OS Champion

Craig Henderson

Craig Henderson – GetOutside Champion

Meet Craig Henderson – Passionate explorer, celebrating the outdoors, open canoeist, carrot cake lover, health and well-being, positive, smiler, adaptable, caring,

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Living and working in the Lake District National Park, I am regularly outside with friends, family or work. When I’m at work, I spend 95% of my time coaching and mentoring Outward Bound Instructors directly in the field. This ranges from water/land-based expeditions to rock climbing, ghyll scrambling and open water swimming. Outside of work, I get outside with my friends and family. My wife Liz and my little girl (who’s now 8 years old) Daisy Ella.

Why do you love the outdoors?

The outdoors gives me the space and freedom to completely relax and recharge my mental and physical health. I absolutely love being in the mountains or in the middle of a Lake or a Scottish Loch. Watching the sunset on Ullswater, sat on my paddleboard was a recent highlight for me.

How do you get outside?

I’m luckily enough to get outside via sea kayak, paddle board, open canoe or simply putting on my mountain boots! Or, it might just be a quick dip in the lake after work!

What’s your favourite route?

Beda Head and Beda Fell in the Cumbrian Mountains, Lake District.

Beda Head and Beda Fell route in OS Maps

Paper map for Beda Head: OS Explorer OL5

Have you got any adventures planned?

Always planning adventures!

For work, I’m currently planning a trip to Outward Bound Germany for 4 days in the beautiful landscape of the Bavarian Alps

For personal, I’m planning more remote sea kayaking trips around the island of Iona near the south west coast of Mull in Scotland. I’m still in the early days of planning but was totally inspired this year when I had a brief experience of the island.

What’s the most essential thing on your kit list?

My Jet Boil – It’s been a life saver on a number of occasions when I’ve really needed a hot drink. Plus, I always hide a cake inside it (ha ha) so I get two for the price of one.

Who inspires you to get outside?

This changes all the time! Very recently I invited a super inspirational runner called Allie Bailey to deliver an evening talk to me and my colleagues. She was incredible, heart-warming and her emotional intelligence was off the scale. She made a massive impact on the audience and left me with the quote….”You never FAIL you WIN or you LEARN and that’s it”………… I’m emotional just writing this stuff now!

What do you prefer: Paper or digital map? (Controversial we know!)

I prefer digital but my morals will always be saying “where is your paper map!” Over the past few years, I have made a shift to using digital an awful lot to the extent that I’m using OS maps on a daily basis at work. The technology is amazing. I will however never ever go out in the mountains without a paper map and compass. In my mind having a combination of both is what makes all the difference.

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