A Look At The September Issue Of The Great Outdoors

The September issue of The Great Outdoors is in the shops now. My contribution this month is an opinion piece on the funding shortfall for mountain paths in Scotland.

In the gear pages Lucy Wallace and David Lintern each review four pairs of three-season boots and Alex Roddie looks at five hiking apps and three outdoor smartphones. 

In the main features Francesca Donovan goes up Sharp Edge on Blencathra with the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team, Richard Hartfield and John Fleetwood undertake an astonishing 74km continuous scrambling route across the mountains of Torridon, and Huw Oliver and Annie Lloyd Evans go bikepacking on Skye.

In the skills section mountain leader Lucy Wallace gives navigation advice for beginners. 

The issue opens with a dramatic double-page photography by David Lintern of a walker in the Knoydart hills.

Creator of the Month is Kwesia, a podcaster and Youtuber who connects young inner-city people with the healing power of the outdoors.Trail of the Month is the Snowdonia Slate Trail, described by Alex Roddie with an illustration by Jeremy Ashcroft. Sarah Stirling and Francesca Donovan talk to Mountain Rescue Teams in Scotland, Wales, and the Lake District about accident 'black spots'. Francesca Donovan also provides a guide to Castleton in the Peak District. Jim Perrin's Mountain Portrait is The Cobbler in the Southern Highlands. On her coastal walk Emma Schroeder visits entertainment arcades in seaside resorts.

In Wild Walks Stefan Durkacz visits Caenlochan and Upper Glen Isla in the Cairngorms, and Alex Roddie goes up the Central Fannichs in the NW Highlands. In the Lake District Vivienne Crow climbs Fairfield via Greenhow End and also Middle Fell and Seatallan, and James Forrest follows the Gable Girdle around Great Gable. Nearby in the Howgill Fells Ian Battersby visits Black Force and Langdale Fell. In the Northern Pennines Roger Butler walks over Fiend's Fell, Black Fell and Thack Moor. Further south in the Peak District Andrew Galloway searches for airplane wreckage on Higher Shelf Moor and Bleaklow Head. Wales has just one Wild Walk this month in which Steve Eddy visits Llyn y Fan Fawr and Llyn y Fan Fach in the Brecon Beacons. Finally on Dartmoor Emily Woodhouse has a mystery walk.