Selecting what to eat and drink on hikes is massively important, and I’ve had a trial of lots of different options over the years. I used to rely entirely on malt loaf to get me through but thankfully these days I prefer a variety of different things.

So to eat, I take the following:

Small lunchbox of pasta with pesto, grated cheese and tuna

Beef Jerky

Flapjack, Mars Bars (regular and the protein variety), Jordans Breakfast bars, nakd fruit bars, chewy dried bags of banana from Tescos and some all important dark chocolate in winter time. I eat little and often, and aim to take around one bar or piece of food/fruit per hour of walk and snack accordingly.

To drink, I usually take 500ml plain water, and the same in energy drink such as Lucozade orange. This does not sound like much for an entire day out, but I will struggle to consume more than that, even on an 8 hour hike. In searing hot summer conditions, this is obviously different and I’ll plan water stops accordingly.

Very soon, I’ll be experimenting with electrolytes for winter walks, something I stumbled across in Summit magazine recently. It’s all personal, and everybody will prefer their own things. But this system works for me and helps me to calculate how much I need for any given day.

Finally, one tip I have – at the start of your trek, always eat the smallest bar or piece of food first, and then the next smallest and so on. By the end of the day, when you’re knackered and need loads of calories you should be left with the biggest snacks and portions to tide you over until you get home and find a proper meal. Bon appetit!