What we’re about
We are BACKABUSH XPLORERS, much copied but still the original and best hiking and outdoor activity Meetup group!!!
Who are we and how did it all begin?
Backabush Xplorers is Britain's longest established hiking and outdoor adventure Meetup group. Our group was originally created back in 2002 (actually before we were on Meetup) by a multinational group of friends who loved hiking and wanted to get more out of our weekends and holidays. We wanted to share our heartfelt passion for the great outdoors and enthusiasm with others. For some years Backabush was an informal, unincorporated association managed by the founders for the benefit of its members.
Our group grew rapidly in those early years and in 2008, following legal advice we decided it would be wise and prudent to become a registered company to protect our organisers and our members. Following this review and the formation of the limited company, our members can now pursue their legitimate activities and aims with complete peace of mind.
Why do we do it?
We love the outdoors! The primary motivation is fun (not profit) which means that our trips offer exceptional value for money. We continue as a group with the same ethos of organising events and trips for the benefit of our members. This is what we love and we are passionate about what we do. We will always endeavour to be budget conscious and price our activities only to cover necessary expenses.
What do we do?
Over the years we have hiked and explored the National Parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty in Britain and abroad. It may all have started years ago with a few hiking friends gathering for a weekend in a scruffy camping barn somewhere rural and pretty but it has developed a lot from there.
Backabush has been hiking and enjoying outdoor adventure for well over a decade now and over this time we have organised literally hundreds of hiking trips throughout Great Britain. We have enjoyed visits to the Lake District, Snowdonia, Scotland, the Brecon Beacons, the Pembrokeshire Coast, Cornwall, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Lincolnshire Wolds, the Cambrian mountains, the Wye Valley, the Forest of Dean, the North York Moors, the New Forest, the South Downs, the Malvern Hills, the Shropshire Hills, the South Downs, the Cotswolds, the Chiltern Hills, the Jurassic Coast, the Gower Peninsula, the Pennines, the Isle of Skye, Loch Ness, Ben Nevis, Glen Coe, the Isle of Arran, Glen Shiel, Torridon etc, etc, etc.
National trails and long distance paths in Britain are another favourite of ours and to date we have completed the full length of Hadrian's Wall Path, the West Highland Way, the Cumbria Way, the Herriot Way and Wainwright's Coast to Coast. Although we have yet to complete the full length of many we have also enjoyed hiking sections of the Cotswold Way, Pennine Way, Offa's Dyke Path, Limestone Way, Allerdale Ramble, South West Coast Path, Great Glen Way, Monsal Trail, South Downs Way, Ridgeway, Thames Path and many, many others.
We were also trailblazers when it came to offering exciting outdoor adventures overseas. Back in 2009 we organised our very first foreign trip when we headed down into Africa to climb Mt Toubkal, the highest summit in Morocco. Next we trekked in Nepal, climbing over a 5000+ metre pass linking the Langtang and Helambu valleys. Since these early treks we went on to organise things like via ferrata holidays in the Italian Dolomites, or hiking trips to the French Alps and Jura mountains. We also love 'hut to hut' trekking and have so far completed every step of the Tour du Mt Blanc, summited Monte Perdido in the Ordessa National Park and trekked for days in the French Pyrenees to reach the awe inspiring Cirque de Gavarnie. More recently we even organised trips to Slovakia to seek out winter snowshoeing in the High Tatras and gorge scrambling in the Paradise National Park.
There are many other adventures we could mention. No other Meetup group offers adventure like this!
How do the logistics work?
We know our members are busy people so we do our best to provide a complete package for you. Backabush will research the locations, the hikes, book the accommodation and make a plan for all the meals. If you do not own a car we will help you to find transport or a lift share. You just need to communicate with the organiser who will help to co-ordinate things with you.
With a little co-operation from our members it all works very well and allows us to keep offering new locations and new hikes, year after year. Although we might return to some amazing National Parks quite regularly we always endeavour to find new venues and plan entirely new hikes. If you check out our past events you will see that we offer unrivalled variety in the locations we visit.
What are the hikes like?
On every Backabush trip we try to provide a choice of hikes each day. Obviously we will choose the from most beautiful and best loved hikes in any given area. These hikes tend to be of various length, duration and difficulty. The idea is that each person can choose the hike that best suits their fitness, experience and interests.
