As a company we wanted to have a greater focus on responsible travel to help protect the environment that we encourage you to join us in which is why we've created our NEW Low Impact holiday collection which can be identified by this new stamp.

Zermatt; the perfect playground for anyone who has an interest in the outdoors, food, photography, wildlife and so much more! Located at the southern end of Switzerland Zermatt is in the Visp Valley which forms part of the Valais Canton.  The village itself is at an altitude of 1620 metres (5,314ft) and is surrounded by awe inspiring mountains.   

At Tracks and Trails we run a variety of hiking holidays which take in the wonders of the Matterhorn whilst being able to walk on tracks steeped in history. Read on to find out more about the history, flora and fauna and, of course, the hiking around Zermatt.

Staying in a mountain hut in a remote and beautiful location is to be savoured. It is a wonderful experience and something which everyone who loves the outdoors should try at least once in their lives. There are many reasons for spending a night in a mountain hut, not least because it allows you to enjoy the high mountains in a wild and natural setting where you can escape the cares of everyday life. Nothing could be more relevant today as we remain in 'lockdown' in our homes. For now we can but dream of those 'mountain nights'.

How can 'fast packing' skills help you on your next walking holiday? What is fastpacking?

Well it's an interesting term! Is it how quickly you can pack your bag to leave the house on holiday? Or how fast you can stuff all your kit back into your rucksack in the morning to leave the hut (while your guide waits patiently outside)?

I joined a friendly group in Saas Grund for the start of the Tour de Monte Rosa. After a cloudy morning on the first day, we were hugely lucky to have almost perfect weather for the next eight days.

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?