Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Trail

GET 50% OFF All first-time Trail Subscribers get 50% off OS Maps, the Ordnance Survey's digital mapping service. That's the equivalent of 607 paper maps in your pocket! PAGE 22 I grew up a short drive from the northern edge of the Peak District National Park but, I have to confess, I rather rudely ignored it for the first three decades of my life. Too low, I thought. Too bleak, too busy, too bouldery – and the horrible histories swirling around the nearby walks on Saddleworth Moor certainly didn't help. Back then, I thought those broad, brooding hills represented hillwalking for the sake of hillwalking – something of a stopgap for anyone without time to travel to something higher and more angular. I was wrong, of course. If anything, our…

This year's Kendal Mountain Festival promises to be the biggest and boldest yet, with over 300 speakers, 150 films, and 200 events crammed into one action-packed, endorphin-flooded long weekend. The 2025 theme ‘Hope’ will run through every talk, film and debate, encouraging visitors to look ahead with optimism – whether that's for the future of our ecosystems, our outdoor communities, or our own bodies when pushed to the limit. Here's what's caught Trail's eye so far. KMF 2025 FACTS Where: Kendal, Cumbria When: 20-23 November 2025 Tickets: On sale now - early booking recommended Full Film Programme: Announced mid-October More Info: kendalmountainfestival.com ACTIVITIES Watching adventures on the big screen is one thing but Kendal also gives you the chance to live them in real life – all while raising money…

HOW TO APPROACH IT The Quiraing is best admired as a circuit from the Staffin-Uig road (B986), a route of around 4 miles on decent paths, which first skirts under, then floats across the top of the ridge. Sure, it's not far, and it's not difficult, but the whole point of this is to allow time to let that atmosphere soak in. If you're on Skye for mountain adventures but are in need of a rest day, or a quieter jaunt with family who aren't as keen for big hills as you, this is a must-do. The Quiraing. Though it could easily be the name of the late Terry Pratchett's pet cat, this mythical jumble of letters - derived from Old Norse, meaning ‘round fold’ – in fact refers to…

Wild Boar Fell's rocky roots reach into the part of the planet us humans have decided to call the Yorkshire Dales. For some reason, I never think of it as such. It's up in the north-west of that sprawling national park, right next to the Howgill Fells. I always think of these fells as existing in their own right: renegade outlaws, desperate to evade the trig point tyranny of our plotting. And Wild Boar Fell, with its dangerous-sounding name, proximity to the Howgills and a Cumbria postcode, is in my mind a part of that rebellion. But let's capitulate and say it sits happily in the Yorkshire Dales. Alfred Wainwright, God bless him, claimed what most of us would presume to be the case about this fell: it is indeed…

[HOW TO] KEEP YOUR BALANCE ON AN EXPOSED RIDGE Tend to lose your head when walking at height? Here are some ways to help stay steady. DO slow your breathing. Slow and steady breaths, concentrating on breathing into your belly, calms your nervous system and your mind. Try breathing in for a count of six and out for a count of ten. DO put the phone away. The change of focus from near (the screen) to further away can be dizzying. Do get the shot if you want but don't spend too long gazing at the screen. DO pay attention to placement – hands and feet. Plan your moves and then watch what you're doing. It's all too easy to look away as you move and for your foot to…

We'd hazard an educated guess that among the factors that put hikers off wild camping, kit cost and bulk rank highly. Yes, the ‘hows’ and ‘wheres’ are no doubt important, but once these details have been researched and found to be less of an obstacle than might have been anticipated, the weight in your pack and on your wallet are still lingering concerns. So, because we're huge exponents of the joys of wild camping, anything that offers to alleviate those concerns is of great interest. The Solo Peak Tent comes from an unusual source: Lifesystems. Now, Lifesystems is an established outdoors brand; few hikers won't have carried some of its gear – be it a first aid kit, water purifying tablets, insect repellent, or any number of outdoor survival and…

YOUR TESTERS Matt Jones & Ellie Clewlow are outdoor writers and photographers with a passion for all things adventure, from walking long-distance trails to climbing mountains. They live and work in Eryri (Snowdonia). When venturing into the hills and mountains during winter, choosing the right tent is vital. While a typical 3-season tent is designed to handle spring through autumn conditions – think moderate winds and sporadic rain – a true 4-season tent is built for much harsher environments. The difference can be the key to staying warm, dry and safe in sub-zero temperatures, even when faced with sleet, hail, snow and fierce winds. If you're slightly confused about tent categories, here's a quick primer. 3-season backpacking tents tend to prioritise low weight and ventilation, with mesh-heavy inner canopies, lighter…

Bleaklow is not the kind of hill to willingly draw you in. Its northern edge, from Torside Naze to Shining Clough, is near impenetrable. The way is barred by jumbled boulders cloaked in thick heather and intersected by barbed wire fences, before perilously sheer 100m slopes. Neither does the name inspire much hope. Nor does it look particularly exciting. At 633m, even though it's only three metres shy of the highest point in the Peak District, it's not that lofty by mountain standards with no obvious arêtes or spikey high points. People mostly go for the aircraft crash site or to walk the Pennine Way. Or for the views, which on a good day reveal tiny, glimmering Manchester and the mass of the Pennines to the north. Or for the…

