The Great Outdoors

I've read The Great Outdoors mag - or tgo as it now calls itself - right from the very first issue. (Though mainly for the unsurpassable essays by the legendary Jim Perrin it must be said.) I used to read it standing up for long periods in W. H. Smith until I could afford to buy it myself (maudlin sound of violins please!) There's no serious competition. Country Walking I find yawningly anodyne and middle-of-the-road, and Trail just makes me cringe. Ok - I know I'm probably the wrong age to appreciate it, but I just can't stand Trail's self-consciously trendy style as it tries to capture the outdoors youth market. So congratulations to Cameron McNeish for an excellent periodical. The mag's had its fair share of problems over the years with layout and presentation, but there's never been another monthly publication which could ever hope to match its maverick and committed philosophy. Long may it continue.