The Great Outdoors – August 2019

Get in touch: [email protected] @TGOMagazine /TGOMagazine http://www.tgomagazine.co.uk

August 2019 The Great Outdoors 3

WELCOMEWELCOME

IN HER WELCOME note in last month’s issue,

our former editor Emily Rodway wrote about

the many rewards that come from guiding

an issue of  e Great Outdoors from idea to

printed page – a job that Emily performed with

insight, skill and sensitivity for many years.

For the August issue it’s been my privilege to

 nd out precisely what she meant.

At the heart of TGO are the stories told by our contributors and

illustrated with their photography.  is month Cameron McNeish

heads to Kinlochleven to investigate how the Highland town has

reinvented itself over the decades, a process aided by the world-

class mountains on its doorstep – read this on p.36. Sarah Stirling

also touches on the theme of reinvention in ‘Gems Amidst the

Green’ (p.42) as she describes how her appreciation of mountains

has grown to embrace the bodies of water they hold as well as the

summits, ridges and cwms that form their earthbound structure.

And, at the risk of stretching a metaphor, my own feature about

alpinism, glacial retreat and coming of age on p.66 could be said

to explore aspects of reinvention too – not all of them good.

Our gear reviews this month include a comprehensive look at

View from summit of Platthorn

The stories that matter

choosing a sleeping mat for backpacking by Chris Townsend (p.76)

along with 14 mats reviewed, and six lightweight walking boots

from Judy Armstrong from p.82 (plus a few innovations in Gear

News on p.74). And my favourite Wild Walk out of this issue’s

selection has to be Tim Gent’s intriguing coastal stroll on p.103.

Next month I hand over the reins to Carey Davies, and I have no

doubt that he’ll bring great energy to the role. I don’t know if he’ll

choose to extend that reinvention metaphor a little further; but I do

know that TGO will continue to tell those important stories about

wildness, mountains, the environment (and the threats it faces),

and  nding our own enjoyment in these places we all love.

Alex Roddie, Acting Editor

@alex_roddie

Photo credit: Alex Roddie

The September issue will be the fi rst from our new editor Carey Davies.

Amongst other things, it’ll take a look at escaping the crowds in the

Lake District, plus reviews of summer sleeping bags and lightweight

day packs. Don’t miss it – on sale from 16th August.

IN THE NEXT EDITION...