The Great Outdoors June 2021

A FEW DAYS AGO, I bumped into some friends while out on a run. They were just visiting town, but the place where I saw them happened to be one of my stomping grounds as a kid – a lane next to the suburban estate where I grew up, with a stream running down one side and big overgrown banks of cow parsley and goosegrass flanking the way. These friends had some kids of their own with them, so I did what any sensible adult would do – pulled out a handful of goosegrass stalks (we always called them ‘sticky buds’, but you might know them as something different) from the bank and threw them at someone. The kids screamed in delight. This was their first introduction to these magnificent clingy…

Rebecca Coles Rebecca is an International Mountain Leader, and a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, based in north Wales. Recently, she has been enjoying getting back to work in the mountains and talking to more people than her partner, neighbours, and the dog! Although there is still snow on the summits in Snowdonia, the apple blossom is out and she’s looking forward to a summer of exploring the quiet hills and crags of north Wales. Check out her story of walking the Snowdonia Slate Trail after emerging from last year’s lockdown on p40. Helen Teasdale Helen works as a Senior Instructor at Plas y Brenin, the National Outdoor Centre in Snowdonia, and is fortunate enough to live in north Wales. As a keen climber and mountaineer, Helen’s climbing career has led to many adventures…

“The mountain forecast said it was a promising day for a dawn raid on the Clogwyn y Person arête, which takes you up to Crib y Ddysgl, the continuation ridge from Crib Goch towards Snowdon when undertaking the Snowdon Horseshoe. “We soloed together up the arête, with me snapping away as we gained height. Poor Tarquin was made to repeat the upper section as the sun rose before we headed onto Crib y Ddysgl. “I then got him to head towards Crib Goch purely for this photo before we turned around and headed to the summit of Garnedd Ugain. Then I descended to Llanberis on my paraglider while Tarquin walked down. This was my favourite image from the morning.” filmuphigh.com…

Size: 297x420mm (A3) Medium: digital illustration ARTIST SARA JULIA CAMPBELL specialises in fantasy illustrations, her work leaping off the page and tempting you to worlds unknown. When she decided to start capturing reality in her work, Scotland’s unique landscapes steeped in myth and folklore seemed the logical choice. “Most of my work used to be fantasy-based,” notes Sara, “but lockdown changed that. I started missing the ability to travel in real life, so I travelled through my art instead.” Sara is drawn to the unusual shapes and rock formations that are found across Scotland. “Bow Fiddle Rock in Portknockie always stood out to me,” she explains. “It’s one of those places that has a fairytale quality about it. “This was the first time I captured this location. I sketched, inked and coloured my work with…

YOU’VE HEARD of peak bagging – now what about giving sleep bagging a try? Russell Moorhouse is hoping to spark a new trend by sleeping on every Wainwright summit over the course of the next year, wild camping during the week and retreating to his van for weekends and holidays. He’s using the project to highlight the importance of the ‘leave no trace’ principle and to raise money for MQ Mental Health Research. What gave you the idea of sleep bagging the Wainwrights? I’m not sure! I wanted an adventure, something that was fun and could inspire other people. For 15 years I’ve read mountain books about everything from the first people to climb the Himalayan giants to my hero Hermann Buhl and right through to people doing crazy stuff nowadays like Alex…

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. Empty hills and sea eagles: praise for the Spring issue Really liked the Spring issue of the magazine. Two items really caught my attention – the first being the editorial on how you can find empty hills. I well remember a July Saturday walk, mostly following a suggested route I had seen in the magazine. It was a glorious sunny and warm Saturday afternoon when we arrived on a virtually deserted Skiddaw summit. On the way down via Dash Falls we saw only one person from about 1pm. How lucky we had been! I learnt a lesson – to take more interest in World…