The Great Outdoors

TGO Magazine is your essential guide to hillwalking and backpacking in the UK and overseas. Get out more! We provide all the inspiration you need to plan your next trip, plus expert reviews and tips. The Great Outdoors is for anyone who loves walking in the hills, mountains and wild places. With information on the latest gear, in-depth features and stunning photography, The Great Outdoors will help you access the high peaks and long trails of Britain and beyond. Our enhanced digital addition includes even more great photos and interactive content.

Big boots to fill

IN THIS ISSUE • Meet some of the folk who made this mag…

The Great Outdoors

AIM HIGH • When you can’t escape to the mountains, reading The Great Outdoors is the next best thing. Subscribe today.

Glenfinnan, Scottish Highlands

SARAH IRVING ‘The Urban Wanderer’ • Sarah encourages folk to learn to love the outdoors, wherever they are…

Readers’ page

IN NUMBERS • Trash Free Trails volunteers removed over 216,000 items of litter from UK trails in 2023

ON THE LOOKOUT • Natural highlights in the hills this month

Search for new national park is a diversionary waste of time • As the government admits there’s been no progress towards the promise of green or blue space within a 15-minute walk of all homes, we need to stop wasting our time on blatant diversions, says Jon Moses

POSTBRIDGE • It might be tiny, but slap in the middle of Dartmoor, Postbridge punches way above its weight when it comes to providing a base for a weekend’s upland exploration. Tim Gent sets the moorland scene

NEW Book REVIEW • The Hidden Fires – A Cairngorms Journey with Nan Shepherd

THE STIPERSTONES • Jim Perrin recalls the richness, strangeness and warmth of Shropshire’s hill country, its old paths and genteel bouldering

Vote for the best of British page outdoor culture

CITY BREAKS • Over 56 million people in Britain live in urban areas, so the mountains might feel far away at times. But if you're one of them, fear not; here, seven of our contributors share some memorable hill days that are readily accessible from seven of our major cities

BETTER LIVING THROUGH BACKPACKING • David Lintern gets all mixed up on a 3-day, 10-Munro backpack of the south-eastern Cairngorms

ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS • Tom McNally explains how Victorian ‘influencers’ the Abraham brothers helped set the scene for modern outdoor photography

SHIFTING SANDS • Preconceptions about Saudi Arabia? Alice Morrison discovers a country undergoing a quiet cultural revolution and ready to welcome visitors seeking desert adventure

EXPLORE SAUDI ARABIA

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SKILLS: How to avoid fatigue when hillwalking • Fatigue doesn’t have to spoil your hill day, says Alex Roddie – there is a huge amount you can do to stave it off and feel fresh for as long as possible

GEAR • News from the world of outdoor kit, and product reviews from the UK’s most experienced gear-testing team

NEW REVIEWS • Chris Townsend and David Lintern put exciting new gear to the test

A winter inversion • Equipment Editor Chris Townsend enjoys a brief winter overnighter close to his Cairngorms home

DOWN JACKETS • Alex Roddie and Lucy Wallace test six winter warmers, perfect for backpacking and mountaineering in the deep cold

WILDWALKS

1 Sail Gharbh & Spidean Coinich Quinag, Assynt SCOTLAND

2 Ascent Beinn Sgulaird West Highlands SCOTLAND

3 Glas Maol, Creag Leacach & Monamenach Glen Isla SCOTLAND

4 Deepdale Horseshoe Lake District ENGLAND

5 Fusedale Round Lake District ENGLAND

6 Gatesgarthdale Round Lake District...