Author: Dee Dee

Patagonia Worn Wear Tour

Posted on by Dee Dee

Patagonia’s Worn Wear Tour will be stopping at The Brokedown Palace 11am-7pm on 26/27 April at our Boxpark , Shoreditch store and 28 April at the Spitalfields E1 Bishop’s Square event space.

worn wear

They will repair any broken garments  for free in their Worn Wear Van. Not just Patagonia clothing, but anything that needs repairing! They can only do 20 repairs in a day, so make sure you get there early.

Patagonia Worn Wear

Here’s what Patagonia say, “As individual consumers, the single best thing we can do for the planet is to keep our stuff in use longer. This simple act of extending the life of our garments through proper care and repair reduces the need to buy more over time—thereby avoiding the CO2 emissions, waste output and water usage required to build it.

We are taking this radical story to our communities across Europe on a 4,700km, 50 stop, 6 country tour. Our two CNG fuelled vans will be trucking across Europe offering free repairs on busted zippers, rips, tears, buttons and more (we fix all brands). We’ll also be showing people how to make simple repairs on clothes that have a second life left in them.

Find your nearest stop on Patagonia.com and on Patagonia’s Facebook Page.

If it’s broke, fix it!”

While on the road in the Northern Scotland, Patagonia climbing ambassador, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll reflects on the garments that have accompanied him on expeditions all around the world.

“A piece that is full of patches and repairs has a spirit. It has a story attached to it!” says Sean. The stories we wear are worth hanging onto, repairing and using as long as possible. That’s the heart of Worn Wear and the story of Sean.

Share Your Stories! 
Keep up to date with the tour and share your Worn Wear stories. You can submit your favourite stories on your most loved gear over on the Worn Wear Tumblr page . Keep up to date with what’s happening out on the road by following Worn Wear on Instagram @WornWear and using the hastag #wornwear . You can also see the next stops on the tour and share info and invite friends and colleagues to your nearest Worn Wear event by checking out the events section over at the Patagonia Facebook page. 

Keep up to date with Worn Wear at the Palace over on our Instagram @thebrokedownpal.

Poler at the Palace Event Roundup

Posted on by Dee Dee

Poler Stuff brought their #campvibes to the city, with the Poler at the Palace event outside our Boxpark store.

Le TenteDee Dee and Ian chilling in Le Tente, enjoying the bucolic views out over Shoreditch High Street Station.

Steve Edge Le Tente
Shoreditch legend and friend of the Palace Steve Edge checking out the view in his Napsack.

Allpress were selling coffee in a Silver Belles vintage airstream, in aid of Project Waterfall

Greenwood Guild
Tom from The Greenwood Guild demo’ing his carving skills

See more photos on Poler Stuff’s Facebook page here. 

 

Poler x Pendleton

Posted on by Dee Dee

North West is best! Our two favourite Oregonian brands have collaborated to create the Poler x Pendleton collection, featuring Pendleton’s traditional Journey West pattern in unique Poler Stuff colours. It includes classics such as Poler’s original Rolltop, The Rucksack, Napsack and Two Man Tent, as well as a Pendleton Blanket and oversized Beach Towel. Shop the collection in our Boxpark store or online now!

poler x pendleton 01 poler x pendleton 02 poler x pendleton 03 poler x pendleton 04 poler x pendleton 05 poler x pendleton 06 poler x pendleton 07 poler x pendleton 08 poler x pendleton 09 poler x pendleton 11 poler x pendleton 12 poler x pendleton 13 poler x pendleton 15

Photo credit: Benji Wagner

The Stour Valley Walk from Wye to Chilham

Posted on by Dee Dee

The Stour Valley Walk follows the River Stour through the stunning countryside of East Kent, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay. One of the most beautiful sections of this walk is between the villages of Wye and Chilham, passing through the rolling hills and ancient woodlands of the Kent Downs – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It’s fast and easy to get to from London, and with pubs at each end, it makes a fantastic day out – and the perfect escape from the city.

Stour Valley Walk
Me on the walk with my Poler Stuff The Rucksack (I took the pockets off to make the ideal day pack)

Travel time from London:
1 hour

Getting there and back: High speed Southeastern train from St. Pancras or Stratford International, changing at Ashford to Wye (you can also get slower trains to Ashford from Victoria and Charing Cross).
Return from Chilham changing at Ashford for London.

Walk distance:
7 miles

Difficulty:
Easy – with some gentle ascents/descents.

Pitstops:
The Tickled Trout at Wye, The White Horse and The Wool Pack at Chilham, Shelly’s of Chilham tearooms.

The Tickled Trout
The Tickled Trout at Wye

Directions:
From the station at Wye cross over the bridge towards the village. The Tickled Trout is immediately on your left, we stopped here for a pre-walk pint in their idyllic beer garden on the banks of the River Stour. They have an excellent selection of local ales and ciders, and home cooked food.

stour-valley-1
A pre-walk pint at The Tickled Trout

After The Tickled Trout carry on up Bridge Street through the village, then turn left onto Church Street. From the church follow the route signs for the North Downs Way and Stour Valley Walk, you’ll pass through some abandoned college buildings. Cross the road and go up the lane opposite, where you’ll come out into open farmland. Here the Stour Valley Walk and the North Downs Way separate, from this point you should follow the heron way-markers for the Stour Valley Walk. Follow the path to the left cutting diagonally across the field towards woodland.

