What a difference a year makes! A year ago we were still to emerge from a long, cold, dark and snow-bound winter. The mountains were oppressive, the forest gloomy and forbidding, our minds constrained by the memory of what had gone before. Of course, the memories are still there, never to be expunged, but the sheer zingy brightness of this Spring is a balm to the tortured soul.

Early April sees us tramping through the woods checking trails and trying to exhaust an irrepressibly bouncy Irish Terrier. Is it just me or are there more nodding Hellebores than ever before? Cyclamen have emerged from frozen ground and compete with blankets of Violas and Ajuga for the flashiest dazzle of colour. I always considered Primroses a rather mundane flower - a bit "Meh" - but to come across a small glade in a new walking path completely covered in the creamy yellow is a wonder to behold. The lack of canopy has allowed three months of almost uninterrupted sunshine to summon this riot of colour to lift our spirits.

A guide to choosing a suitable headtorch for running or hiking, to help light up those dark nights and see you safely through from dusk until dawn.

Whether you’re heading out for an evening run, got caught out as the sun set on a hike, or just finding your way to the campsite facilities, a decent headtorch will make all the difference. Advances in lighting capacity and battery technology now offer us a dazzling range to choose from, depending on our budget and needs. Simple models with minimal adjustment sit alongside more advanced models, offering programmable lighting modes, multiple beams, and even intelligent reactive lighting that economises battery power.

Shock horror the 'guide' is wearing walking shoes! That was certainly the reaction a few years ago when I turned up to meet my group of Tour du Mont Blanc hikers with low cut walking shoes. The walking shoes in question were North Face Hedgehogs and five years later I am still guiding wearing 'Hedgehogs'. Certainly, since then it has become more and more common for 'walkers' to be wearing low cut 'shoes' rather than heavy duty walking boots and from my own experience the benefits are clear.

Remember the good old days of fumbling with an OS map in a howling wind, then trying to locate the compass in one of your jacket’s many pockets (only to realise it's embedded firmly at the bottom of your rucksack…)? Remember too the early heart rate monitors that ate batteries, were clunky and didn’t seem to work reliably for more than a few weeks before they’d start to provide inaccurate readings that were off the charts? 

With temperatures rising and snow clearing from the trails, it’s an excellent time to start making summer plans. Why not put a multi-day hiking trip on your agenda? Whether you’re a seasoned hiker or taking your first trip there are walking trips for all levels.

What a wonderful discovery - the Apuane Alps in Tuscany. Just been staying in the area for ten days with a view to perhaps offering trips there next year in 2010! The area is truly wild and beautiful with forests of beech trees covering the mountainsides with rocky limestone ridges rising high above the treeline. It was my first visit to this part of Italy and it did not disappoint me.