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.

Changing states

IN THIS ISSUE • Meet some of the folk that made this magazine…

The Great Outdoors

JANUARY in the mountains

Am Basteir, Skye

WINTER FLOCKS • Nadia Shaikh seeks good company for a search-and-gorge to get her through the ruthless darkness of the winter months

Readers’ page • Share your views, your experiences and your favourite photos tgo.ed@kelsey.co.uk

ROGER SMITH 1938-2025 • Roger was the founding editor of The Great Outdoors, and he brought the TGO Challenge to life. He shepherded both for many years, practically as a magazine editor and the Co-ordinator of the coast-to-coast event, and through a careful ethos and a calm approach. Following his recent death, we asked friends and colleagues to share their memories of a quiet, kind and remarkable man

Every Vote Counts

Origin: Finding the Source of Windermere • A new film by Matt Staniek, Finn Pattinson, Harry Read and Edwin Towler for the Save Windermere campaign

THE VIEW FROM HERE • A place for bold views or interviews, outdoor arts and culture or the latest in access or environmental stories, this column is a newsroom, forum and soapbox (though perhaps not all at the same time!) for the outdoor community. Whatever our differing points of view, we’re all united by our love for the great outdoors. This time, it’s over to…

HOLYHEAD MOUNTAIN • Jim Perrin pens a paean to a famous place of threshold for climbers, equally beloved of coastal walkers: the cliffs of Gogarth and Holyhead

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT LASTS ALL YEAR • GIVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS

THE POWER OF COLD • It can lower stress, treat depression and open up a whole new world of outdoor-going opportunites - so could you learn to love the world? we spoke to converts whose lives have been shaped by embracing winter

WILD WINTER WAINWRIGHTS • There have been several attempts at a winter round of the Wainwrights, usually continuous efforts by ultra-runners. But could two fellwalking friends reach all 214 summits in what turned out to be the wintriest season in Lakeland for years? David Johnson and Nicky Oliver decided to find out…

LONE WOLF • Post-pandemic, Adam Weymouth retraced on foot the 1000-mile migration of a lone wolf across Europe, learning about our changing relationship to wildness, farming and migration itself along the way. Adam shares the prologue to this fascinating journey, alongside an introduction written especially for The Great Outdoors

THE GREAT WHITE YONDER • Alex Roddie takes his snowshoes from Scotland to the Austrian Tyrol – and finds out just how far he can push them

SKILLS: LEARN HOW TO SNOWSHOE • From selecting a route to assessing avalanche risk, Alex Roddie shares the skills that every new snowshoer needs to know

GEAR • Kit reviews from Britain’s most experienced gear-testing team. Here, Francesca Donovan and David Lintern focus on two innovative new outdoor products

The Long ReView • Supported by Nikwax, The Long ReView celebrates looking after the places we love and the kit that helps us get there. Each month, we’ll focus on products that have stood the test of time, why they endure and how to care for them. This month, it’s Chris Townsend...