The Great Outdoors May 2021

MY FIRST PROPER ATTEMPT at ‘wild camping’ was not what you’d call a smooth success. But it remains the best camping experience I have ever had. I was a fresh-faced traveller working for a few months in the wine-making town of Blenheim, on New Zealand’s South Island. I managed to persuade a fellow grape-picker called Inaki, a gregarious Chilean, to accompany me for a two-day excursion into the nearby Nelson Lakes national park, which hosts mountains of almost Pyrenean scale. Both of us carried packs that were ludicrously overladen, but neither of us had any equipment that was even halfway decent. All we knew was that we wanted to spend a night up high in the mountains. We set off too late in the day, and as we clunked and clinked our…

Alex Nail Alex is a full-time mountain photographer and a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. He’s known for shooting locations that are a little off the beaten path, and he regularly summit-camps to capture mountain views in beautiful light. He’s currently trying to get fit and shake off his lockdown belly after months of inactivity, and has plans to hike extensively in Scotland over the summer. His eye-popping feature on combining photography and backpacking in order to capture the mountains of Fisherfield is on p46. Helen Iles Helen is a landscape photographer and walking guide living in south Snowdonia. She is also a busy member of the South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team. She has spent the winter exploring her local landscape from her door, but with lockdown easing she’s looking forward…

IN THE FRAME Buachaille Etive Mor Evie Caldwell Size: 148x210mm (A5) Medium: digital illustration BUACHAILLE ETIVE MOR is one of Scotland’s most iconic hills, and its drama is often captured in works of art. This piece by Evie Caldwell offers a refreshing take using digital illustration. “I adore Buachaille Etive Mor,” Evie told TGO. “I’ve shared some very special times and trips passing this mountain, and wanted to capture the magic of it in my illustration.” Evie creates images that covey important issues, like climate change, body image and mental health. “I find it almost meditative when I’m hiking and just being in the hills, and drawing mountains and landscapes has a similar effect on me,” she explains. “I sketched the scene with pencil and paper then scanned it into my laptop where I turned it into…

ON APRIL 12, overnight stays away from home will finally be permitted in England. It’s hoped that Wales will open up to visitors from other parts of the UK on the same date – and Scotland could follow suit on April 26. With wild camping and multi-day backpacking trips once again on the menu, many of us are panting to make up for lost time. We asked TGO contributors from across the UK to share their plans. Chris Townsend, equipment editor, Cairngorms LOOKING FORWARD TO: backpacking in the North-West Highlands Before lockdown a year ago I was planning a two-week backpacking trip in May in the North-West Highlands, working my way north from Strathcarron to Dundonnell over as many summits as possible. It was disappointing to have to cancel this trip and I am…

SCOTTISH CHARITY Venture Trust is launching Scotland’s first dedicated outdoor therapy programme. Supporting Scotland’s vulnerable young people (aged 16-25) and ex-service personnel, the service seeks to ‘harness the power of the outdoors’ by delivering therapy in urban outdoor and green spaces such as parks, community gardens, woodlands, beaches or local hills. Research from the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) highlights almost half of people with mental health problems in Scotland felt they did not get care or treatment because of the pandemic. As well as this, The Princes Trust’s annual Youth Index, published in January, noted that 25% of young people feel “unable to cope with life” since the start of the pandemic, increasing to 40% for those not in work, education or training. Venture Trust’s clinical manager Andy Hardie said:…

36% OF PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND spent more time outside in 2020 than before SORA wants Scottish pupils to spend 1 week at outdoors centres There are 36 full - time Access Officers across Scotland 58%of people in Scotland intend to spend more time outside in future It is estimated that walking tourism contributes £1.26 BILLION to Scotland’s economy twelve outdoor organisations have put together the SORA Manifesto ARCHIVE “Edward Abbey once wrote that the existence of wilderness should be seen as a compliment to civilisation. Any society that feels itself too poor to afford the preservation of wilderness, or lacks the desire to preserve wilderness, is simply not worthy of the name of civilisation”Cameron McNeish The Great Outdoors, March 2000…