Nick Hallissey, Head of Content Do mountains have a ‘front’ and a ‘back’? I wondered this recently on a yomp round the great emptiness known as ‘Back o’ Skidda’. The proud face that Skiddaw presents to Keswick very definitely feels like the front, whereas the wild space to the north is… not. And Skiddaw is not alone in this. Ingleborough's ‘back’ is its south-eastern side; Yr Wyddfa's is Cwm Clogwyn; Ben Nevis’ is Coire Eoghainn. The same theory holds true for distinctive features: look at Sharp Edge from the head of the Glenderamackin valley (as I'm doing here), and you'll know you're looking at the back of it. My worry is that for some folk, ‘back’ is a euphemism. It carries an undertone of not just ‘the quiet side’ but…

LAKE DISTRICT Base Brown Always the bridesmaid. Base Brown is the stunningly steep fell noticed by 100% of travellers as they enter the deepest depths of Borrowdale. ‘What's that one?’ we might yelp, momentarily. But within a minute or so, that thought is lost, as the Grand Plan of aiming for Scafell Pike or Great Gable or Glaramara takes over, and Base Brown becomes simply ‘The One in the Background’. Base Brown suffers by being out by itself, an outcast spur dividing the southernmost reach of Borrowdale from the hanging valley of Gillercomb. It's neither on a direct route to Sty Head and the Scafells, nor to the Gables from Honister. Wainwright completists will invariably bag it with an out-and-back from the head of Gillercomb. And yet, Base Brown has…

THIS MONTH'S WINNER Cairn Gorm, Cairngorms “Is there a more family-friendly Munro out there than Cairn Gorm? Here we are in June for my wife Elspeth's 80th Munro, dog Wilbur's 50th, and 6-month-old son Torin's 1st (out of utero). I've explained to him that he will have to do it under his own steam if he ever wants to tick it off his own bagging list!” Calum Bruce Rannerdale Knotts, Lake District “Here I am with my two little boys, aged 2 and 3, having a spot of lunch en route to Rannerdale Knotts in the Lake District bagging another Wainwright on a wonderful family holiday in our favourite place.” Karen Green Kinder Scout, Peak District “Having finished the Welsh 3000s last year, my sister and I needed a new…

Kelvyn James is leaning back in a desk chair, cheerful, quick to laugh, and buzzing with energy, even though it's 7 o'clock in the evening. Sunlight illuminates the wood-panelled ceiling of his garden office, somewhere right between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, with a Kendal phone number and a Carlisle postcode. “We are in officially the most confused place in Britain,” he grins. Today Kelvyn is an International Mountain Leader with a Masters degree in Psychology. He is also the founder of Wellness Walks, a charity offering free walks in nature to support mental wellbeing. This might, at some point, have seemed impossible. ‘Hit first, hit last’ was a lesson learned early in a childhood shaped by violence. He was born Kelvyn Blomfield to a teenage mum, the…

■ PACKABLE The compact and lightweight pack size of the Solo Peak Tent is perhaps its headline feature. It takes up minimal space in a pack, but most important here is its weight. Lifesystems says it weighs bang-on 1kg (our scales said 1016g, but who's counting?), which means it does more than its fair share in keeping your camping backpack on the comfortable side of heavy. Plus, the roll-top dry-bag which holds the tent keeps the rain out or the damp in as needed. ■ EASY TO PITCH Sewn into the dry-bag are instructions for pitching, but anyone who's pitched a hoop tent before will have no need of them. The Solo Peak pitches inner and outer together, with a single main pole forming the hoop, and an additional short…

YOUR TESTER James Forrest A prolific peak bagger and wild camper who has climbed hundreds of mountains in the UK and abroad, James gives his gear a serious thrashing on every trip. Walking trousers might not be the most exciting bit of outdoor gear. Unlike a sleek waterproof jacket or a toasty down puffer, they rarely steal the spotlight. But don't be fooled into thinking any old pair will do – heading up a mountain in flimsy joggers or stiff denim jeans is a recipe for discomfort at best, and disaster at worst. Instead, a solid pair of winter-ready hiking trousers is a must for staying warm, dry and comfortable in harsh conditions. The right pair will keep you protected from the elements, allow for unrestricted movement and help you…

Way out west, on the far reaches of the Peak District boundary, lies a place where three ‘shires’ meet. No, this is not a place in Middle Earth inhabited by hobbits and goblins. It is a place where three English counties meet – Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. What's better, there is a glorious walk-through lush countryside, taking in three iconic landmarks of these counties. We begin with Luds Church, a moss-filled chasm deep in the ground, used as a secret place of worship during more turbulent times. Then onto Three Shires Head, an ancient packhorse bridge, and well-known wild swimming spot where all three counties converge. Our hike then has a high finish on Shutlingsloe – a hill coined ‘The Matterhorn of Cheshire’, due to its similar shape. There are…

