There’s no need to spend a huge amount of money on walking trousers, there are many brands that are inexpensive and perfectly suitable for use on D of E.

You need walking trousers to be light, comfortable and quick drying, as long as you follow those basic rules then most will be suitable. Make sure they have at least one zip pocket to keep small valuables in, you don’t want to lose things on the hill, you’ll never find them again and preferably a large pocket on one of the legs that will fit an OS map as this is what you will probably be navigating from.

Two pairs of walking trousers should be adequate, one to walk in all day and a spare pair to change into when you get to camp for the night so you can dry out out and be comfortable, try and keep the 2nd pair dry and put the wet ones on again for the next day (if they got wet), they will soon warm up and will even dry out if the weather is reasonable, most walking trousers will dry very quickly in the sun, especially if they are being worn.

Some walking trousers zip off at the knee to turn into shorts in really warm weather, this is fine but bear in mind that you will probably have to take your walking boots off to remove and refit them.

Ladies may prefer to wear sports type leggings instead of walking trousers, these are very popular and work just as well, they also pack down really small but have the disadvantage of a lack of pockets so make sure you have somewhere secure to keep small valuables as you don’t want them falling out every time you open your rucksack.

Jeans are definitely not suitable as they soak up water, become very heavy and take a long time to dry.