Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i The Great Outdoors

Some may find the dark oppressive and menacing. But the sky comes alive at night in ways we can’t imagine during daylight hours, unifying all the adventurous night owls under the same spectacle of stars – weather permitting! Perhaps this universally grounding experience was no more keenly felt this October when Lady Aurora danced bright across Britain for the second time in 2024. Despite being taken miles and miles apart, the similarities in these four reader photos serve to show how small but connected we all are in the grand scheme of the majesty of our natural world.…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PHD Sigma synthetic insulated vest and trousers Vest £250 Trousers £242 Vest 234g (M) Trousers 279g (L) best in class weight for warmth, very durable price Fill: Primaloft Gold Shell: Ultrashell (MX offered) vest, MX superlight (trousers) Hood: optional on the vest Hem: elasticated Pockets: 3 on vest, 1 key pocket on trousers Sizes: XS-XL, plus custom options. Women’s version? unisex phdesigns.co.uk David Lintern keeps the cold at bay with some best-in-class insulation layers In a break from our usual routine on these pages, I’m covering not one, but two products in the same line of clothing from Peter Hutchison Designs (PHD). Both are made from the same component fabrics and materials, but one is new to me this year, and the other is several years old. The Sigma…

22.1km/13.7 miles/9-12 hours Ascent 1069m/3507ft This circuit gets all the best views and is great in Winter, says Alex Roddie I’LL NEVER FORGET the first time I climbed Bidean nam Bian in Winter, striding along that snowy crest. Stob Coire nan Lochan is another perennial favourite. However, Bidean’s other close neighbour, Stob Coire Sgreamhach, has a somewhat aloof vibe – it wasn’t even recognised as a Munro until 1997, and getting to the top requires a bit more effort than an ascent of Bidean. Yet it is so worthwhile – especially in Winter, when this mountain takes on the atmosphere of a towering Himalayan or Alpine giant (think I’m exaggerating? Just go and look for yourself!). It’s not an easy climb from any side, with even the normal approach up…

Andy Wasley is The Great Outdoors’ editor, a role he shares with David Lintern. Andy is a journalist, photographer and long-distance hiker, whose boots have carried him along big trails across Britain and in Europe, Asia and the Americas. He found his way into the hills during his childhood in the Cotswolds, where he now lives with his husband and son. He leads a Cubs pack and will be teaching them celestial navigation – and camp fire songs! – during the coming long winter nights. Francesca Donovan is a journalist and hillwalker based in a Peak District barn. When her Wi-Fi plays ball, she works as content producer at TGO. Otherwise, she loves walking, swimming and camping in the mountains of Eryri, Lakeland and – whenever the cost of train fares…

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 postal address. Paper treasures (Part 2) A long-standing reader recently got in touch after a bout of at-home decluttering to see if we could help find his complete collection of TGO magazines a good home. I read with interest the letter from Ryan Codling in the November issue of The Great Outdoors entitled ‘Paper treasures’. Coincidentally, I have recently had to clear my loft, where I had stored every single issue of TGO magazine since Issue 1 was published in March 1978. I would now like to pass on this collection to any interested…

(£9.99, paperback, Saraband) ‘BY WALKING an hour each morning,’ Cracknell writes, in the opening chapter of Doubling Back, ‘I plant myself here.’ The line captures an essence of this versatile author’s work, which spans fiction, drama and – in this book – personal essays. From her earliest memories, Cracknell has been on the move, whether tunnelling through the undergrowth of her childhood back garden, walking barefoot through a village in Kenya, or struggling, injured, across Norway. But far from superficial tourism, her explorations are always about rooting down into the people, stories and natural worlds where she passes. And her spade is her pen. Cracknell writes to discover, and her walks are a multi-dimensional excavation of places – and herself – across time. The premise of Doubling Back is ‘Paths…

