FOAM MASSAGE ROLLER £10

USED BY deputy editor Jenna Maryniak fighting the aches of old age! USED FOR 7 months

Now this might seem an odd item to have in Trail – you might not even know what it is – but I honestly believe that this could be hillwalking’s biggest secret. Runners have long been converted, but most walkers have never even heard of a massage roller. We all know that hillwalking is hard on the old leg muscles and, unless you’re some kind of supreme being, you probably end up with achy legs afterwards. You might also suffer with tight calves, painfully stiff Achilles and tender feet post-walk. And until I visited Whalley Warm and Dry in Lancashire, I’d resigned myself to the fact that this was just a normal part of walking in the mountains. So when they sent me off with a Massage Roller and some custom insoles I wouldn’t have believed that my world would be transformed! A regular massage on the roller, along with stretching really has worked wonders! It’s quick and easy to do – you just position yourself in a seated position, legs outstretched. You rest one leg on top of the roller and cross the other over the top to increase the pressure, then roller out your calf to Achilles in small movements. YouTube it if you’re not sure on the technique. Us walkers might not think of ourselves as athletes, but that doesn’t mean that our bodies couldn’t do with a bit of TLC from time to time!

VERDICT

If you have tight calves, Achilles or feet after walking, you need one of these!