In the summer, Britta would watch visitors making traditional Sámi handicrafts in their teepees and naturally gravitated towards textiles. ‘Cloth was always close to me as a child,’ she says. 

In the decades since, Britta Marakatt-Labba has established herself as a renowned artist and founding member of the Máze Group, an art collective that sought to carve out a space for Sámi identity and culture as part of contemporary art. But this success didn’t come without challenge. 

‘It was not so easy for one, young Sámi girl to go from the north of Sweden with my background and my culture and just to be there in Gothenburg,’ she explains. ‘Everything was so new for me. It’s the little London, you know? It was a culture shock – a new language, a new environment, and new behaviour.

‘In Sámi culture, we like to make jokes, and I was joking with people and singing all of the time. I met one girl, who said, have you been drinking? They didn’t understand me.’

Despite the feelings of alienation her heritage brought her, it remained a guiding compass in both her life and work.

‘I knew I wanted to make patterns for Klättermusen – the next question was, what shall I do?‘ 

Britta immediately turned to her Sámi heritage for inspiration, which offered a wealth of source material to tap into and explore. Throughout the range, you’ll find intricate designs which depict various aspects of cultural importance to the Sámi people. A ceremonial drum, forbidden and burned by Christians in the 16th century circles t-shirts and sweatshirts; women wearing horned hats upside-down in defiance of a ban on the headwear populate garments. You’ll see illustrations of plants used for medicine, nutrients, and even sweet treats. It’s apparent from the designs that nature is an exceptionally important part of Sámi culture, and arguably the most important message conveyed is the outcome when nature isn’t treated in the way that Britta’s mum taught her to through mythology.

In this way, people can carry this very close to their body. They have my art with them when they are walking up a mountain, climbing, or when they wake up in a tent

Badger Divide

Heart of The Highlands

212 miles / 3-6 days

From Inverness in the north to Glasgow in the south, the Badger Divide is a fantastic option for discovering the Scottish Highlands by bike with a fraction of the commitment or technical riding prowess required to take on the iconic highland loops like the Highland Trail 550 or the Cairngorms Loop.

A play on the well known Baja Divide of the eponymous Mexican peninsula, the Badger Divide is an ideal and fairly accessible long weekend adventure linking up several well established existing trails.

With long winding gravel roads, forest tracks and back lanes as well as a touch of the chunkier stuff, you’ll want a capable trust-worthy gravel bike although you could certainly get away with something heavier duty (i.e. a mountain bike) if that’s what you have available to you.

Despite travelling through some pretty remote terrain, you’ll find plenty of resupply points as well as bothies, hostels and camp grounds to spend the night as well as of course an abundance of wild camping options. Being in the Scottish Highlands though, where weather can be notoriously savage, you’ll want to keep his one for the fairer summer months and probably still keep an eye on the forecast before you leave.

Finishing in Glasgow, the Badger Divide lends itself nicely to connect with Second City Divide for the ambitious ‘Double Divide’.

Second City Divide

Rough Stuff of The North

400 miles / 5-8 days

There are certainly faster, more efficient ways to cycle between these two cities, but you’ll struggle to find a more rewarding one. Snaking through vast wind farms, large open grassy moorland, rocky bridleways and tarmac roads, the Second City Divide makes for a fantastically varied and challenging journey between Glasgow and Manchester.

Along the route, you’ll take in some of most iconic landscapes of The North, from Kielder Forest to the Yorkshire Dales and beyond, including a cheeky traverse over the top of Cross Fell, the highest point of the Pennines.

It’s a route that has been carefully constructed over several years of map inspection and reconnaissance missions which clearly shows with a great sense of flow and some of the best all road riding in the UK.

But it’s not a route to be taken lightly. It’s challenging at times steep and rocky and isolated so it’s definitely one best suited to those with a bit of prior bikepacking experience, a bike that rides confidently off road and a good level of fitness. There are great transport links at both ends and at stages throughout which makes it logistically a lot simpler and meaning there is no reason why Second City Divide can’t be broken up into smaller weekend strike missions.

Old Chalk Way

The Neolithic Coast to Coast

357 miles / 4-7 days

Ok we might be slightly bias with this one as our very own BASE editor Chris was one half of the team to put it together, but what’s not to love?