It is true that Backabush has a reputation within the Meetup community for offering longer and more challenging hikes but we always also offer more moderate options for those seeking a more relaxed day outdoors. Generally speaking we would say that anyone who can hike for 10 miles in hilly terrain should be fine on our trips. If you have any concerns please don't hesitate to contact us to ask questions.
What about safety?
Safety is always our number one priority. Although we can never make the outdoor environment entirely safe there are many steps that can be taken to minimise risk. Our team of outdoor activity leaders have many, many years of leadership experience and have received extensive outdoor training. Between all of our leaders we have years of military experience, ambulance work or mountain guiding.
Our principal leadership team are Mountain Leader trained at Plas-y-Brenin (the National Mountain Sports Centre) in North Wales and Winter Skills trained at Glenmore Lodge in Scotland. We regularly update our first aid qualifications and carry the required emergency aid equipment for wilderness situations. Some of us have taught or assisted on micro-navigation training courses and all have excellent route finding skills regardless of visibility or weather.
Additional our experience extends to high altitude mountaineering in several continents, be it summiting 6000+ metre peaks in the Andes, conquering the highest mountains in Africa or completing month long high altitude treks in the Himalayas.
We take our 'duty of care' of very seriously and are trained to deal with outdoor emergencies. Sometimes we hire in specific skills as necessary in the form of fully qualified instructors for things like rock climbing, caving, coasteering, kayaking, horse riding, ghyll scrambling or technical mountaineering. For some foreign trips we will either provide logistical support for safe self guided mountain trekking or hire International Mountain Leaders as deemed necessary.
Who joins our trips?
Although most people in the group are in their 20s, 30s and 40s age is not an issue to us - a fun loving and adventurous nature is more important. It is not uncommon to have over a dozen different nationalities represented in a single gathering.
Our groups of hikers and outdoor adventurers vary in size but on every trip some people will be regulars and some first timers. Its a great way to make new hiking friends and you need not worry about coming alone as you will always be made to feel welcome.
What we all have in common is a love of all kinds of outdoor activity including hiking, trekking, hill walking, mountaineering, scrambling, camping, canoeing, canyoning, kayaking, rock climbing, scuba diving, caving, coasteering, mountain biking and just about anything else that offers some outdoor adventure.
We hope YOU will join us sometime soon.
Positive vibes!
The Backabush Crew & Hiking Team
Contact Geoff & Nathan
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- JULY 12-16 – HUT-TO-HUT TREKKING BULGARIA'S PIRIN MOUNTAINSSofia, Sofia£399.00
Join Backabush on an adventurous 4-day hut-to-hut trek in Bulgaria’s wild and dramatic Pirin mountains!
Nights - 4. Cost - £399. Group size – 14.
This spectacular and challenging trek will take us along wonderful alpine ridges, granite peaks and an abundance of crystal lakes of the stunning Pirin Mountains, the second highest but most impressive and unforgiving mountain range in Bulgaria. Most of the mountain range is designated a national park, listed by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site, and the alpine scenery we will see along the way is breathtaking.
As part of the trek, we will tackle some of the highlights of Bulgarian hiking: the famous Koncheto knife-edge ridge and Mt. Vihren (2914m), the highest and mightiest peak of the Pirins, and second highest in Bulgaria.
We will sleep in scenically situated mountain huts, including the Tevno Ezero Shelter, one of the most remote in the country. These mountain huts provide simple sleeping berths with sheets, blankets and pillows and offer basic, affordable meals and beverages. Staying in these Bulgarian mountain huts will truly add to our mountain experience.
This demanding point-to-point trek requires that you complete all stages on foot, carrying your own luggage, although meals and beverages can be bought affordably in the mountain huts. Generally speaking we recommend this trek only for experienced, intrepid hikers who are happy to stay in rustic accommodation.
The entire route leads along spectacular mountain paths, including some ridges that are quite narrow in parts, requiring a head for heights. There are also extensive boulder fields where confident balance is required along with a good level of hiking fitness. You will need to be full of energy and determination as we will tackle a lot of uphill hiking and rough terrain over the four days.
