Gurlz Only :-)

Chicks Unleashed - great name - offers outdoor courses and adventures for women, guided specifically by women. Let's spell that out, no guys allowed.

The group kicked off with a highly successful women's mountain seminar in March of this year and has just announced its new project, 'Journey Through Scotland', which takes place at the end of July.

The 'Journey' is a unique and original idea aimed at women walkers, mountaineers and climbers. The concept is for a nine-day trip through some of the most exhilarating Scottish mountain areas including Glencoe with its sharp ridge scrambles and classic climbs, Ben Nevis, the wilderness area of the Knoydart peninsular and moving north, the ridges of Glenshiel and finally, the sandstone giants of Torridon.

The Forcan Ridge in Glenshiel, just one of the stops on the Journey Throught Scotland copyright Chicks Unleashed 2004

The trip is broken down into bite-sized pieces with stays in 'some of the most remote, tranquil and scenic mountain huts and bothys in the Scottish Highlands'. It's open to women walkers, mountaineers and climbers who want to take advantage of top female instructors' skills and the beauty of the idea is that you can choose whether to walk or climb and select which snippets you're interested in and pick and mix along the way - so you could climb on the Ben and walk in Torridon for example.

Prices vary according to which activities you want to undertake and doing more than two sections will land you a discount, which depends on which activities you undertake and is way too complicated for us to understand, though it's explained on the web site.

We think it's a fantastic idea for women who want to get out and learn in a supportive all-female environment and we're deeply envious, though of course we'd never admit that in public.

More information from the Chicks Unleashed web site by e-mail or by phoning Rosie Goolden on 01479 861225.