WE SET UP CAMP on the edge of a small mixed woodland in the Scottish Borders, having walked out from my friend Sam’s house in the afternoon. By 6pm we were rigging our tarp and laying out sleeping mats, in time to watch the sun set over the Pentland Hills. The last of the day’s warmth offered welcome comfort before the chill of the night. I’d asked Sam if we could camp together close to his home because I was intrigued: what’s it like to have a foundation of access rights that extend to land and water, and which include the freedom to sleep under the stars a short walk from your front door? This has always been customary in the Highlands, but in the Central Belt of Scotland it…

MY HOBBY-TURNED-OBSESSION started in 2014, which now feels like a lifetime away. I wish it I could say my journey into astrophotography began with grand artistic vision or great insight. In truth, I suspect like many of us who break out of the city and discover the outdoors, it began because I was in an unbelievably stressful job that was making me very unhappy. So much so, one night I just wanted to escape. I had little knowledge of astronomy, and absolutely no experience in the rural world outside Glasgow. I simply zoomed out on the satnav of my car until it showed me as a tiny red dot in Scotland, and headed out into the unknown. My first night drive took me up the A83 to the Rest and…

NOTHING SPLITS the opinion of hill folk like a tick list. Some are uncomfortable measuring the joys of getting outdoors in numbers, whilst others find motivation in having a definable goal. If you’re list-curious, a bagging challenge could be just what you need to kick off a prolific year of hillwalking. And who better to turn to for advice than these seasoned British baggers? ANNE BUTLER The first female president of Mountaineering Scotland and vice president of the Munro Society, Anne is the first known woman to bag a ‘Full House’ of Scottish hills twice. 1 Decide whether bagging is for you: I think either you’ve got a bagging gene or you haven’t. For me, bagging gives me that extra sense of purpose, motivation and focus. 2 Don’t fixate on a…

FREE SILVA HIKE 2 HEAD TORCH* Get out and stay out with a FREE Silva Hike 2 head torch when you subscribe to The Great Outdoors. Established in 1934, Silva has been crafting torches to allow serenity and safety in the darkest mountain environment, a trusted companion for cold weather walks and wild camps. WORTH £29.99! HOW TO SUBSCRIBE VISIT: shop.kelsey.co.uk/TGOSILVA CALL: 01959 543747 and quote TGOSILVA OR SCAN THIS QR CODE TO CLAIM YOUR FREE GIFT SCAN: Lines open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate. Terms & Conditions: *UK Direct Debit offer only. You will pay £25.99 for your first 6 issues, then £44.99 every 12 months thereafter via Direct Debit. The gift is for UK only and subject to availability. Gifts will not be dispatched…

10 varied routes in Scotland, England and Wales Many of us walk miles and miles to breathe in the fresh air, allow the mind to slow down and take in sweeping vistas that can make us feel comfortingly small in the landscape. But sometimes, oxymoronic though it may seem, the indoor cosiness and warmth of a good pub (ideally complete with low beams to duck under and crackling fires to huddle beside) and the wide-open great outdoors go together as well as fish and chips. In their most challenging assignment yet, here our experts compile their favourite peak ’n’ pub walks – including two different takes on familiar Lakeland fells, with different inns in which to sink a pint while your boots dry out! Our walks this month 1 Ladhar…

15.9km/9.9 miles/6 hours Ascent 614m/2015ft Ian Battersby uncovers treasures in the shadow of nine strange cairns IT COULD BE claimed that Nine Standards Rigg makes for a fairly nondescript hill from afar, but its position on the border between Swaledale and the old county of Westmorland may have saved it from obscurity. The motivation for the famed nine standard cairns perched just north of the summit has been misplaced in time, but they may have been used to mark this border. They can be seen against their skyline here well before reaching the top. Whatever the reason, the cairns make a unique and fascinating draw, and deliver an all-embracing panorama that ranges from Wild Boar Fell and The Howgills, past the Lake District skyline, and up towards Cross Fell (rooftop…