The Old Chalk Way loosely follows England’s oldest road, an old trading link between South Coast and North Sea as a newly established route designed specifically for gravel bikes. The terrain here is mixed but not technical, with wide hard packed gravel, grassy byways and chalk double track and forest fire roads following a route steeped in history as it takes in some of the most important historical sites of the south of England.

There are train links close to the start and finish points as well as countless opportunities to bail out along the way which makes this a great opportunity to break up into smaller sections and its close proximity to London make it an ideal option for the weekend warrior without bags of time to commit to something longer.

While a gravel bike suits the non-technical mixed terrain, there’s no reason why you couldn’t ride a range of bikes here, from an allroad option with 35+mm tyres to a mountain bike with far more rubber.

East Devon Trail

Bridleways, Cream-Teas and Birdwatching

115 mile / 2-4 days

The only loop in this roundup, the East Devon Trail is a fantastic new bikepacking offering from Katherine Moore with a focus on local wildlife.

This is a hilly and often overlooked part of Devon. Connecting bridleways and forest tracks around this Area of Natural Beauty you’ll want some tyres with a bit of grip to see you through but as with all of these anything on the spectrum between gravel bike and mountain bike will do just fine.

With wildlife viewing a central focus, riders are encouraged to pack their binoculars for the journey as the route passes by several nature reserves and bird hides along the way.

Conveniently reaching over the border in Dorset, the East Devon Trail makes the ideal linking route to the Old Chalk Way for those riding from Exeter or just looking to extend their ride.

Trans Cambrian Way

The Heart of Mid-Wales

100 miles / 2-4 days

Often overlooked by the national park status of the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia, the Cambrian mountains of Mid Wales are the focal point of some of the most remote landscapes in the UK.

Heading west out of the Welsh border market town of Knighton, unsurprisingly there’s a fair bit of climbing to be done across the Trans Cambrian Way heading to the mouth of the river Dyfi on the Irish Sea.

Expect singletrack forest trails, quiet lanes, reservoirs, bothies, river crossings and epic night skies. A mountain bike is likely to be the best tool for the job here, but a sturdy gravel bike with an acceptance regarding hike-a-bike will do just fine.

As much of this route travels through pretty remote landscapes you’ll need to be strategic with your resupply points making sure to make the most of shops, pubs and cafes when the opportunity arises.

Helvellyn is around 450 million years old and is part of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. No, that’s not a club for lava-lovers, but rather a group of rock formations created by a major volcanic eruption. Glacial movement during the last ice age (over 20,000 years ago) then carved Helvellyn’s most notable features, including the two prominent ridge lines leading to its summit, Striding Edge and Swirral Edge. 

It’s likely that Helvellyn’s name derives from the old Cumbric language, which was widely spoken in Northern England and Lowland Scotland up until the 12th century. It’s believed that the mountain’s name loosely translates to ‘yellow moorland’, a combination of two Cumbric words; hal, meaning moorland and velin, which means yellow. This name is likely to have been coined by shepherds of the time, who would assess the quality of grazing land for their herds based on the appearance of the grass. Owing to its elevation, snow on Helvellyn will often linger into the late spring, and the grass that grows beneath it takes on a yellow shade.

Helvellyn’s history is pretty colourful and there are a few interesting markers of significant events to look out for. Famed as the first mountain summit in Britain to host a plane landing, and the setting for a tragically true story of a perished painter whose body was guarded by his faithful terrier Foxie, monuments to both events can be found by walkers with a keen eye. 

Less subtle is the cross-shaped, stone summit shelter which was built by volunteers around 60 years ago. The shape of the shelter means that walkers can take refuge in any wind direction, and it is a much-used bolthole for sandwich-eating on sunny days and survival when conditions change rapidly.

Helvellyn is also the subject of numerous works of poetry, painting and literature and more recently featured in the BBC documentary film series Life Of A Mountain.

Regarded by some as Helvellyn’s less glamorous side, Thirlmere has its own moody charm, and the starting point is easily accessible by public transport. Approaching the mountain from Thirlmere offers views to the north over the Skiddaw range. Whilst these routes eliminate the lofty ridge lines and are shorter in distance, they are steep, so be prepared to put in some work and allow yourself plenty of time.

West Highland Way

Scotland’s Most Iconic Long Distance Trail

96 miles / 6-8 days

From the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William in the heart of the Highlands, the rugged West Highland Way is not only Scotland’s first long distance trail but also arguably its most iconic.