ITINERARY:
Sat 12 July – Arrival in Sofia. Overnight in a hotel in Sofia city centre (twin share rooms).
Sun 13 July – Our private transfer will pick us up in Sofia city centre in the morning and take us to the trailhead from where we will hike to the Yavorov hut (1740m). (7km, 750m ascent)
Mon 14 July – This is the toughest and longest day, but at the same time the most sensational and memorable. We will traverse the spectacular Koncheto karst ridge, followed by a circular climb of Pirin’s highest summit, Vihren (2914m), before descending to Vihren hut. (13.5km, 1300m ascent, 1100m descent)
Tue 15 July – Our path ascends through the Banderishki cirque and its glistering lakes. Next it follows a ridge with amazing views of cirques and dark-blue lakes. Overnight at the Tevno Ezero refuge (2500m). (12km, 900m ascent, 350m dscent).
Wed 16 July – We hike past the beautiful Samodivskite lakes and Popovo lake to the Bezbog Hut. From here we will take the chairlift down to Gotse Delchev and be transferred back to Sofia. (8km, 300m ascent, 550m descent).
This trip can be combined with PEAKS & LAKES OF BULGARIA'S RILA MOUNTAINS. If booking both Bulgaria trips (this trip and the JULY 18-21 - PEAKS & LAKES OF BULGARIA'S RILA MOUNTAINS trip), then the following will be included at no additional charge:
One night accommodation for 17 July (shared room)
Transfer from the Pirin Mountains to Govedartsi in the Rila Mountains with visit to the famous Rila Monastery on the way (entry to the monastery is free but museum entry is not included)WHAT'S INCLUDED:
- 1 night hotel accommodation in Sofia - twin share
- 3 nights’ accommodation in mountain huts - shared multi-bedded rooms
- An itinerary of 4 days of guided trekking
- Transfers as foreseen by the itinerary
- 1 Backabush trip leader and 1 local English-speaking Bulgarian hiking guide
- Financial protection in accordance with the Package Travel Law 1992
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED:
- Food and drinks
- Flights and airport transfers
- Travel insurance
- Chair lift fee (expected to be about 11 EUR)
FLIGHTS:
Sofia is well connected with direct flights from multiple UK airports.
You will need to arrive in Sofia on (or before) Sat 12 July. Sofia city centre is easily reachable by public transportation and we will give detailed directions to our hotel.
The trip finishes on Wed 16 Jul. This is our final trekking day and we have an approx. 3,5 hr transfer back to Sofia city centre after our hike. If you wish to fly back on 16 July this is only possible if you book the late Ryanair flight FR9962 leaving Sofia at 22:35 (airport drop off possible). Earlier flights are not feasible.
Otherwise you will need to book your own accommodation in Sofia for 16 July and can book any return flight on 17 July, making your own way to Sofia airport.
HOW TO BOOK A PLACE ON THIS TRIP:
To confirm your place on this trip use online banking. Your RSVP is not enough to reserve a space on this trip. Please use PIRIN as your payment reference. The account details are:
Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS
Sort Code: 090127
Account Number: 22440622Only payment secures your place. Please email nathancapay@googlemail.com as soon as you send payment so that we can confirm everything with you. Thanks! :)
- JULY 17-20 - PEAKS & LAKES OF BULGARIA'S RILA MOUNTAINSSofia, Sofia£379.00
Join Backabush for 3 days of spectacular hiking in Bulgaria’s rugged, wild and remote Rila mountains, including to the famous Seven Rila Lakes and Musala peak, highest summit of the Balkans!
Nights - 3. Cost - £379. Group size – 16.
A pristine hiking destination, Bulgaria’s magnificent Rila Mountains are the highest range not only in Bulgaria, but on the entire Balkan Peninsula. They are like a large piece of the Alps cast in the middle of the Balkans.
Among the numerous jagged summits rising to over 2700m stands the Balkans’ highest peak Musala (2925m), which we will have the chance to summit during our trip. From its top, the views over a sea of jagged ridges, rugged peaks, floral alpine meadows and deep gorges are spectacular.
With an ancient Thracian name that likely means “well-watered mountain”, it can’t be a coincidence that water is one of the wonders of Rila. The mountains are abundant in glacial lakes, waterfalls and hot mineral springs.