16.8km/10.7 miles/7 hours Ascent 1429m/4688ft James Forrest bags eight wintry Wainwrights plus a well-earned pint JOURNEYING from peak to pub, this classic route combines one of the Lakes’ most iconic horseshoe ridge walks with one of its best pubs. The Coledale Round is a high-level, summit-bagging classic in the North-Western Fells, whilst the Coledale Inn (a former woollen mill) is a traditional country pub with Georgian and Victorian heritage, an outdoorsy vibe and an enviable hillside perch above Braithwaite. The Coledale Round is a supremely versatile route with a near-endless array of options. In this version, we opt for eight Wainwrights (Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Crag Hill, Sail, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Outerside and Barrow). You could skip Barrow and Outerside, or add Wandope, Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike and Whiteside for…

19.2km/11.9 miles/5.5-6 hours Ascent 698m/2260ft Vivienne Crow tackles Yorkshire’s highest hill from delightful Dent MOST FOLK approach Whernside from the east, but this walk climbs to Yorkshire’s highest point from the west – from Dentdale in Cumbria – leaving Cumbria for only a few hundred metres, in fact. Ever since the local government reorganisation of 1974, a large proportion of Whernside, including its allimportant trig pillar, has fallen outside of North Yorkshire’s borders. Assuming you’re sticking with me – and you’re not a Yorkshire patriot offended by this shocking fact – this route uses old tracks to get to Whernside. A moderately steep climb brings you to the summit. Crossing into Yorkshire, we briefly share the ridge path with Three Peakers before striking off over less frequented (Cumbrian) ground again.…

16.4km/10.2 miles/5.5-6.5 hours Ascent 943m/3094ft Lara Dunn walks a ridgeline to the highest pub in Worcestershire THE MALVERN HILLS, clearly visible from the M5 motorway as a sort of Alps in miniature, stretch for around 10 miles from their most southerly point in Herefordshire almost directly north to their end point above the Victorian spa town of Great Malvern. The source of the famous health-giving water springs that made the town so popular with well-heeled Victorian travellers, the hills are still very much a draw today for those looking for an active break. This linear route along the full length of the hills is undulating, with many relatively modest peaks including the highest in the county – the 425m Worcestershire Beacon – giving a challenging walk when taken in a…

14.3km/8.9 miles/5 hours* Ascent 662m/2172ft Fiona Barltrop recommends a pub and a peak, both with great views FOR A ‘PUB TO PEAK’ walk in the south of England, you can’t do much better than the Anchor Inn at Seatown, from where you can climb straight up to the highest point along the southern coastline of Britain: the 191m/627ft flat-topped summit of Golden Cap. From here there are stunning views along the coast in both directions. The multi-award-winning pub is in a beautiful tucked-away spot above the beach, at the end of a no-through lane. There is excellent walking along on the coast path in either direction, with far-reaching views from Thorncombe Beacon to the east as well as Golden Cap to the west. The Jurassic Coast is worldfamous for its…

EVENT Girls on Hills: Winter Skills 101 Skills courses 18/25 January • Fort William, Glen Coe Girls on Hills Ltd is the UK’s only guided trail, fell and skyrunning company designed specifically for women. Delivered by MCI- and WML-qualified female guides with a maximum ratio of 1:6 for safety, this two-day course is for women seeking adventure in Winter. The mountains of Scotland are breathtaking in snow but can be dangerous. The course covers movement skills, crampons, self-arrest using an ice axe, avalanche awareness and winter navigation. Summer hillwalking experience is necessary for this course, and a good level of hill fitness is also required. For those who have already been on a winter skills course, a two-day guided winter hillwalking weekend in Glen Coe will also be hosted by…

In the photo essay entitled ‘Nature’s witness’, which was published in the November issue of The Great Outdoors, photographer and Mountain Leader Alex Nail recalled the four years and false starts it took to get to know and capture the Fisherfield Forest through his camera lens. Our readers were blown away by the photographs. Here’s what just a few had to say… Conor Finnegan (@cfinneganphoto/X) “The book Alex produced [titled The Great Wilderness and published by Alex Nail Publishing] is amazing!” Stavros Lambrakis (@stavros. lambrakis.222/Instagram) “Sublime images, Alex. Just great work!” Daniel Tuchowski (@munrodrifter/Instagram) “Lovely stuff, Alex, as always.” Terry Adby (@terryadbyoutdoors/Instagram) “Stunning shots, but that first one in particular is a sensational capture of the moment (and sure it wouldn’t have looked like that if I’d taken it)!”…

