Hi, I’m Matt

How It Started

Before I was a fell walker, I was an orienteer. I represented Great Britain competing at that level. Orienteering gave me a deep, practical love of maps and navigation that has shaped everything I do outdoors since. When you’ve spent years racing through forests with only a compass and a map, reading terrain becomes second nature.

Over thirty years of regular hiking later, I’m still just as excited by a new route as I was at the start. The difference now is that I create most of my own routes rather than following someone else’s. I enjoy the planning as much as the walking, figuring out how to link summits efficiently, spot the best ridgelines, and find the quieter approaches that most guides miss.

I also belong to a local walking group, so a lot of these routes have been walked with friends over the years. When I started cataloguing them for myself, it seemed natural to share them. Out and About Adventures grew from there.

The Wainwrights

I’m well over halfway through Alfred Wainwright’s 214 fells, which would be a lot easier if I didn’t live near Bristol. Every Lake District trip means a long drive or train journey, so each visit has to count. That constraint has actually made me a better planner: I’ve become expert at designing routes that bag multiple Wainwrights efficiently, which is the thinking behind the 51 Walks Collection.

The complete Wainwrights guide on this site lists all 214 fells with maps and routes, and the interactive routes map shows everywhere I’ve walked so far.

Long-Distance Walks

I’ve completed two major long-distance routes: both solo, both unsupported, camping the entire way.