Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i The Great Outdoors

Psychologist Dr Jade teaches the importance of moments over mileage in Mother Nature’s classroom DR JADE Adams-White hated her first camp. As a young army cadet, she pitched a tent one freezing December night. “I just wanted to go home,” she told The Great Outdoors. Yet the 34-year-old psychologist from Liverpool recalls the “freeness” of waking up outdoors that she “couldn’t help but learn to love.” In her twenties, she climbed her first mountain and “loved the vastness of space, sense of achievement and awe.” Finding things difficult during the pandemic, Jade turned to the hills. Once restrictions eased, she scrambled Helvellyn solo and, elated on the descent, determined to share that feeling with as many people as possible. With a PhD gained investigating decision-making in critical environments with the…

GETTING OUTSIDE during the darker months of the year can be challenging, but it can also be the most rewarding time to do so. The landscapes are transformed from the harsh greens of summer to a colourful mix of yellows, browns, oranges and reds. The sun sits lower in the sky, casting dramatic patterns of light as it breaks through the gaps in the clouds. Temperature inversions blanket the valley floors in cloud and the forests are shrouded in cold mists. A lot of photographers will tell you that autumn and winter are their favourite times of year to get out and shoot. However, the reality of autumn and winter in North Wales is often days and days of wind, rain and thick, grey cloud. Hardly the most inspiring of…

MONTANE TERRA MISSION PANTS Montane’s Terra range of hiking trousers is well-proven as comfortable, practical and hard-wearing. The Mission model is made from Montane’s tough Granite stretch fabric reinforced with Cordura at the knees and insteps. They have hand and thigh pockets, mesh-lined leg vents, articulated knees, and volume adjustable lower legs to fit big mountaineering boots or lightweight walking boots. The Mission Pants are designed for winter hillwalking and mountaineering. CLOTHING ALPKIT RANGER VENTILE JACKET Ventile is a tough and tightly woven weatherproof cotton that is extremely durable. I have a Ventile jacket from the 1980s, which has been worn extensively but is still in good condition. Alpkit’s Ranger jacket should last just as long. It’s well-designed with an excellent hood and good pockets. It’s made from organic cotton…

16.8km/10.4 miles/6-8 hours Ascent 1112m/3648ft Alex Roddie seeks a treasure of a winter pub walk in Glen Coe GLEN COE is one of the best places for hiking in Scotland, and with several very good reasons. Some of our finest mountains are to be found there. It’s accessible by car and public transport. But at the top of that list is, arguably, the Clachaig Inn: a mountain pub par excellence. One of the Clachaig’s few downsides is that not many walks actually begin conveniently from its door. But a fine option takes in two of the glen’s lesser-known summits: the Munro of Sgurr na h-Ulaidh (994m) and the Munro Top of Stob an Fhuarain (968m). Sgurr na h-Ulaidh’s name means Peak of the Treasure, and it’s an apt description. It’s a…

7.2km/4.5 miles/3-4 hours Ascent 759m/2490ft Take on this short, sharp ascent to earn a pint on your return! KIRK FELL is one of the mostly finely situated fells in Lakeland. At the head of Wast Water, nestled between Great Gable and Pillar, its prominence offers hillwalkers perhaps the best view of a lake’s full length in Cumbria. It’s comparable with the vision of Buttermere from Fleetwith Pike – but with fewer outdoorsfolk. Plus, Kirk Fell provides a short but welcome challenge when the weather is grim and you need a quick warm-up. Whilst you may approach via one of the two passes that hug its heft on either side – Black Sail Pass to the west and Beck Head Pass in the east – in fine weather there’s a noteworthy…