Approach the Borrowdale valley from Keswick and your eyes will be pulled skywards towards the rising slopes of Glaramara and Great End, at the far end of the Seathwaite Valley. Before discovering these highest moments there are plenty of routes to be enjoyed within the bounds of these classic Lakeland fells encircling the village of Rosthwaite. Houses and farms sit next to the River Derwent, in a very flat area of valley which used to be the base of glacial lake. The river carves a shapely journey through the volcanic ‘Jaws of Borrowdale’, squeezing through the narrow gap between Castle Crag and King's How summits on its way north to Derwent Water, through the Borrowdale Oakwoods. These ancient oak woodlands are one of England's largest remaining areas of temperate rainforest…

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH! Yr Wyddfa's slopes (aka Snowdon's) got a serious spring (well, summer) clean this August as the BMC's Big Clean Up brought 50 volunteers and eight mountaineers together for a mountain-sized litter pick. The haul was a depressing 4282 pieces of rubbish: everything from Red Bull cans and Walkers wrappers to cowboy hats, and even a pair of boots that had evolved its own ecosystem complete with top carnivores. Around 70% of the litter collected was single-use plastic, underlining just how much throwaway packaging still blights the UK's busiest mountain. As well as clearing paths, the team logged every item for Trash Free Trails’ State of Our Trails report – vital evidence in campaigning for Deposit Return Schemes and greater producer responsibility. A coastal walk fit…

CHROME AND PARKHOUSE HILLS, Peak District Collectively known as Dragon's Back, these two limestone reef knolls are dramatically steep and craggy in an area where hills aren't normally steep and craggy at all. In the southern part of the Peak District, you expect to see green dales, wooded slopes and broad plateaus of farmed fields, criss-crossed with drystone walls. So when Chrome and Parkhouse hove into view, their comparatively striking shapes and terrain really catch your eye. They're not tall – 443m and 360m respectively – but they have a ‘climb me if you can’ quality about them. Unfortunately for those heading there prior to the Millennium, there was no legal way up. No footpaths headed to the top of either hill, so you would need to trespass in order…

There are several Scottish peaks that go by the name of Ben More; it's the mountain equivalent of John Smith. As a result, we have Ben More above Crianlarich, Ben More on Mull, and Ben More Assynt and Ben Mor (what's a dropped ‘e’ between friends?) Coigach in the far north-west. And that's before we add the phonetically doppleganging Beinn Mhors (the Jon Smyths of this comparison) into the equation. There are at least another 11 of them, and if we start to include those with middle names as well – Beinn Dearg Mhor, Beinn Liath Mhor, Beinn Odhar Mhor and so on – that list grows with even more Mores. Or Mors. Or Mhors. The point is there are a lot of them; Ben More translates from Gaelic as…

RUCKSACK Do you have the right size? You can expect to fill a 45L pack with just what you need for a winter day on the hills so you'll be looking at a 55L+ pack for a relatively lightweight winter camp and likely more than that. SLEEPING BAG First, familiarise yourself with the comfort rating of your current sleeping bag. Depending on how warm it is (and on your own tolerance for the cold), you may be able to extend this enough with the addition of a liner bag and by wearing your insulated jacket to bed. Check the conditions and give yourself a good margin of safety if testing this out. If you're planning to camp out in winter a lot or in particularly severe conditions, a winter sleeping…

OEX Phoxx 1 II Tent £140 For just £140 this tent offers a surprising level of performance. Its weather resistance, materials and build quality all impress, and at 1.58kg it's far from heavyweight. What takes the Phoxx from worthy of consideration to an absolute must-buy is that Tiso shoppers and Go Outdoors members can currently pick it up for just £79, which is astounding. Robens Starlight 1 Exp £166 A Scandinavian backpacking tent at this price is a bargain, but Danish brand Robens has come up trumps with the Starlight. Despite its slightly more scalestroubling 2kg weight, that extra grammage guarantees you the kind of reliably sturdy shelter you would expect from the land of the Vikings – the Starlight has been tested in winds up to 170kph. Wild Country…

This 3-day route is a chilled out tour of the Carneddau from the lovely little roadside village of Abergwyngregyn, that makes use of the ‘cosy’ Foel Grach mountain shelter, which could squeeze two overnight inside, with more room outside to bivvy. Using the shelter as a base of sorts will also allow you to travel a bit lighter. The walking is mostly easy going, with great views and lots of company from the famous Carneddau ponies. GET THERE Abergwyngregyn, which is accessible on the 5 or 5D bus from either Bangor or Llandudno, which are both easily accessible by train. EAT & DRINK There are a few cafés in the village, but I recommend dining al fresco on the mountain. STAY OVER Bring a tarp and a bivvy bag. Keep…