May 2024

The Great Outdoors

UK's leading authority on hillwalking and backpacking for over 40 years.

The Great Outdoors2 min read
Lonely As A Cloud
“AND THE BEST BIT?” the hillwalker boasts over their pint. “We had the summit all to ourselves!” A familiar exchange, no doubt. Despite being a walker who revels in human interaction hillside, abiding by greeting etiquette with gusto, even I’ve been
The Great Outdoors1 min read
The Great Outdoors
THE GREAT OUTDOORS is published by Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL ACTING EDITOR Francesca Donovan, francesca.donovan@kelsey.co.uk DEPUTY EDITOR David Lintern davidlinterntgo@gmail.com ART EDITOR Helen Har
The Great Outdoors2 min read
In This Issue
Sarah Hewitt is a photographer living in Kendal on the edge of the Lake District. She loves to tell the stories of interesting people and unique places through her images, especially her travel photography. She has recently travelled to Mexico and Ar
The Great Outdoors2 min read
Nadia Shaikh
Inspired by the blackbird, Nadia is fighting for nature connection unbound by lines on a map IN NADIA SHAIKH’S ideal world, nature would be our default setting. The outdoors would not be a space simply “reduced to recreational use”. Here, true agency
The Great Outdoors1 min read
On The lookout
VISIT THE CRAGS, gullies and steep valleys of our uplands over spring and summer, and you may spot the ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus), a migratory member of the thrush family that returns to Britain each year after wintering in Spain or north-west Afr
The Great Outdoors2 min read
Wanderlust – British and Irish Isles
Published by gestalten, £40, hardback THE NEW OFFERING in gestalten’s Wanderlust series is a guidebook to make the eyes widen and the soul sing with possibility. Indeed, it is not simply a guidebook. Alex Roddie showcases Britain’s long-distance walk
The Great Outdoors3 min read
Access To Nature Is Not A Luxury – History Proves It’s A Necessity
IT’S A BIT GRIM out there, isn’t it? And I don’t mean the weather. I mean the world. I sometimes wonder if banging on about access to nature and green spaces is a bit of a luxury in the face of genocide, famine, terrorism and climate catastrophe. But
The Great Outdoors1 min read
Cressbrook Dale, Peak District
“No matter the season, there’s always something to enjoy in the Derbyshire Dales. But if you visit in Spring, you may get to catch the hawthorn – otherwise known as the May tree after the month in which it blooms – in blossom. Last year was a spectac
The Great Outdoors4 min read
Carningli
Another story says that the daughter of a ruling nobleman tried to seduce Brynach with a love potion made from wolfs-bane, but he fled from her advances. She then sent men to capture and kill him. He was wounded and cured at a sacred fountain called
The Great Outdoors4 min read
Wooler
LOCATED in the north-east of Northumberland, this friendly little market town sits at the base of the Cheviot Hills, near Northumberland National Park’s northern edge. Wooler is a place that’s used to the sight of walkers marching along its High Stre
The Great Outdoors11 min read
Maligned mountains
IN BRITAIN’S small but brilliant constellation of mountain summits, a few stars shine brighter than all the rest. It’s understandable that hillwalkers tend to fixate on these big names – after all, they usually deliver the highest, spikiest and most
The Great Outdoors1 min read
5 More Ways To Dodge The Summit Crowds
Social media is the modern walker’s way to get route recommendations, but don’t dismiss old-fashioned guidebooks just yet. Many are written by in-the-know locals and showcase walks with less Instagram appeal but just as much character. Wainwright’s w
The Great Outdoors7 min read
A World Apart
WHEN OUTDOOR MAGAZINES wheel out their ‘most remote places in Britain’ material, it’s usually a cue for another piece on the Fisherfield. Otherwise known as the Great Wilderness, it deserves its reputation as mountainous and majestic but perhaps gets
The Great Outdoors7 min read
THE EDGE Of Ourselves
