A Look At The March Issue Of The Great Outdoors

The March issue of The Great Outdoors features stories by women hikers and adventurers in celebration  of International Women's Day on March 8th. Five inspirational mountain-loving women - Sarah Jane Douglas, Fiona Russell, Hazel Strachan, Mary-Ann Ochota, and Renee MacGregor - share their stories and give advice to upcoming female hillwalkers; Elise Wortley climbs Mt Blanc in clothing replicating that worn by Henrietta d'Angeville on the first unaided female ascent in 1838; Lorraine McCall describes her continuous round of the Grahams, the first time this has been done; and Lydia Paleschi hikes the Helambu Trek in Nepal. 

The issue opens with a stunning photograph of a camp above a 100-metre waterfall on Disko Island, Greenland, by Rachel Murray. In shorter pieces Creator of the Month is graphic designer Tessa Simpson, Ken Daykin reviews The Cairngorms and North-East Scotland by Iain Young, Anne Butler, and Heather Morning, Jim Perrin looks at Pen Llithrig Y Wrach in Eryri in his Mountain Portrait, and there's the final Coastscript column from Emma Schroeder in which she looks back at the high points of her epic walk. A longer feature covers the the 2025 Reader Awards, with all the winners and runner-ups described.  

In the Skills section Hanna Lindon explores the different ways of meeting like-minded hill folk. In the Gear pages Lara Dunn and Peter Macfarlane each test four base layer tops and four insulated jackets, Kirsty Pallas reviews the Coros Vertix 25 watch, and David Lintern tests the Highlander Munro V2 Jacket. 

Wild Walks covers ten stile-free routes, six in England and four in Wales. Three of the English ones are in the Lake District where Ian Battersby goes over High Pike in the Caldbeck Fells, James Forrest ascends Latrigg from Keswick, and Vivienne Crow climbs Angletarn Pikes and Beda Fell. Over in the Yorkshire Dales Ian Battersby pops up again, climbing Great Pinseat from Arkengarthdale. Much further south Fiona Barltrop walks over Old Winchester Hill and Beacon Hill on the South Downs and Roger Butler goes up Hunter's Tor and Easdon Tor on Dartmoor. In Wales Roger climbs Yr Aran in Eryri/Snowdonia, Andrew Galloway visits Llantysilio Mountain in Denbighshire, and Phillipa Cherryson has a circular walk over Pen Y Fan and Cribyn in Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons and goes up Yr Eifl on the Llyn Peninsula.