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.

Walking back to happiness

Contributors & contacts • Meet some of the folk that made this magazine…

The Great Outdoors

MARCH in the mountains

The Mont Blanc massif

GREAT CRESTED GREBES • Although they’re really just showing off, Nadia Shaikh can’t help but be impressed by the ancient dance ritual of her first bird obsession

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

A Heavy Affair with the Mountains

TARA WIGHT - land rights campaigner • We asked Scotland policy and campaigns coordinator for the Land Workers’ Alliance for her perspective on land reform in Scotland, in the context of the new Scottish Land Reform Act, passed in November 2025

TWIN PEAKS • Celebrating three decades of adventure on its 30th birthday, Contours is launching two new twin-centre holidays in Britain’s beloved national parks in 2026. Let’s see where this year could take you!

CHROME & PARKHOUSE HILLS • Jim Perrin sojourns to Derbyshire, a distinctive limestone spine made TV-famous by Peaky Blinders, and fond memories of a headstrong – not headless – climbing companion

NEW YEAR SALE! • 6 ISSUES FOR ONLY £15!*

St Cuthbert’s Way • Whether you worship in a church or find yourself more drawn to kneel at the altar of nature, St Cuthbert’s Way will allow you to wander with wonder. Julia Clarke guides you across the border into a quiet corner of England known for wide open spaces and a friendly welcome – gaiters at the ready!

And your winners are… • TGO’s Reader Awards are the UK’s biggest democratic celebration of our outdoor culture. We launched the annual awards 14 years ago, and you have been championing the people, places and businesses that make our outdoor lives better ever since. What makes these awards different – and gives extra kudos to the winners – is that it’s you, the outdoor-going public, who decide the results. Only those with the most reader votes walk away with a top accolade, with commendations for the second- and third-highest number of votes

ON THE TRAIL OF HAPPINESS • Looking for an adventurous pick-me-up? We spoke to conservationists, access campaigners and hillwalkers to profile walks around Britain with the feelgood factor

RAISING THE BAR • Steph Wetherell dons her gaiters and learns to love the bog, investigating the essential restoration work of Scotland’s Peatland ACTION Programme

REDEFINING BOG STANDARD • Peatland ACTION is working for climate and communities

LIVING ATLAS • Verteran trekker Alex Roddie makes his first foray outside Europe to walk Morocc’s multiday Toubkal Circuit - and discovers that hiking in the High Atlas is as much about the people as the peaks

ECHO FROM ANOTHER MOUNTAIN • Journalist Ishtayaq Rasool returns to Tulail on the edge of Kashmir, where the people speak an ancient tongue and winter lasts half the year

SKILLS: WALKING FOR MENTAL HEALTH • It’s easy to give in to the winter hibernation urge – but countless studies have shown that outdoors activity is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of anxiety, depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Here’s how to make the best use of our natural health service…

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