For those familiar, the North-West Highlands offers the finest topography in Britain. Set your sights on its mountains and discover its peaks and depths in our latest issue.
For some, the mountain appeal of Scotland is a numbers game. More densely packed than anywhere on our small island with 222 Corbetts to climb and many more Munros – 282 at last count – not to mention the Grahams, Munro Tops, and Donalds peppered across the country from the Grampians to the Cairngorm plateau. Sometimes it feels as though there are more mountains than people – a harrowing hangover of the Clearances. But it’s more than topography. More, even, than the long geological story stretching back three thousand million years or its oldest rocks, situated in the North-West Highlands, the remote region which holds the gaze of this issue.
To explore its full beauty, we look to those who have dedicated decades to becoming experts in this landscape and culture.
Main image: Torridonian giants as seen from the summit of Beinn Alligin | Credit: Adam Raja
Highlights of this issue:
- We hear from the TGO Challenge Class of 2024 about their coast-to-coast epics
- Alex Nail recalls the false starts in getting to know and photograph the Fisherfields
- Gemma Smith walks into the ‘wilds’ of Assynt to discover a deeply storied landscape
- How to forage ethically for edible mushrooms, according to expert Maymana Arefin
- Should our mountains should be alive with the sound of music, Mary Ann-Ochota asks
- James Roddie is your guide to a wild walking weekend in Portree, Isle of Skye
- Our experts map 10 beautiful woodland walks up and down Britain
PLUS: Jim Perrin paints a portrait of Mow Cop; honest and trusted reviews of the best winter gloves and head torches; our reviews of new outdoor books to inspire; and hear the Morvern-inspired sounds of the North-West Highlands with local composer, Lisa Robertson.
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Across Scotland: After crossing Scotland on foot following their own bespoke routes, graduates of the TGO Challenge Class of 2024 tell firsthand tales of teamwork, tenacity and bog-trotting through the landscape on this truly unique journey
“The TGO Challenge isn’t a race. The focus is on savouring your environment, exploring places you can only reach by foot and enjoying rather than enduring the experience. There are no accolades for high or fast routes. If medals were involved, they would be for those special moments that live long in the memories – such as Ian Wright encountering an elusive pine martin or Gerena Sumen experiencing the tranquil beauty of dawn at Shielin of Mark. Although a reasonable level of fitness is needed, you don’t have to be a super fit, honed athlete to participate. What you do need are some backpacking, “leave no trace” camping and navigational skills. Just as important is a dollop of resilience, determination and adaptability as well as an ability to see the funny side of sinking knee deep into the unique habitat that is a Scottish bog. The infinite possibilities for routes, variations in weather and different characters encountered on each crossing make each journey unique. Thankfully quite a few of our participants are as good with words as they are with maps and have articulated in the following pages what made their 2024 crossing special…”
Nature’s witness: Photographer and Mountain Leader Alex Nail finds the Fisherfield region on fine form in his new photobook – but it took four years and many false starts to achieve these spectacular images
“It would have been nice to freeze time for a while – such was the beauty and photographic potential on that day – but all too soon sunset arrived bringing with it delicate pinks and blues. I’m not usually sentimental, particularly in the mountains, but as I looked west out to sea across the landscape I’d come to know well after many visits, the significance of the moment finally hit me. This was the realisation of a long-held dream, and the culmination of many years photographing Scotland’s most evocative landscapes…”
A rickle of stones: Gemma Smith walks into the ‘wilds’ of Assynt to discover a deeply storied landscape that speaks to us from map and ground
“It was walking the hills that brought me to Gaelic. After spending years working in hospitality constantly surrounded by people, I took any opportunity I could to flee to the Highlands and Islands, seeking space, quiet and solitude. I was eventually drawn to the jagged mountains and vast open landscapes of the far north-west, the ruggedly beautiful region that begins just north of Ullapool and stretches up the west coast to Cape Wrath and around to Bettyhill. The unique hills of this part of Scotland have almost celebrity status: Ben More Coigach, Stac Pollaidh, Cùl Beag and Cùl Mòr, Suilven, Canisp, Quinag, Ben Stack, Arkle, Foinaven, Cranstackie, Ben Loyal and Ben Hope…”
High Plateau: Contemplating a quick getaway to somewhere high and wild? Want to avoid flying? Rudolf Abraham finds himself hooked on the solitude, beauty and wildlife of the Massif du Vercors
“I sat down at the edge of the trees and swore. I hadn’t considered an alternative route for the day, but the way ahead was one I wasn’t quite comfortable with. I made another attempt, trying to second guess what the path was like after it descended a little and dropped out of view, but soon turned back again, realising I’d have to rethink my plans. The simplest alternative, though frustratingly long, was to retrace my steps down to the hut, then take a shortcut below the cliffs of Le Grand Veymont, to reach Pas de la Ville. From there I could follow a trail on the Hauts-Plateaux to Pas des Bachassons. What began as an epic sense of disappointment and frustration soon turned into pleasant surprise, as the shortcut below the cliffs of Le Grand Veymont proved to be one of the most beautiful trails I’d followed anywhere in the Vercors…”
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