Handbook, a quarterly Newsletter, which contains MBA News, bothy related stories and notification of planned work parties and projects, and the Annual Report and Review. Some members help keep our bothies in good condition by joining work parties and others help in administrative roles. However, all members support the open bothy concept through their subscriptions and donations. All are valued whatever their contribution, but we do hope that you will be able to give us some of your time. How many have had a break in a bothy why not support them.

John Muir Trust. – Become a member

Wild places are special and need protecting. In becoming a member you join more than 11,000 like-minded people. You’ll be part of an organisation with a UK wide reach that is educating people about nature, taking care of wild land and influencing decision makers. In return you’ll receive regular, high quality information and get access to a number of member only experiences and benefits.

Order a gift membership between October and December and your loved one will receive a special festive welcome pack. Simply use promo code FESTIVE when prompted and as a thank you for giving this special gift you’ll save 10% on each Individual or Joint/Family membership bought.

Buy online here or call 01796 470 080. T&Cs apply. We’ll do our best to send all orders in time for Christmas but to be sure it arrives on time, please place your order before Friday 6 December. If you have any questions at all about a gift membership, or have a query about your order, please contact our friendly team at membership@johnmuirtrust.org

The Munro Society

Founded in 2002 membership is open to anyone who has climbed all the Munro summits as listed in Munro’s Tables at the time of compleation – currently there are 282 mountains of Munro status with a height of 3000ft or more above sea level. Many such Munroists, who are often said to have ‘compleated’*, register their detail with the Clerk of the List. This official list is maintained by the Clerk on behalf of the Scottish Mountaineering Club and now exceeds 6,000 names. However, some of ‘compleaters’ do not register their details for a variety of reasons.

The Munro Society welcomes all Munroists who have compleated whether or not they have registered with the Clerk of the List. The Society exists to bring together the wealth of mountain experience that members have accumulated and thus provide a forum in which to share interests and concerns as well as creating opportunities for convivial gatherings.

http://www.themunrosociety.com/about-the-munro-society

Of course the trusty whistle cheap and always worth carrying, I carry one on my bag all the time. Why not give a donation to your local Mountain Rescue Team?

These are just a few ideas any more?