Sorry stihl, I've only just woken up to this thread and completely missed the heads-up you gave me.
Much useful advice has been given already, but I'll add the following:
a. If you're just going to walk along country lanes and through villages in daylight then you need not prepare too seriously, though you must at least have a map if you're not to get lost or walk unnecessary distances. A sheet of OS 1/50,000 covers roughly 30 miles by 30 miles and contains a fascinating amount of information about the country you're passing through. Learn to read it and you'll get far more from your hiking.
b. If on the other hand you're going to go offroad over moorland and mountain then you've got to be very much better prepared if at some point you're not going to put your life at risk. You must have the appropriate maps if you're going cross-country, preferably the OS 1/25,000 scale which shows every hedge, fence and similar detail. You should also have a compass and learn to triangulate your position by using back bearings from known recognisable features such as church steeples or mountain tops. Your maps should preferably be covered with fablon to protect them when it rains, which it surely will! As to the rest of your equipment, you must have warm clothing, including a waterproof layer - you can always take clothes off while walking and put them on again when you get cold. It is quite possible to die of hypothermia even in summer in the mountains. Your rucksack (you must really have one) can not only carry your spare clothing but also a space blanket and even a small lightweight tent. And since you're carrying some stuff then you'd be crazy not to include a hexamine burner, the makings of a brew and at least a couple of tins of soup. For snacking and retaining energy, Mars Bars are a solution which served the Royal Marines and the Paras well when they yomped across the Falklands all those years ago.
I could go on but, whatever you do, don't take mountain hiking lightly even in summer. It is all too easy to end up lost at, say 2,000 feet, in thick mist with night falling around you. And it'll be peeing with rain and you'll be soaked through and freezing. You must anticipate this sort of scenario and be equipped to cope with it or, sooner or later, you'll get caught out.
Finally, always let someone know where you are going and tell them when you're safely there. That way, if you do get into trouble, rescuers will have at least some clue as to where to start looking for you.
Tony.
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