Stour Valley Walk
Ian in the woodland

Once through the woodland the path dips into the valley and you’ll have stunning views of the surrounding countryside.

Stour Valley Walk
Ian taking a sip of whisky from his hip flask, whilst enjoying the views

The path continues through coppiced woodland to open meadowland and the village of Crundale, it then follows an unmade road branching off to the left across cornfields.

Stour Valley Walk
Me in the open meadowland

Stour Valley Walk
Ian crossing the cornfields with his trusty Fjällräven Rucksack No. 21 

Follow the way-markers through dense woodland, where the path is lined with yew trees. The path follows several sections of fields and woodland, and as you approach Chilham, you will see views of the castle. The path then branches to your left over a stile, this link path then takes you back down to the river to the picturesque Chilham Mill.

Stour Valley Walk
Made some friends in the fields between Crundale and Chilham

Stour Valley Walk
The path through woodland just before you branch off to the mill

It’s worth making a detour at this point to see Chilham Village Square before getting the train back from Chilham. Follow the lane from the mill to the A28 Ashford Road, take care crossing. Follow Bagham Lane opposite, bearing to the left and up the hill. You’ll pass The Wool Pack at the bottom of the hill. In the main square you’ll find timber-framed houses, St. Mary’s Church Chilham and the imposing gateway to Chilham Castle, as well as 14th century pub The White Horse and Shelly’s of Chilham tearooms.

For Chilham Railway Station from Mill Lane, turn right on the main road (A28 Ashford Road), and it’s in about 150 metres on your right.

Chilham Village Square
Timber-framed house and St. Mary’s Church

The White Horse Chilham
The White Horse in Chilham

 stour valley walk

Hiking Sgurr na Stri in Skye

Posted on by Dee Dee

Our last hike in Skye was Sgurr na Stri. Dwarfed by the surrounding Cuillin, Sgurr na Stri is only 494 metres high – a Marilyn rather than a Munro. Despite this, it is widely considered to be one of Britain’s finest viewpoints, and deservedly so.

You can hike in from Sligachan or Elgol, or get a boat from Elgol. We opted for the latter because we had to catch the sleeper train from Fort William that evening. We headed out on the early morning rib with Bella Jane Boat Trips.

Cuillin Ridge TraverseOur companions on the rib who jumped off the boat onto slippery rocks at Eilean Ramhair, and were heading up to do the notoriously difficult Cuillin Ridge Traverse.

stepping stones skye
Crossing the stepping stones by Loch Coruisk

Time was tight, so we followed the directions of our boat captain for the fastest route: “Head straight up from the loch, hook a right at the lochan.” We crossed the stepping-stones from Loch Coruisk and straight up to the peak, which is a bit of a scramble at times, and the path disappears pretty quickly once you leave the loch shore.

Sgurr na Stri
Hooking a right at the lochan

This route cuts the corner, but there is a longer, clearer path if you continue up from the lochan and join the path from Sligachan. This is more straightforward, except the final part to the summit which is rocky and requires careful route-finding whichever way you approach it. If you get the boat, whatever route you take, you’ll have to cross the stepping stones and you’re going to get wet feet if the water’s high.

sgurr na stri view
View from Sgurr na Stri, including the Cuillin Ridge, Loch Coruisk and the sea crossing

dee sgurr na sgtriMe, very excited to be at the peak!

seals from the rig
Seals and shags from the rib on the way back to Elgol

Kit List

Greenland_Trousers_81200-630_grandeFjällräven Greenland Trousers – These trousers were perfect for the boggy, wet conditions because they have a water repellent wax coating and are quick drying.  The durable G1000 fabric with double knee reinforcements made them hard wearing enough for scrambling over the rocks.  The pockets have room for a map, compass, knife and everything else we needed on the trail. There’s even a pocket for an axe!

 

WBS15_83806_NVYBPatagonia Torrentshell Jacket – This shell is super waterproof for the changeable Skye weather, but still breathable and has pit-zips for extra ventilation. It cuts out the wind, which we appreciated at the exposed peak. It packs down into its own pocket so it fitted easily into our packs when we didn’t need it. The fabric is ripstop, so again, it was good for scrambling over rocks.

 

BerglerLady-Chestnut-1Hanwag Bergler Hiking Boots – This Alpine mountain boot was great on the rocky terrain on Skye, which is the closest we have to Alpine in the UK, and often used for Alpine training. The flexible Vibram sole makes them comfortable to walk in and the leather lining and tongue prevented rubbing. Our feet stayed dry, even going through the high water on the stepping stones (well mine did, Ian’s would’ve done if he didn’t always have to go for a paddle!)