AT THE BEGINNING of October 2022, I set out to hike the edge of Great Britain alone. On my way, people often asked me: do I get lonely, and how do I cope with that? They often told me they dreamed of going on a big walk themselves but were afraid of
The Great Outdoors1 min read
The Wild Side Of Jura
Distance: 83km/51 miles Ascent: 2783m/9130ft Time: 6-7 days David and friends planned a week on the island, expanding on Peter Edwards’ guides to the island in his various books for Cicerone, including Scottish Wild Country Backpacking, co-written wi
The Great Outdoors1 min read
Walking The Coast For Mind, In Numbers
Time: 385 days (313 hiking days and 72 rest days) Distance: 10,621km / 6592 miles Ascent: 170,799m / 560,364ft Longest day – 54 miles for Summer Solstice 24 Hour Fundraiser Three Peaks climbed as additional fundraiser 6 pairs of shoes 2 tents 2 rucks
The Great Outdoors1 min read
Subscribe To The Great Outdoors And Save Up To £19 On Your First 6 Issues*
THE GREAT OUTDOORS is the UK’s original mountain magazine. We have been inspiring people to explore high places and equipping them with the knowledge they need for almost 45 years. Through compelling writing and beautifully illustrated stories, we co
The Great Outdoors7 min read
Manaslu MASSIVE
MOPEDS weave at high speed amongst taxis, cows amble oblivious through the throng, and everywhere there is smog and people clearing their throats. A realisation dawns: I’m not sure I’m prepared for this. Booking a trip to the Nepalese Himalayas had s
The Great Outdoors4 min read
SKILLS: How To Look After Your Feet
WHAT ARE the two things most likely to put anyone off mountain adventures for life? Fatigue and pain. Especially tired or sore feet. We all know someone who tried out hillwalking or backpacking that one time, maybe as a child, suffered from horrendou
The Great Outdoors2 min read
Gear
Jack Wolfskin’s new 3D Prelight Rise 35 pack has back padding made from fine-grained plastic layered in a 3D printing process. This ground-breaking innovation results in an open cell structure that is strong and weight bearing, and perfectly maps the
The Great Outdoors3 min read
New Reviews
GREENER CHOICE £250 469g (M, on own scales) excellent environmental credentials breathability sometimes an issue, no rear hood adjuster Materials: solution-dyed Pertex Shield Revolve, PFC-free DWR Hood: stiffened, with 2 volume adjusters Front closur
The Great Outdoors2 min read
Features
Check all your gear will fit inside, and take stated capacity as approximate only. Where two figures are given, the first is usually the key one; the second often refers to the inner extended as far up as it will go, which can make for an unstable lo
The Great Outdoors2 min read
Features
Try boots in the shop. Vital areas to check are your heels for movement, the toes for contact with the toebox and under the laces for pressure. Wearing at home for a little while is also a good test and makes returns and exchanges possible. The feel
The Great Outdoors15 min read
Three-season Hiking Boots
COMFORT is the byword when it comes to choosing footwear for the hills, perhaps more so than in any other outdoor gear. Walking boots’ myriad technical features are worth naught if they don’t fit comfortably. Every boot manufacturer uses its own ‘las
The Great Outdoors13 min read
Backpacking Packs
WALKING AND WILD CAMPING adventures bring many rewards, especially a wonderful sense of freedom and the opportunity to explore peaceful, natural environments. The keys to success include good planning, and ensuring you have all the right kit plus a c
The Great Outdoors1 min read
Wild Walks
With bustling weekend summits collecting headlines, it can sometimes feel as though solitude is tough to find on our compact island. But there’s room for everyone in these hills. Those who want a little peace and quiet may just have to get creative w
The Great Outdoors3 min read
1 Beinn a’ Ghlo Cairngorms SCOTLAND
37.4km/23.2 miles/2 days Ascent 1598m/5243ft DRIVING NORTH along the A9 from Perth, the first big peak to really grab your attention is Carn Liath, the shapely southern bastion of the Beinn a’ Ghlo massif. This varied mountain range forms the eastern