22.4km/13.9 miles/7 hours Ascent 500m/1640ft Ian Battersby finds a warm welcome after a march in the tracks of monks THE FALCON INN is set on the alluring village green of Arncliffe, an inviting Yorkshire Dales village in little Littondale, where the lovely River Skirfare trundles past to meet the wider Wharfe. In summer the green is the place to chill, but in winter the pub offers a warm embrace. The pub is surrounded by hills packed with remarkable geology and history, whilst Emmerdale fans may already know this comforting retreat was the soap’s original inn. This route begins by climbing Yew Cogar Scar using the ‘Monk’s Road’ path. The monks travelled to and from a distant Fountains Abbey near Ripon when the monastery owned vast territories employed in sheep farming…

Sarah Jane Douglas is a Highlands-based writer, artist and author of award-winning memoir Just Another Mountain. Having ‘compleated’ the Munros she is currently summit camping her way round the Corbetts. Despite challenges that linger after a cancer diagnosis, she continues to walk, squelch, crawl and curse! Here she describes a last camp before Christmas, high on a classic horseshoe ridge on the Morven peninsula on the west coast of Scotland (p32). Hollie Harmsworth is a film-maker and photographer from North Wales who’s based on the edge of Eryri National Park. With the mountains and forest right on her doorstep she loves spending time in nature, hiking and swimming. Her combined passions for the outdoors and photography have grown together over the years, and she is motivated to tell the stories of…

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 postal address. Reader Letter - Feb 24 A reader recently wrote to The Great Outdoors to explain why they were “brought up short” by a recent opinion shared by regular contributor Jilly Sherlock in her piece on her autumnal Tour du Mont Blanc. In ‘Season Finale’ (which appeared in the November 2023 issue) Jilly admitted she was “not a big fan of cairns” and would on occasion ‘dismantle’ them. The reader, on the other hand, has “valued the presence of cairns to help guide [them] in misty and rainy conditions”. Here, Jilly responds… I totally agree with the reader! I value the importance of waymarkers…

New research by Helly Hansen in partnership with Mountain Rescue England & Wales and AKA – a not-for-profit organisation that brings inner-city communities into the outdoors – reveals the barriers British people are facing when it comes to enjoying the outdoors. The co-founder of AKA, Kevin Spriggs, said, “the results show there is a lot more work to be done, and we hope our work and involvement on this project with Helly Hansen can help to bridge the gap.” ARCHIVE “To be among the hills, to reflect upon them, to come to know them - this is the way by which most value comes in upon you from the outdoor experience.” Jim Perrin The Great Outdoors,January 2001 THE View FROM HERE Stob Coire an Laoigh…

James Forrest climbed all the mountains of England and Wales in six months around his day job in a feat earning him the nickname ‘Mountain Man’. Since, he’s bagged all 214 Wainwrights in 14 days and tackled the ultimate Three Peaks Challenge – walking between the summits of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon. Here, he explains the joys – and occasional drawbacks – of setting a peak-bagging challenge in order to motivate yourself beyond your front door and out into the hills. “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” I’ve always loved John Muir’s inspirational quote, but perhaps it should have come with a caveat – sometimes you might lack the motivation to respond to the call. “The mountains are calling… but I can’t bothered to go.” At…

10 varied routes in Scotland, England and Wales A ramble and a country pub: a classic combination as old as ale. After months of winter, hillwalking can help you blow away the cobwebs. And whilst those short hours outdoors spent in the weak wintery light is almost always restorative, time indoors by the fireside in a great walkers’ watering hole can warm the soul, too. Here our experts share their favourite days out that pair some of our finest footpaths with welcoming pubs. Our walks this month 1 Carn Daimh, Speyside Way Cairngorms 2 Sgurr na h-Ulaidh via the Clachaig Inn Glen Coe 3 Mellbreak via the Kirkstile Inn Lake District 4 Barton Fell via the Sun Inn Lake District 5 Kirk Fell via the Wasdale Head Inn Lake District 6 The Calf via…

6.6km/4.1 miles/3 hours Ascent 467m/1532ft James Forrest enjoys a jaunt low in mileage but high in drama IF YOU ONLY HAVE a few hours to indulge in the fells, why not head for Mellbreak? The steep climb up the towering pyramid of the north ridge is a magnificent ascent full of drama and excitement. Next the wide plateau top, which consists of two summits separated by a broad saddle, offers excellent panoramas of Crummock Water and Buttermere, before the final leg via Mosedale serves up a welcome dose of tranquillity and solitude. At less than five miles, the reward to effort ratio of this walk is phenomenal. Every good walk should also end in a good country inn – and this route is no exception. Happily, one of Lakeland’s best…

