As the days gets shorter, our latest issue is designed to help you make the most of winter nights, embrace the dark and discover the beauty and peace of the mountains under starlight.
We’re nearing deep winter. The days are short, and there’s a bracing chill in the air – not that this ever deters The Great Outdoors readers. You’re a hardy bunch, and more than a few of you might prefer fell tops to fireworks come the winter nights of this festive season. Maybe you’ll celebrate by the warm glow of a bothy’s fireplace, or peering up at a (hopefully) starry sky through a frosty tent flap. Wherever your adventures take you, we hope you’ll find plenty of inspiration in these pages.
Main image: Stargazing in the Écrins National Park, French Alps | Credit: David Lintern
There are rich pickings for winter lovers keen to brave cold nights in search of excitement. This year saw an immense solar storm that led to spectacular aurorae in Britain’s skies, sometimes visible in southern England. The Northern Lights’ celestial dance inspired many people to head outdoors to photograph the night sky. In our lead feature this month, astrophotographer Stuart McIntyre explains what drives him to shoot his nocturnal mountain photographs – and offers practical advice for anyone keen to turn their camera towards the cosmos. Elsewhere, others sleep under the winter stars in the Scottish Highlands and we get an update from the right to Roam campaign fighting for the right to wild camp in Dartmoor and access to nature beyond.
Highlights of this issue:
- Astro photographer Stuart McIntyre shares his journey into the Scottish mountains
- Alex Roddie beats a Winter trail to the summit of Ben Lawers for a night under the stars
- Chris Townsend revisits his epic 1988 hike along the full length of the Canadian Rockies
- Phoebe Smith goes on “bittersweet” pilgrimage along the Kumano Kodo in Japan
- A walking weekend down South in Lewes is enjoyed by Hanna Lindon
- Our experts map 10 pub walks to take you joyfully from peak to pint
PLUS: Jim Perrin paints a portrait of Ysgyryd Fawr; honest and trusted reviews of the best crampons and winter sleeping bags; the latest news, outdoor events and initiatives from the mountains; our reviews of new outdoor books to inspire; and get expert advice on planning your next hill bagging adventure.
Read on:
Star Struck: Whilst some shy away from the dark corners, Scottish astrophotographer Stuart McIntyre wades right into them, tripod at the ready. In this photo essay he describes how a longing to escape and explore led to some miraculous moments under the stars – often alone but sometimes shared -and now shared with us.
“The word ‘passion’ tends to get used a lot in photographic circles. Perhaps my ‘passion’ would be better described as a moronic dedication! Out of a simple wish to escape and explore, I have developed a parallel love of trying new photographic techniques in the quietest and darkest corners of Scotland. My camera has enabled me to gaze into deep space, and I’ve been lucky enough to freeze these moments in time as they rose and set with the horizon. Perhaps my astrophotography is as much about my own journey exploring the limits of darkness and light, as about the images that have resulted.”
Unlocking the winter mountains: To experience the mountains at their very best, go in winter – and stay out overnight. Alex Roddie shows how to step up to winter backpacking.
“I believe that the British mountains are at their best in winter… if you stay out overnight. After returning from a winter weekend in the Ben Lawers range, I got thinking about how easy it is to take all this for granted when you’ve been kicking around for a while. To forget what it was like to weigh up decisions about where to camp, anxious about pitching a tent on snow for the very first time. It’s worth remembering – and sharing – how to take that first step into the cold and dark…”
You say Camino, I say Kumano: Japan’s Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route was first twinned with Spain’s Camino de Santiago in 1998. Years after walking the famous Spanish route, Phoebe Smith heads east to become a dual pilgrim.
“It’s through a gap in the cedar trees that I first spy it – a giant gateway looming above the sandbank and surrounding foliage, beckoning hikers under its great, 33-metre arch. This is Japan’s largest torii gate, Oyunohara ‘Otorii’, on the Kii peninsula, which stands as a marker between the secular world and the spiritual one. Behind it, a palimpsest of mountains in varying shades of green overlap one another in earthen waves that rise and fall along the water’s edge. This is the Japanese equivalent of a place known in Spain as the Monte de Gozo, the point on the Camino de Santiago where weary but jubilant walkers spy their final destination at last. Although the walk I’ve done today is short, my journey has been tumultuous. Reaching this new ‘hill of joy’ has actually taken me several years.”
The song remains the same: The new, updated version of the backpacking classic High Summer tells the story of Chris Townsend’s bold and original 2,600km traverse of the Canadian Rockies. We asked Chris to consider what has changed in the world of long-distance hiking in the years since his groundbreaking walk.
“Back in 1988 I set out to walk the length of the Canadian Rockies, an ambitious and probably audacious plan, as it was something that had never been done before. I felt (and hoped) I had the experience needed – I had already walked the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails in the USA, both much less developed than they are now. While I did complete the Rocky Mountains walk, I discovered that I wasn’t as well-prepared as I thought.”
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