SACRED SUMMITS are ten a penny in the legend-wreathed Black Mountains – but even in a landscape steeped in Celtic spirituality, Ysgyryd (‘Skirrid’) Fawr stands out. Topped by an ancient, ruined chapel and famed for centuries as a place of pilgrimage, it’s known locally as Holy Mountain. You’ll find its north-south ridge a mile or so south of Llanfihangel Crucorney. From the east, I’ve found Tintern makes a good rest stop, and I sought out chewy tea cakes the size of dinner plates (toasted of course) that needed washing down with gallons of tea. Duly refreshed, I headed westwards, with my objective of Ysgyryd Fawr, at 1594 feet, slowly rising on the horizon ahead. Clearly visible on its weather slope is a great distinguishing landslip cleft, Gothically accentuated and strange.…

22.1km/13.8 miles/9-12 hours Ascent 393m/4570ft James Roddie walks a long way for a remote pint and a meal LADHAR BHEINN is one of Scotland’s remotest Munros, and surely one of the most memorable. To reach its summit by any route requires considerable effort, and will involve walking into the heart of the beautiful Knoydart peninsula. This is a unique place with a sad and complex history, but alive with a tangible sense of optimism and community. Some will choose to approach Ladhar Bheinn via a tough (but excellent) walk from Kinloch Hourn. Most popular, however, is the route described here. A boat trip from Mallaig harbour takes you to the small village of Inverie, where the route begins and ends. Whilst the initial few kilometres are not particularly inspiring, this…

16.2km/10 miles/6-6.5 hours Ascent 717m/2350ft Vivienne Crow climbs a littlewalked ridge to a Skiddaw outlier WHEN YOU’VE got celebrities for neighbours, it’s easy to go unnoticed. Sitting between Blencathra and Skiddaw, that’s exactly what’s happened to Lonscale Fell. And yet this 715m peak has more to offer than the smooth, heather-clad slopes seen from the A66… From Threlkeld at the base of Blencathra, this route uses the deep, steep-sided trench carved by the Glenderaterra Beck to head Back o’ Skiddaw. The pyramidal Lonscale Fell dominates this early part of the walk. Nearing Skiddaw House, the Burnt Horse ridge provides a little-known route on to the high ground. Lonscale Fell’s true summit proves rather uninspiring, but its eastern top, perched on crags high above the Glenderaterra, is a lot more interesting.…

14.7km/9.1 miles/7.5 hours Ascent 1235m/4051ft Ian Battersby visits mountains tucked behind a welcoming pub THE RUDDINGS was built early on in the 20th Century and named after the ancient fields where it was sited. It has a front-seat view of Skiddaw, which lies just across the valley, and extends a hearty welcome to both walkers and their furry friends despite stylish appearances. The menu caters for groups and all diets and allergies. With the mountains laid out before you it’s a great place to seek inspiration for the next challenge. But if you’re to set out from the door, you can’t do much better than sneaking round the back and legging it around Coledale. Grisedale Pike sends a slender ridge down to Braithwaite, and the carrot of Crag Hill across…

13.5km/8.4 miles/5 hours Ascent 660m/2165ft Andrew Galloway visits a landscape steeped in history – and a watering hole! THE TŶ GWYN HOTEL in the village of Rowen provides a refuge for walkers on the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way. Once suitably refreshed, would-be pilgrims find themselves heading northwards, through the woods of Parc Mawr, up onto the rugged hinterland above the village of Henryd. A narrow pathway, bounded on either side by high walls, leads to a stone church. This dates from the 12th Century and is dedicated to Saint Celynnin, who established a Christian settlement here 600 years earlier. On the open moorland above the church are even older remains. Caer Bach is an Iron Age fortified settlement occupying a dramatic viewpoint over River Conwy. West of the fort rises…