15km/9.3 miles/8 hours Ascent 1015m/3325ft Roger Butler treads tussocky tops to a temperance inn ALFRED WAINWRIGHT once described the smooth contours of the Howgill Fells as ‘a huddle of squatting elephants’ and, on a good day, it’s quite easy to wander across these tussocky tops with your hands firmly in your pockets. The rolling horizons, and a complete lack of walls and fences, might encourage you to whistle whilst you walk but the skylarks will also provide a suitable serenade. This wriggling circuit includes breezy tops, deep valleys and dark crags, and also passes over the broad summit of The Calf, the highest point in the range. You’ll climb over several fells, look down into the great gulch of Bowderdale, walk along the high edge of Cautley Crag and descend…

24.7km/15.3 miles/7 hours Ascent 890m/2919ft Andrew Galloway sets off from a village with two 16th-Century pubs THE VILLAGE of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, nestled amongst the Ceiriog Valley’s verdant hills, is blessed with two public houses. The Hand and The West Arms were both constructed in the 16th Century as farmhouses, and later found use as watering holes for agricultural workers moving herds of livestock from rural Wales to market in the Welsh Marches. Llanarmon is at the intersection of a number of drovers’ routes, ensuring plenty of passing trade. Nowadays, the establishments have a reputation for fine dining. The drovers have now hung up their boots, and the historic tracks fanning out from the village square are used by walkers to access the high cairns of the Berwyn Mountains. Lying…

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Adam Łyczko (Facebook) “It depends. I treat it as part of the experience. Sure, nobody likes the packing bit, but then walking back can be fun. This morning I was descending Ben Starav in the dark as I had to be back home early morning. A fantastic experience, especially with clear skies and no moon.” Dan Forsyth (Facebook) “Strongly disagree! There’s nothing better than when you’ve just had breakfast, got packed up and you’re continuing your hike at 6am! The worse bit is when you get home and have to sort your gear out – hoping the weather’s fine to air your tent, dry the boots and wash the clothes!” Mike Thompson (Facebook) “I love packing up on a fine day because it means I am on the tops early…

I HAD AN EXPERIENCE with a 10ft high deer fence walking near Loch Lomond. I was four months pregnant. It was snowy and windy. A huge fence loomed out of the swirling gloom. It wasn’t marked on the map, and there were no signs suggesting which direction might possibly lead to a gate or a stile. It was a case of turn back or get a leg over. I climbed, but it was horribly precarious – and I know many walking friends who wouldn’t have been able to. That would have been a frustrating and unfair end to their Big Day Out. The fence had been erected to protect young trees from hungry deer. There are at least 400,000 red deer across the Highlands. They’re glorious creatures, and a natural…

FROM EDALE CROSS to Brown Knoll is a bare half-mile, albeit a rough and tussocky one, with views that are an ever-widening enticement to proceed. For most young northerners venturing into the outdoors for the first time, this is one of the great points of access – a gateway to a life-changing journey. Brown Knoll is an outlier from the great moorland plateau of Kinder Scout, which can be glimpsed from the ends of most of those crowded streets of Manchester, which seep and sprawl out to the west onto the Cheshire Plain. You’d not call it pretty country, but for hill-goers from the region, it has a long and undeniable allure. We have all threaded its footpaths and splashed across its mires on our way to the wilder land…

Hello 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 convey the joy of adventure, the thrill of mountainous and wild environments, and the wonder of the natural world. We’re here to help you make the most of your time in the outdoors. As well as stunning photography and top-class writing, our gear reviewers are the country’s most experienced team – and we always ensure clothing and equipment is put through its paces in the right places. Our essential skills advice is reinforced by top outdoor instructors and guides. Our roster of contributors ranges from world-renowned outdoor experts and authors to…

