Top 10 British bouldering venues for beginners

All the tips on how to move from indoor climbing to outdoor climbing

The Youth Ready to Rock Sport climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer.

It's no easy feat, but with a little advice, organisation, knowledge and determination, climbing the Wainwrights is doable for almost anyone. This beginner-friendly guide aims to teach you about the fells and how to plan for and complete them.

Snowdonia-based fell running guides Sarah and Ian Ridgway share their top 10 tips for beginner fell runners.

Get your hands and feet on rocky slopes and snow, taluses and airy gendarme-studded ridges. Why not challenge yourself to reach the summit, or traverse one of our top 10 alpine peaks this summer?

What are the different types of climbing and mountaineering and what do they involve?

Here's how winter climbing grades work.

Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor Rob Johnson explains the essentials of choosing and using your first ice axe and crampons for winter mountaineering.

Trad climbing offers an unparalleled sense of freedom. With the appropriate skills, training, and equipment you really do have the ability to go anywhere. Here we give the low down on how to get started.

Camping ‘wild’ is a different way of spending the night outdoors but it isn't allowed everywhere - with a responsible approach however, there are many remote areas where you can still rest your weary head under a star-filled sky.

The Youth Ready to Rock Trad climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer. Trad climbing is the most popular style of climbing on British crags.

What's the best 4,000m peak in the Alps for beginners? We asked five British Mountain Guides who are based in the Alps this question - Tim Blakemore, Jon Bracey, Matt Helliker, Andy Perkins and Tania Noakes. All of them picked a peak in Switzerland - testament to the concentration of excellent peaks of that altitude there.

A range of Chamonix's expert skiers offer their top tips to improve your off-piste: pro skier Ross Hewitt, Avalanche Academy Director and Mountain Guide Stuart McDonald, and off-piste skiing instructors Alison Culshaw and Dee O'Neill.

Thinking of hitting the trails? Running is a relatively accessible form of exercise and can take you to some spectacular places, but getting off the beaten track comes with its hazards! From over-striding to 'app addiction', passionate trail runner Sarah Stirling shares her 10 most common beginner mistakes to avoid, to make sure you start out on the right foot.

Having a duvet day or a quiet night in? We've got you covered. There's nothing better than a day in the hills - but we think planning a day in the hills comes in pretty close second. If you're looking for inspiration for your next on-foot adventure, check out our lineup of ten of the best mountaineering, hiking and hillwalking films from the BMC TV YouTube channel.

Forget cramponning down a death defying ridge before leaping over gaping crevasses – the Vallee Blanche is not what you might imagine. That said, it’s no pushover either; Charlie Boscoe uncovers the myths.

We take a look at the culture of tight climbing shoes. Just how tight is too tight - and are we creating problems for the future?

Here's all you need to know about starting indoor bouldering

If you've learnt to climb routes indoors, sport climbing can be a logical first step into the exciting world of outdoor climbing. Here's how to get started...

On this page, you will find links to recent BMC annual reports and annual accounts.

Here’s a selection of the best novice sport crags in the UK along with tips on essentials such as parking, guidebooks and what each is best for.

The British Isles is famous for having some of the best trad climbing in the world, and for good reason: it’s all packed into a relatively small area, yet offers a huge variety of rock types and styles of climbing.

The British hills offer beauty, challenge and adventure, as well as the opportunity to keep fit and healthy. Find out more in this BMC booklet.

The Julie Tullis Memorial Award is a small grant to assist deserving female mountaineers or any disabled climbers or mountaineers, both male and female, to achieve their climbing or mountaineering ambitions.

An introduction to BMC and MEF mountaineering grants

Are the Alps falling down? IFMGA Mountain Guide Andy Perkins has a stark warning about the impact of climate change on the Alps: “I don’t have children but if I did I wouldn’t persuade them to be mountain guides. I’d be saying ‘Get your yacht sailing ticket...'" Katy Dartford interviews Andy to find out more.

As part of LGBTQ+ history month we asked members of the BMCs Equity Steering LGBTQ+ sub-group to share their stories about getting into climbing and walking.

As the general election date draws nearer, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) have reviewed the manifestos from each party to help you make a more informed choice when it comes to protecting the landscapes and crags that we love to walk in and climb on.

As the world’s garment manufacturing industry moves to a more sustainable business model, what we’re wearing in the hills in three years time will be very different to today’s unsustainable, un-recyclable, polluting garments, predicts Mike Parsons from the Outdoor Gear Coach. But why is change needed? And what is going to happen? Mike explains in this article.

In National Walking month this May we’ve teamed up with BMC Official Retail Partner Cotswold Outdoor to bring you all the info and advice you need to care for and repair your favourite pair of walking boots. Not only does this save you money, it also saves the environment - the less we consume and throw away, the better. 

BMC member Madalin Cristea, known as Cris, from Romania, has become the first person to summit both Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro from sea level and back again. He is currently attempting to be the first person ever to climb up and down each of the world’s seven summits (the highest mountain on each continent) from sea level - climbing every metre of the mountains up and down.

BMC member Wayne Andrews from Bettws, South Wales has started a hill walking group for people who suffer with their mental health or an addiction, called Forever In The Hills.

This May is National Walking month, so to celebrate the power of a good old stomp around the UK’s countryside, nine of the BMC staff have shared their favourite hike. From fossil-hunting in the Peak District and airy Scottish scrambling to the Via Alpina in Switzerland, one of these is bound to tickle your fancy this spring or summer. Better still, with the BMC collaborations with Komoot and HotelPlanner, you can plan and navigate your route and find your accommodation for your trip for less!

Did you know that we have a BMC Community Liftshare site? The Liftshare site is also able to connect you with others going to the same BMC event or Mountain Training course. The beauty of a community like the hillwalking/climbing/mountaineering BMC community is that many of us are often moving in the same direction. This lends itself to the Liftshare infrastructure which can allow us to move in the same direction – together. Greener, and cheaper!

On the 16 April we have the last opportunity to lobby for the 2024 ban on the sale of peat in bagged compost for horticultural use by supporting a Ten Minute Rule Bill speech by England in Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers.

The BMC have been hard at work presenting the Outdoors For All Manifesto to parliament, kick-starting a new addition to The Climate Project, arranging re-bolting, cleaning up crags and consulting on access across England and Wales. Here are the highlights as we swing into spring.

Dogs are a great companion for a hike in the hills, but here are a few things to think about before taking your pooch for a mooch.

Of course, there are many more great beginner hills, but here are seven to get you started.

Outdoor writer and photographer Chris Townsend presents this series of hill walking how-to films. In this episode Chris shows you how to use walking poles.

Thirty six leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations have joined together to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes.

The Cwm Idwal Winter Monitoring system is now back live and with new equipment and software. Ready for you to head up the hills in the best wintery conditions.

Find out everything you need to know about making the leap from walking to scrambling, learn the essential skills and check out our top five UK scrambles.

Taking your first foray into the world of outdoor climbing? Here's a few pointers to help you get going safely...

Here’s 10 things you’ll need to become a Bouldering Coach.