One of the most striking features of the spectacular Rila National Park are the 180 pristine glacial lakes that lie scattered throughout higher parts of the range. We will hike to the most famous of them, the magnificent cirque of the Seven Rila Lakes, pearls of the Rila Mountains.
To top it all off, we will tackle the fantastic pyramidal peak of Malyovitsa (2729m), with its imposing 1,000 ft tall north face. Mount Malyovitsa is considered a symbol of mountaineering and alpinism in Bulgaria and this is one of the most iconic and breathtaking hikes in the country.
ACCOMMODATION:
Our accommodation will be in comfortable en-suite twin share rooms in a guesthouse in the peaceful village of Govedartsi at the foot of the Rila Mountains, where we can experience the wonderful Bulgarian hospitality. A hearty breakfast and traditional home cooked dinner will be provided each day.
DIFFICULTY:
This trip does not involve technical mountaineering but the hikes will be challenging due to their length/elevation profile and rocky terrain so you will need to have a good level of hiking fitness and a head for heights in the mountainous terrain.
ITINERARY:
Thu 17 July – Time to explore Sofia in the morning if staying the night before. Transfer from airport for flights arriving by 12:30PM or from recommended accommodation in Sofia city centre at 2PM to our guesthouse in Govedartsi. (D)
Fri 18 July – Transfer and chair-lift to Seven Rila Lakes trail start, hike the Seven Rila Lakes circuit (16km, 1100m ascent/descent), transfer back to Govedartsi. (B/D)
Sat 19 July - Transfer to Borovets cabin-lift station, cable car to trail start, hike to Musala peak (15km, 800m ascent/descent), transfer back to Govedartsi. (B/D)
Sun 20 July - Transfer to the Malyovitsa sport complex, hike to Malyovitsa peak (14km, 1050m ascent/descent), transfer to Sofia city centre/ airport. (B)
This trip can be combined with HUT-TO-HUT TREK IN BULGARIA'S PIRIN MOUNTAINS. If booking both Bulgaria trips (this trip and the JULY 13-17 – HUT-TO-HUT TREKKING BULGARIA'S PIRIN MOUNTAINS trip), then the following will be included at no additional charge:
One night accommodation for 17 July (shared room)
Transfer from the Pirin Mountains to Govedartsi in the Rila Mountains with visit to the famous Rila Monastery on the way (entry to the monastery is free but museum entry is not included)WHAT'S INCLUDED:
- 3 nights en-suite twin share guesthouse accommodation
- 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners
- An itinerary of 3 days of guided hiking
- Transfers as foreseen by the itinerary
- 1 Backabush trip leader and 1 local English-speaking Bulgarian hiking guide
- Financial protection in accordance with the Package Travel Law 1992
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED:
- Any meals not specified (lunch supplies can be bought locally)
- Flights and airport transfers
- Travel insurance
- Chair lift fees (expected to be approx. 29 EUR)
FLIGHTS:
Sofia is well connected with direct flights from multiple UK airports. Please use Skyscanner or another search engine to find the most suitable flights for you.
You will need to arrive at Sofia airport by 12:30 on Thu 17 July or the day before (booking your own accommodation in Sofia on Wed 16 July). Sofia city centre is easily reachable by public transportation.
The trip finishes on Sun 20 July. This is our final hiking day and we have a 2 hr transfer back to Sofia city centre/airport after our hike. If you wish to fly back on Sun 20 July this is only possible if you book the late Ryanair flight FR2691 leaving Sofia at 23:00. Any earlier flights are not feasible. Otherwise you will need to book your own accommodation in Sofia for this night and can book any return flight on Mon 21 Jul, making your own way back to Sofia airport.
HOW TO BOOK A PLACE ON THIS TRIP:
To confirm your place on this trip use online banking. Your RSVP is not enough to reserve a space on this trip. Please use RILA as your payment reference. The account details are:
Account Name: BACKABUSH XPLORERS
Sort Code: 090127
Account Number: 22440622Only payment secures your place. Please email nathancapay@googlemail.com as soon as you send payment so that we can confirm everything with you. Thanks! :)
