The Great Outdoors February 2022

ARE YOU FEELING ADVENTUROUS? I don’t blame you if the answer is a bit less than an emphatic yes. And one of the paradoxical effects of the lockdown months, widely covered in these pages and elsewhere, has been an apparent surging interest in the outdoors (an excellent thing). But there is still a great deal of uncertainty around those further horizons – the logistics and risks of travelling abroad have meant that many of us have opted to stay on these shores. A few outdoorsy types I’ve spoken to say that they have a general sense that their ambitions have shrunk somewhat; that their pre-pandemic self was gutsier, bolder, more outward-looking. I feel similar. But it’s hardly surprising, is it? The last year and a half has, of course, forced most of…

Meera Dattani Meera is a freelance travel journalist and editor. In this issue’s lead feature (p26), she rounds up some of the most mouth watering multi-day walks and ‘thru-hikes’ for 2022, ranging from walks on home turf, like the longest section of the England Coast Path, to exciting emerging trails like the Camino de Costa Rica. She’s just set off for a hiking holiday in Madeira, and she’s looking forward to heading further afield early next year, in particular Uganda and Kenya, to explore her South Asian and East African heritage. Katie Featherstone Katie splits her time between the Icelandic Highlands and Scotland’s Inner Hebrides. She has been working as a seasonal mountain hut warden along the Laugavegur trail since 2017 (see p36 for her feature on the experience), is author of Bradt…

“This is the wonderful scene that greeted me after climbing Cat Bells on a cold, clear and calm winter morning. “The visibility was outstanding that day due to the passage of several cold fronts, which had also deposited a light dusting of snow on top of the surrounding fells. The town of Keswick can be seen at the head of Derwent Water, lending scale to the Skiddaw massif towering skywards beyond. “At only 451m (1480ft), thousands of visitors climb Cat Bells each year due to its relatively easy approach and stunning mountain-and-lake backdrop. With views like this on offer it is easy to see why.” alannovelli.co.uk…

IN THE FRAME Catriona Tod Medium: digital illustration 420x297mm WITH 2021 well and truly behind us, it’s time to tentatively look ahead to brighter days. Simple yet striking pops of colour in this illustration by Catriona Tod can’t help but make us feel hopeful and imagine joyous days on the Isle of Arran. “I have always loved the stunning setting of Lochranza Castle,” explains Catriona. “It is the northernmost of Arran’s villages, and it is set on the shore of Loch Ranza, a small sea loch. The rugged ruin provides a dramatic focal point, and is a popular spot to observe the healthy wild red deer population.” Inspired by early 20th-Century railway posters, Catriona uses a variety of mediums to produce her finished piece. “I used a mixture of observation, sketching and photography to…

STRIKINGLY STEEP AND INTRICATE, with imposing skylines, the Arrochar Alps are a compact group of peaks in the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. Strong walkers might choose to bag the range’s four Munros (Ben Vorlich, Ben Vane, Beinn Narnain and Beinn Ime) in one ridiculously long and arduous day. But, arguably, a better day route is this walk – a loop of Narnain and Ime combined with The Cobbler (or Ben Arthur, to use its Sunday name), perhaps Scotland’s most iconic Corbett. It’s a fantasically-shaped mountain topped by a vertigo-inducing turret of exposed mica schist rock. Extreme caution should be taken scrambling to the true summit (the central peak of Ben Arthur’s three tops). It’s a Grade 3 scramble, with exposure and some awkward moves including squeezing through…

1. Senja, Norway Norway’s second-largest island is the country in miniature: a fantasy landscape of fjord-filled coastlines and snowy peaks roamed by reindeer and moose. The rugged west coast is hillwalking heaven, with line upon line of ridge-linked mountains rising directly out of the sea. Choose from peak-bagging day-walks (the summits of Segla and Heston are both popular, for good reason) and multi-day expeditions such as the Senja på langs (Sengla north to south) route. In winter, the island is a world-class ice-climbing destination – and the Northern Lights often light up the sky on clear nights. 2. Gavarnie, Pyrenees Nestled into the colossal rocky amphitheatre of the Cirque de Gavarnie, this tiny yet charming village offers easy access to the highest peaks of the Pyrenees. It’s surrounded by mountain refuges – Espuguettes,…