The Great Outdoors October 2020

THIRTEEN TIMES A YEAR we send an issue of The Great Outdoors off to press. It’s a good feeling. I send virtual thanks to my colleagues, close my laptop, let out a long a sigh of relief, then reach for the nearest outdoor paraphernalia and go and flee the house for some much-needed open-air time. It’s always a satisfying moment, particularly during this difficult time when – not uniquely – we face challenges because of the upending of so many facets of life by the virus. Even so, we’re still going strong. Subscriptions are going up and our online audience is growing. But, most importantly, we’re continuing to publish the most inspiring and informative outdoor content around: stories that immerse you in wild places; photography that stops you in your tracks;…

Stefan Durkacz Since the easing of lockdown restrictions, Stefan has been reacquainting himself with the Scottish Highlands. Trips to Glen Lyon and Glen Coe have confirmed that the hills are still there and as magical as ever, while a recent family holiday near Tomintoul featured mountain biking, wild swimming and a lot of unhurried tea drinking. Stefan is currently working with two other authors on a guide to backpacking Scotland’s wild places. In this issue he writes about a multi-day exploration of the Cairngorms on p50. Josephine Hall Josephine is a writer and creative who finds peace and belonging in the outdoors. She grew up in Cornwall and has had outdoors adventures all over Europe, including a year off-grid in the Scottish Highlands. Last year she travelled overland from Brighton to Istanbul, enjoying…

August 2020 may go down in memory as one of the finest spells of late-summer weather for years. After a frustrating morning on Suilven earlier in the week, with grey skies and some of the worst midgies I’ve ever experienced, I was determined to try my luck with the sunrise from An Teallach. I was pleased to find clear skies when I arrived in Dundonnell at 2am. Dawn on the summit was everything I had hoped for: the most vibrant of colours, and distant cloud inversions in every direction. I shared the moment with a herd of feral goats, a pair of curious ravens patrolling the ridge, and – to my great relief – no midgies. jamesroddie.com…

CAPTURING THE DRAMATIC and rugged Scottish terrain with soft and flowing fibres, Penny Irvine has created a dynamic contrast in this scene from Dun Dornaigil Broch. “Using wool fibres to depict these scenes allows me to show them in a very unique way,” explains Penny. “The fibres bring a very natural element to my pictures and lend themselves so well to the colours and shapes of Scotland’s scenery.” When asked why she uses this medium, Penny notes that the illusion of movement is one of the things she’s looking for. “Creating a picture in this way gives it a very dreamlike quality. I would like the viewer to feel like they are there when they look at my paintings and to almost feel the wind and see the clouds moving in…

When the word ‘thrilling’ is used to describe a route it immediately brings to mind the largest of looming mountains, the trickiest of trails and adrenaline-filled, riskier climbs. But what is considered thrilling in the outdoors is different for everyone, so we asked the TGO team to share their liveliest adventures for inspiration… 1. FAR TONGUE GILL, CUMBRIA “To me, ‘excitement’ on the hills means not knowing whether you can do it – and then doing it!” exclaims Ronald Turnbull. “Most recently it was a ghyll scramble above Newlands called Far Tongue Gill.” If you fancy a go, you can reach Far Tongue Gill by parking at Newlands Church and following the path up Newlands Valley (pictured) before joining an old mining trail past Castle Nook. 2. ARDMEANACH, ISLE OF MULL This coastline is…

New campaign demands better access to England’s open spaces THE DEMAND for a wider ‘right to roam’ in England was renewed this month, with the launch of a new campaign calling for improved access to the country’s open spaces and natural environments. Under the slogan “The right to roam is the right to reconnect”, the campaigners call for land designated as ‘open access’ under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act – which currently only covers 8% of England – to be extended to rivers, woodland, downland and green belt. The campaign is also backing a petition to stop the government criminalising trespass, which at the time the magazine went to press has gained more than120,000 signatures and rising. Nick Hayes, author of the polemical new title The Book of Trespass, and Guy Shrubsole,…