Fjällräven Vidda Pro Lite £175 510g (38 short) ✔ organic and recycled materials, breathability, pockets, three leg lengths ✖ expensive, no women’s sizes Fabric: G-1000 Air Stretch: 52% recycled polyester, 13% polyester, 35% organic cotton Pockets: 2 hand, 4 leg Waist: belt loops Ankle: elastic strap with studs, hook for boot laces Sizes: men: 28-44, 3 leg lengths. fjallraven.com The Vidda Pro Lite are tough trousers made from a version of Fjällräven’s well-established and hard-wearing G-1000 polyester/cotton fabric, which is designed to be light and airy. G-1000 Air Stretch has a slight one-way stretch but it’s nothing like that of the stretch softshell fabrics used for many hiking pants, including some from Fjällräven such as the Keb Agile Trousers. In fact the stretch of the Vidda Pro Lite trousers is…

25km/15.5 miles/7-9 hours Ascent 845m/2771ft (Ballindalloch to Tomintoul) Stefan Durkacz explores a hilly spur of the Speyside Way THE SPEYSIDE WAY is one of Scotland’s ‘Great Trails’. From Newtonmore in the Cairngorms National Park, it follows the mighty River Spey down to the sea, then shadows the Moray Firth coast to Buckie. The walking is generally easy, mainly following former railways and well-made paths and tracks with few big inclines. The Tomintoul spur of the Way, however, is rather different. Branching off the main route at Ballindalloch, it will test the legs with steep climbs and descents, rough paths and, beyond Glenlivet, real hillwalking to reach the summit of Carn Daimh, at 570m the highest point on the Way. Amidst the wide moors and heathery hills above Glenlivet and Strathavon,…

16.9km/10.5 miles/5-6 hours Ascent 604m/1980ft Vivienne Crow enjoys contrasting sides of the Far Eastern Fells LAKELAND’S EASTERN EDGE is dominated by gentle, rounded slopes and lengthy, whaleback ridges. It’s the sort of area I seek out when I want to hike for long, uninterrupted hours. Just occasionally, though, you’ll come across something here that’ll stop you in your tracks. The north-western edge of Barton Fell does exactly that. Whilst the ground to the south-east leads on to open, unassuming moorland, these craggy slopes plummet dramatically to a shelf of ancient enclosures, beyond which lies Ullswater. A faint trail skips along the escarpment edge, providing walkers with an uninterrupted view up the dark lake towards Helvellyn and its impressive neighbours. A place to linger… The second half of the route, on…

24.3km/15.1 miles/7.5 hours Ascent 536m/1758ft Ian Battersby comes in from the cold at Britain’s highest pub THE TAN HILL INN is Britain’s highest pub, and there are times when it exudes a hardy outpost atmosphere – particularly in winter, when icy roads deter drivers and the only callers are those who have climbed from the dales. The warm welcome swells as the mercury plummets; after all, it takes the most determined oddball to stumble in from the bitter bite of our most precarious season. Real fires and the scent of a hearty meal soon see broad smiles cracking rosy cheeks. But winter can equally ease passage once away from the tarmac. Moorland miles are long here, with unfrequented paths winding a way through tussocks, bogs and heather. Even the passing…

14km/8.6 miles/4-5 hours Ascent 440m/1440ft A clutch of Dartmoor tors and back to the pub, suggests Tim Gent SETTING OUT from the Fox and Hounds car park, five tors will be just enough on a short winter day before returning to the warmth of the bar. Arms Tor is first up, spread out well, with much seeming to have slipped down the hill over the millennia. Great Links Tor seems reluctant to show off from this direction, and it’s not until you bump up against the imposing mass of once-molten rock that its prefix makes sense. It’s a very impressive lump of granite… which Kitty Tor isn’t. But what this dispersed stone scatter lacks in exuberance, it makes up for in views – even if Branscombe’s Loaf, next in line,…