Affiliate & advertising disclosure

Short version: some links on this site may pay us a commission, any page that has them says so clearly before you click, and it never changes what we recommend.

Where things stand today

At the time of writing there are no live affiliate links and no adverts on this site. We plan to apply to affiliate programmes (for example Amazon Associates UK, and outdoor and mapping retailers through networks such as Awin or Webgains) once the site is live. This page describes the rules we’ll follow from the first day any commercial link appears.

What counts as an affiliate link

An affiliate link is a tracked link to a shop or service. If you buy after clicking it, the retailer pays us a commission. It costs you nothing extra. Under UK advertising rules, affiliate links are advertising, and we have to make that obvious.

How we label them

• At the top of the page. Any guide containing affiliate links starts with a clear note, before the first link, that begins with “Ad:” and says some links are affiliate links and that we earn a commission if you buy.
• On the link itself. Where a page mixes editorial advice and commercial links, the affiliate links are marked individually, for example “(Ad, affiliate link)”. A single line in the footer is not enough, so we don’t rely on one.
• On social posts. Anything we post that includes an affiliate link starts with “Ad”.
• Plain words. We don’t use vague wording such as “may earn a commission” as the only disclosure.

If a retailer programme requires its own wording (for example Amazon’s Associates statement), we’ll add it as well.

Our own products

Fell & Shore Walks is the sister site of the Fell & Shore shop, which sells our own prints and digital downloads, such as a Wainwrights logbook. When we link to our own products we say so (“our shop”). That is promotion of our own goods, and we treat it as advertising too.

Editorial independence

• We recommend kit, maps and places because they suit the walk, not because of commission rates.
• Commission doesn’t change the price you pay.
• Route information and safety advice come from official sources and are never changed to suit an advertiser.
• If we ever accept sponsorship or a free product, it will be labelled as such on the page.

Questions

See the contact page. For the rules themselves, read the CAP Executive’s advice on online affiliate marketing (Advertising Standards Authority).