 

Ordnance Survey Explorer 411 Skye – Cuillin Hills Map

 Sgurr na Stri is a remote mountain, it’s important to have a map and compass and know how to use them.

 

 

 

Silva – Expedition 4 Compass

 

 

See also:

Getting to, and around Skye

Campsites and Pubs on Skye

 

Campsites and Pubs on Skye

Posted on by Dee Dee

Campsites

Wild camping is allowed in Scotland under the Outdoor Access Code, but there are also some fantastically located and wild-feeling campsites on Skye, so we spent part of the time in campsites and part wild camping.  The campsites we stayed in were Glenbrittle and Sligachan.

poler stuff tent
Our Poler Stuff tent standing up to strong winds in Glenbrittle

Glenbrittle Campsite feels like a hidden, secret place. You drive down a long winding road until you eventually reach a stunningly beautiful sandy bay, overlooked by the imposing Black Cuillin mountain range. There is an excellent campsite shop/cafe serving their own coffee brand – Cuillin Coffee Co. – and the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. They also bake fresh bread and cakes daily and stock all the essentials too.

Glenbrittle Campsite
Our pitch overlooking the bay at Glenbrittle

Next to the historic Sligachan Hotel, in the heart of the Cuillin, Sligachan campsite is bleak and boggy and harsh and magnificent. When it all gets too much head over to Seumas Bar in the hotel and sup a local ale by the roaring fire.

sligachan-campsite
View of the Red Cuillin from our pitch at Sligachan Campsite

wild camp skye
View of Bla Bheinn (Blaven) from our wild camping spot on the last night in Skye

Pubs

Nothing beats a well earned pint after a hard day’s hiking and Skye doesn’t fail to deliver. Our favourites were the afore mentioned Seumas Bar and The Old Inn.

Seumas Bar is in the Sligachan Hotel, a few minutes walk from the Sligachan bunkhouse and campsite. It has friendly staff, live music, log fires, pub food and real ales, the majority of which are brewed on site at the Cuillin Brewery. And of course a great selection of Scottish whiskies.

The Old Inn is in Carbost, right on the shores of Loch Harport. It has a warm welcome, log fires, regular live music, homemade food and local ales. If you can’t stagger back to your tent you can always kip at their adjacent Waterfront Bunkhouse.

old inn skye
Live folk music at the Old Inn

See also:

Getting to, and around Skye

Hiking Sgurr na Stri in Skye

 

Getting to, and around Skye

Posted on by Dee Dee

London to Skye

We took the Caledonian Sleeper Train from Euston to Fort William. It’s a great way to maximise time off work, as it leaves both London and Fort William in the evening and arrives the next morning.

It’s also one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world. Our lovely host (every carriage has a host to look after the passengers) woke us up in the morning with tea and Scottish shortbread, to stunning views over Loch Lomond. We wanted to jump off the train at every stop we passed.

View from Caledonian Sleeper

train window

Caledonian Sleeper
Views out the train window in the morning on the way there

On the return journey we ate dinner in the Lounge Car, and sipped Scottish ale and cider, whilst we watched deer grazing by the tracks and the sun setting across Rannoch Moor, against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

Rannoch MoorRannoch Moor from the Lounge car window

Fort William to Mallaig

Jamie from Fort William Car Hire met us from the train with our adventure mobile (a VW transporter that he’d converted himself to a camper van). It’s a brilliant service and he’ll meet you before you board the train back to collect your vehicle again, we can’t recommend him enough.

We took the spectacular Road to the Isles, which would be just over an hour’s drive, but there are several stop offs worth making.

First stop was Glenfinnan to see the Glenfinnan Monument and learn about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite Risings. You can also see the Glenfinnan Viaduct from here – made famous in the Harry Potter films.

The Glenfinnan MonumentThe Glenfinnan Monument

Then the Glenfinnan Station Museum with its restored 1950s Dining and Sleeping cars. You really can dine and sleep there – the Dining Car’s a restaurant and the Sleeping Car’s a bunkhouse.

The Glenfinnan Sleeping CarThe Glenfinnan Sleeping Car

We took a detour on the old road to Arisaig. You can bypass it but it’s well worth taking the extra time to go the scenic route.

Alternatively you can take the train from Fort William to Mallaig and then get the ferry. The Jacobite Steam Train runs on this route, which passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Glenfinnan-ViaductThe Glenfinnan Viaduct

Mallaig to Skye

At Mallaig we boarded the Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry to Skye. On the way back we drove over the bridge that connects Skye to the mainland as we didn’t want to risk any delays with the boat making us miss the sleeper back.

boat
View of Skye from the Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry

Getting around Skye

Driving around Skye was a pleasure, the roads are well maintained, everything is well signposted and there are lots of free car parks. Some of the roads are very narrow which can feel hairy, but there are plenty of passing places. The main problem is keeping your eyes on the road with all the amazing scenery to distract you. If you don’t have a car you can get around by bus.

Road to Sligachan
Driving into the Cuillin Hills

See also:

Campsites and Pubs on Skye

Hiking Sgurr na Stri in Skye