Gareth Clarke is an experienced Mountain Leader working in the UK and also Overseas. He has travelled widely including to places as diverse as Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Romania and Spain. He runs the Wild Hikes Georgia Trip every year.

---

1) Explore your streets by walking. Every. Single. Day.

On the first week of lockdown I was interested in the idea of running every street of my home town, Hebden Bridge, to see if I could do it and to see how far it was. 25km and 3 hours if you’re interested! I loved the repetition, the wrong turns and all the streets, lanes and cul-de-sacs I’d never encountered before. You do get the occasional funny look when you head down a dead-end road and turn on your heels.

If you’ve got a spare 18 minutes check out Rickey Gates’ film Every Single Street for some inspiration. During the lockdown we need to stay local and this is a good way of exploring your neighbourhood even if it’s not San Francisco!

2) If you prefer 2-wheels, why not get out on your bike.

I’m lucky enough to live in a small town in West Yorkshire and I’m loving the freedom of the quiet lanes. That said, lockdown life in the cities opens up new routes that you wouldn’t usually dare explore. Our roads will never be this quiet again. Plus with fewer cars pollution levels are much lower.

3) Time for a kit check and if you have any damaged items now is the time to repair your gear.

I know it’s pretty radical but we don’t all have big cash reserves to fall back on. Maybe even learn to sew if you can’t already. Buy less. Repair more. Here’s a handy guide.

4) Here are five lockdown exercises to get you hill fit once the restrictions are lifted.

No ‘sun salutations’ here even though I’m quite partial to a 20-minute stretch first thing. These exercises will only take 30 minutes of your day. Repeat 1-2 times a week.

5) Sharpen up your photo skills for your next trip.

Check out this photographer who is busying himself during the lockdown by connecting with his Edinburgh neighbours. If you prefer reading material my go to photography book is “Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs” by Henry Carroll.