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.

Moving mountains

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

The Great Outdoors

FEBRUARY in the mountains

Loch Katrine, The Trossachs

DUNNOCKS & FROGSPAWN • Nadia Shaikh watches out for signs of life each February, the month that gives us a teaser trailer for spring

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

Folktales

THE VIEW FROM HERE • Our writer strapped in to a Hypershell exoskeleton in the hopes it would help her manage early-onset arthritis for a pain-free, futuristic day on the hills – but would it live up to the hype?

MONT CANIGOU • Columnist Jim Perrin returns to his beloved France to pay tribute to one of Europe’s holy mountains, taking writer Jan Morris and one of our editors along for a zig-zag ride in a trusty old Citroën… or is it a Bentley?!

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

BRITAIN’S BEST HIKES • The new year is here, so let’s make it an adventurous one. TGO is starting as we mean to go on – no, not with a listicle (!) but with our pick of high and wild places to get you excited and keep you inspired throughout 2026

6 more epic days we didn’t have room for

FINDING FREEDOM • Do you daydream about swapping the rat race for an outdoor-centric existence? The trailblazers here have all taken dramatic steps to change their lives; their stories might just inspire you to do the same

IN GREEN • From the Apennine Mountains to ‘the end of the land’ at Cape Finisterre, Louis D Hall and his horse Sasha trekked untrodden partisan paths across four mountain ranges. Guided by strangers and nature’s clues, it was fulfilment of a childhood dream inspired by Don Quixote. Here, the author shares two extracts that give a glimpse into this wilder way of life

RISK AND REWARD • Photographer Feargus Cooney shares nearly two decades of learning how to thrive in the Scottish winter mountains, and the series of stunning, sometimes hard-won images that have resulted

FIRE AND ICE • Igloo-building, pine needle soup and some seriously high-stakes fire building – Anna Richards heads to the Swiss Jura mountains for a course on extreme cold survival

SKILLS: RE-TRAIN FOR THE OUTDOORS • Thinking of ditching the day job for a new career in the outdoors? We asked industry experts about the qualifications and experience needed for some of the most popular job choices

NEW YEAR SALE • Discover your new favourite magazine in 2026! We have something for everyone!

GEAR • Kit reviews from Britain’s most experienced gear-testing team. Here, Steph Wetherell and Chris Townsend focus on two innovative new outdoor products

GPS SMARTWATCHES • Over the last six months, four of our team have had the latest smartwatches on an extensive ‘soak test’. This is not our usual comparative review by a single reviewer (or a pair), but an in-depth look into the latest in wrist-worn technology specifically designed for outdoor use

OUTDOOR TROUSERS • Gemma Palmer and Alex Roddie test six of the best walking trousers for year-round adventures

WIDE BOOTS • Chris Townsend and Gemma Palmer go on the hunt for footwear, testing walking boots and...