What can you do for your first wedding anniversary?

The answer is simple....take your wife camping in Scotland and celebrate the day with a mountain bike race!!! That's what Philippe Galland, our footwear product manager has done.

There is nothing better to strengthen your relationship than sitting on the saddle for a few hours and getting wet, cold and muddy. We all know the magic benefits of mud - women pay thousands of pounds in spa's for these treatments. Philippe's way is cheaper and works just as well...possibly!

"We missed last years race as it was our wedding day. The Merida Marathon is a great event and the Scottish Borders is a fantastic venue. We were here for the fun of it and not to take it too fast. Our time was good despite the slippery muddy conditions and we will definitely come back again next year."

I am sure this happy outdoor couple Philippe and Clare will enjoy more adventures soon so watch this space!

More photos on flickr.

This year's Boots and Beer Walking Festival starts on Friday 12th September until Sunday 14th.

Organised by the Black Sheep Brewery and sponsored by Country Walking Magazine the festival is located in Upper Wensleydale. There will 14 walks over the weekend starting from Hawes, Aysgarth and Askrigg, with a free shuttle bus linking the three points. The tickets for the walking festival are priced at £20 which includes a goody bag, Boots and Beer T-shirt and a Walkers Tally Card.

The walks are writen by Mark Reid who presents a monthly television series of walks for Yorkshire Televisiion and is author of The Inn Way walking books.

There are a lot of other activities taking place throughout the weekend, tickets are limited but you can find full details on the website by following the link below.

http://www.blacksheepbrewery.com/BootsNBeer/

Dale's latest venture has taken him up Scafell Pike. This gave him the chance to get some practice for the Three Peaks Challenge which he is tackling with Owen, Andy, Oscar and Ben on 30th August.

There wasn't much of a view from the top or even the bottom of Scafell as it was in the clouds, however it was a great experience.

When the guys actually come to trek up Scafell Pike it will be in darkness which will make it even more challenging.

You can see more photos of the guys on flickr.

Harry Townsend is the founder of the Myfanwy Townsend Research Fund which he set up in aid of his wife to help raise funds and awareness for melanoma research.

One of Harry's fundraising events is 7-7-70 which consists of seven challenges in seven continents at the age of 70. He is going to be leading a trek from rim to rim of the Grand Canyon on September 10th and 11th.

Harry has so far completed a 5 day 100km Sahara Desert race, Kilimanjaro trek and the Pilgrim Trail in Spain along with many other challenges.

brasher have supplied Harry with a new set of Compact trekking poles which will provide much needed support as he continues with his treks.

You can catch up with what Harry has been up by reading his online line diary on the website www.melanoma-fund.co.uk and we'll be keeping you regularly updated on our brasher blog.

The guys from Dale Studios have sent us an update on the training they've been doing in preparation for the 24hour Three Peaks Challenge they are taking part in on 30th August.

Oscar has kindly given us an account of their recent day out in The Peak District.

"Going up Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District, was our first real test to see how our training has helped develop our climbing skills. We had intended to go to Scafell Pike but due to various reasons ended up in the Peak District.

Once we started walking we found that our legs were stronger and our stamina had greatly improved. My new boots helped, supporting my feet when they needed it the most and I particularly found the brasher wallking poles took the pressure off my legs allowing me to climb for a longer period of time.

As a team we have bonded together well and if one of us is struggling we are encouraged on by the rest of the group.

We made good time (about an hour and a half) and the view was well worth the effort! Standing on the peak was amazing due to the brilliant view and as you can see from the photos we all enjoyed ourselves.

My only worry of the day was whether I scared too many people wearing my balaclava whilst carrying two lethal looking walking poles"

You can see more photos of the guys on flickr or visit their website at just giving.com for further details of their fundraising.