Chris Townsend
outdoor writer & photographer, passionate about wild places, nature and long distance walking, Retweets aren't necessarily endorsements.
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outdoor writer & photographer, passionate about wild places, nature and long distance walking, Retweets aren't necessarily endorsements.
This piece first appeared in The Great Outdoors magazine last year. Not many years ago if sustainability meant anything to outdoor companies it was to have some recycled fleece in the range or wool from sheep that had been treated well or other worthy single action unrelated to the whole life-cycle of the products
After a winter in which the snow has been sparse and short-lived early April has brought some of the deepest snow I’ve seen in the Cairngorms for many years. Snowshoes are great when the snow cover isn’t complete – you can just walk across bare areas still wearing them – but skis are faster and more fun. The snow was deep and only at the head of the corrie had the wind stripped the snow off the boulders. Descending from the corrie I tried to link patches of wind-hardened smooth snow and avoid the areas of sastrugi (ridges of snow) and wind-scoops.
In shorter pieces Jim Perrin looks at Drygarn Fawr in the Cambrian Mountains for his Mountain Portrait, TGO Challenge Coordinators Sue Oxley and Ali Ogden discuss the mental health benefits of a multi-day trip, and Chiara Bullen interviews Gabriel Stewart about his 1,000 mile walk round Britain and his book Noel Dawson reviews Tony Howard's Quest Into The Unknown, which I'm looking forward to reading, and Roger Smith reviews The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. A splendid picture of Arkle in the NW Highlands by James Roddie opens the issue. Away from the Highlands Ben Lerwill walks round the Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs in the Peak District and looks at their significance while five outdoor writers choose their favourite local hills in areas ranging from Dartmoor to the Lake District.
That was remedied on the last day of March when it looked as though summer was back again, with sunshine, a blue sky and a calm sea. Oystercatchers flashed black and white along the sea's edge, almost brushing the gentle waves with their wings. Across the mouth of the River Findhorn a dark band lay along the water's edge. We sat outside at The Captain's Table with coffee and tea and watched the water and the sand and the gulls.