96 miles long, the route explores some of Scotland’s most awe-inspiring landscapes. From the tranquil water side trails of Loch Lomond, through ancient woodland, along crystal clear rivers, lonely moorland, serene glens and epic towering mountains. These lands are rich with wildlife, including golden eagles, peregrine falcons, wild goats, and red deer.

The Scottish Highlands are home to the biggest, wildest landscapes on the British Isles so what better way to experience them than by hiking right its epicentre? You’ll also have the opportunity to sleep in some of the finest wild-camping spots too.

Most people opt to walk the route from south to north, but it could be done in either direction. In 2017 Rob Sinclair completed the West Highland Way in an impressive 13 hours 41 mins setting the fastest known time on the route. To really enjoy this route though you’ll want to take your time, with most people hikers finishing the route in six to eight days.

Two Moors Way

Devon’s Wild Coast-to-Coast

112 miles / 6-8 days

Across two national parks, the Two Moors Way is an epic coast-to-coast hike across Devon with wild moorlands, ancient woodlands, prehistoric sites, and breathtaking coastal scenery at both ends.

Travelling 112 miles from the National Trust coastline of Wembury, across the heart of Devon – England’s largest county – through Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks to finish on the high cliffs of Lynton on Devon’s untamed north coast.

You can expect incredible variety along the way, from the sheltered golden coastline on the south coast to the exposed barren landscapes of Dartmoor, steeped in history with the highest concentration of Bronze Age sites in Britain.

The Cotswold Way

History, Tradition and Beauty

103 miles /6-8 days

Quintessentially English, The Cotswold Way cuts a line through the stunning countryside, magical woodlands and ancient villages of one of England’s most picturesque regions.

Starting in the classic market town of Chipping Campden. The route passes through ancient commons in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Neolithic burial barrows, and historic battle sites with ever-changing views across rolling countryside towards the River Severn and the Malvern Hills. The trail finishes 103 miles later in the World Heritage City of Bath with a plethora of iconic Roman historical sites.

The most easily accessible of the trails in this list, The Cotswold Way is very well marked making following the route pretty straight forward. It’s also far less isolated than some of the others meaning anyone who is reasonably fit can take it on.

The Pennine Way

England’s Ultimate Long Distance Trail

280 miles / 15-20 days

Following the spine of England, The Pennine Way is an epic long-distance trail that explores the wildest and most spectacular scenery the country has to offer.

More than just a means to walk a long way, as the first of England’s National Trails, the Pennine Way is a route of upmost historical significance, paving the way for public access to some of England’s wildest landscapes, exploring a region famed for harsh weather conditions and isolated hill tops.

From the Peak District, the Pennine Way follows England’s rocky spine through the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines and over Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland to the Cheviot Hills –which on a good day will provide views reaching as far as Edinburgh – ending in the Scottish Borders in Kirk Yetholm.

The Beacons Way

The Emerald Spine of South Wales

99 miles / 7-10 days

Crossing the three major ranges that make up the Brecon Beacons National Park, this route is known for its big open spaces, and epic night skies.

Starting in Abergavenny, the Brecons Way travels east to west almost 100 miles across some of the UK’s wildest and most remote landscapes ending in the village of Llangadog.

On the Brecons Way, you’ll experience a huge diversity of landscapes, passing historical villages, castles and canals as well as summits with far reaching views, vast moorland and stunning waterfalls and serene reservoirs. You’ll also be travelling above large and complex cave systems including the deepest in the UK and longest in Wales.

This is a particularly good route for spotting birds of prey with red kites, buzzards, kestrels, peregrine falcons all likely to be spotted overhead.

The South West Coast Path

The UK’s Longest Trail

631 miles / 49-56 days

There’s no better way to discover the epic coastlines of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset than by hiking the South West Coast Path (SWCP).

Although this path follows the coast the entire way, you can expect massively varied landscapes, from huge cliffs, to sheltered pebbled coves, long white sand beaches to tiny fishing villages.

There’s a huge amount of history along the SWCP too with its origins as a coastguard patrol trail to counter smuggling. Today it winds through a number of areas of particular interest, including several National Nature Reserves and Heritage Coasts, five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, two World Heritage Sites, a UNESCO designated Biosphere reserve and a Geopark and one National Park.

Unless you’ve got a really solid block of time available or perhaps are trying to bag an FKT, this one is probably best broken up and with easy access from towns and villages along the way, how you choose to approach this hiking path is totally up to you.