The Great Outdoors3 min read
2 Ben Lui, Ben Oss, Beinn Dubhchraig South Highlands SCOTLAND
26.5km/16.5 miles/1-2 days Ascent 1668m/5472ft THE CHARISMATIC Ben Lui is surrounded by peaks that tend to end up being overshadowed by their showier, better-known neighbour. In joining several of them together to make two easy days with a wild camp
The Great Outdoors3 min read
3 Blencathra & Scales Fell Lake District ENGLAND
13.2km/8.2 miles/5 hours Ascent 843m/2765ft A FEW YEARS AGO, I watched, from the top of Blencathra, as the sun rose from behind the Pennines and flooded the world around me with a fresh, cleansing light. The moon was there too, still sitting high in
The Great Outdoors4 min read
5 Sca Fell Lake District ENGLAND
14.3km/8.9 miles/4.5 hours Ascent 900m/2950ft OK, TECHNICALLY it’s the silver medallist of Lakeland, but only by 14 metres. And it wins over its more famous neighbour in several important respects. For starters, Scafell Pike’s parent fell has the pri
The Great Outdoors3 min read
4 Great Gable via Moses’ Trod Lake District ENGLAND
8.9km/5.5 miles/3.5 hours Ascent 700m/2300ft LAKELAND’S seventh highest summit throws unmistakeable but completely different profiles to the points of the compass. From the south-west it presents the beautiful diamond that’s emblematic of the Nationa
The Great Outdoors3 min read
6 Shining Tor & Windgather Rocks Peak District ENGLAND
15.7km/9.8 miles/5 hours Ascent 489m/1604ft AS ONLY the seventh-highest peak in our first National Park, Shining Tor (559m) may get overlooked. But with a prominence of 263m – in the Peak District second only to Kinder Scout – it’s a fine place to se
The Great Outdoors3 min read
8 Carnedd Llewelyn via Cwm Eigiau Eryri/Snowdonia WALES
17.3km/10.7 miles/6 hours Ascent 772m/2533ft WITH AN ABOVE-AVERAGE annual rainfall, the valleys of Eryri/Snowdonia were an attractive proposition for the burgeoning hydroelectric and aluminium smelting industries of the early 20th Century. In 1907 th
The Great Outdoors3 min read
9 Waun Rydd Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons WALES
21km/13 miles/6.5 hours Ascent 725m/2379ft WHY WAUN RYDD? The Beacons Way gives it a miss, and even OS mapping can’t seem to give it, or its edges, horizontal labelling. It’s a half-hearted job, but why? We’re talking reasonable height here at 769m,
The Great Outdoors4 min read
10 Tintagel (or Westdowns) to Polzeath Cornwall ENGLAND
29.6km/18.4 miles/9.5-10 hours Ascent 1460m/4790ft* THE STRETCH of coastline between Tintagel and Polzeath is one of the most strenuous day walks to be had along the South West Coast Path, but it’s a superb one with some dramatic cliff scenery. The l
The Great Outdoors3 min read
7 Dove Dale & Manifold Trail Peak District ENGLAND
31.8km/19.8 miles/9 hours Ascent 865m/2834ft THE WHITE PEAK of the Peak District National Park is rightly popular, with outdoor offerings within easy reach of numerous towns and cities. Almighty scenes abound. The River Dove is hemmed in by walls wit
The Great Outdoors3 min read
Blowin’ Into Town
WITHOUT THE WIND we wouldn’t have wind turbines, windmills or the yellow flag I saw outside someone’s house that had an illustration of a crab on it. As it gently unfurled in the breeze it revealed the obscured message. The message was just the word
The Great Outdoors1 min read
Thousands Of England’s Access Islands Are Stranded In A ‘Sea’ Of Off-limits Land
New research released by Right to Roam has revealed the absurdity of England’s access laws. The group has discovered thousands of ‘access islands’ – fragments of open access land where we have the legal right to roam but which are completely surround
The Great Outdoors3 min read
Readers’ Page
Share your views, your experiences and your favourite photos tgo.ed@kelsey.co.uk Postal address The Editor, The Great Outdoors, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL. Please include a phone number and p

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