Trail

If you love to sling on a backpack, head for the hills and do some wild camping, Trail Magazine is for you. Each issue is packed with: - Routes with full OS mapping - Reviews of the latest outdoor kit - The UK’s best outdoor writing - Exclusive picture and video content As the UK’s biggest and best-selling hillwalking magazine, we specialize in the most beautiful, most spectacular and most challenging regions of Britain and Europe – and inform you about all the tools you need to explore them. If you want adventure you’ll love Trail, and Trail will love you.

CAN AI REPLACE COMMON SENSE?

EDITOR'S PICKS

Trail

BASE CAMP • YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE

TRAIL Picks • Places we've been things we've seen, and mountain-related stuff we like

GET STUCK IN – AND HELP MEND THE MOUNTAINS

Do it this month

Out there • YOUR MOUNTAIN SNAPS & TALES FROM THE TRAILS

April: New life reawakens the mountains

LOST IN THE ALGORITHM • Inspired and slightly overwhelmed by the recent rise of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, we asked ChatGPT to plan the perfect day of Lake District hillwalking. So is AI your dream route-planning partner or a recipe for disaster?

CHATGPT'S TOP 5 LAKE DISTRICT ADVENTURES

PLAN C • What do you do when the mountains are swamped by cloud? You use it as a prompt to explore – and Scotland's low-lying CORBETTS are as good an objective as any.

3 MORE CRAGGY CORBETTS

ROCK IDOLS • Magical, mysterious, mythical: the tors of DARTMOOR have fascinated us for millennia. Sophie Pierce, author of a new illustrated guide, picks her five favourites to explore.

CHANGING THE GAME • Ed Jackson started climbing after his spinal injury, Mick Fowler continued after cancer. Both are part of a new initiative in adaptive outdoor gear that has the potential to change design for everyone.

BIGGER AND BETTER? • The TRAIL 100 list of Britain's best mountains includes a ‘dumpy’ little peak in Eryri (Snowdonia) with a nice llyn and a short scramble. But should its big brother have made the cut instead? Let's find out.

[HOW TO] TAKE YOUR SCRAMBLING UP A GRADE • How to go further, higher and more exposed

LOOK BACK IN TIME

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY • We've all got one, right? The peak or objective we were aiming for, were determined to complete, but were denied by conditions or health or fitness or sheer freak circumstance – perhaps even within sight of the goal. It can be gutting – but if good sense tells you to turn back, it's always the right thing to do. Here our team of experts recall the U-turns they'll never forget.

Heaven's above • An umbrella? In the mountains? Surely not. But actually, you might be surprised to find that a brolly is a useful bit of hiking kit. Here's how Trail's mind was changed…

FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

GIMME SHELTER

Hiking boots • 3-SEASON BOOTS are the go-to option for all sorts of adventures in UK hills and mountains, from wild camping overnighters to summit-bagging missions. Here are our top picks for versatility and value, suitable from spring to autumn.

Gloves • Even outside of the winter months, gloves can often be needed high in the hills. Here's a selection of our favourite options for mountain hikes from spring through to autumn.

Waterproof jackets • A dry hillwalker is a happy hillwalker, so a reliable WATERPROOF JACKET is an essential item of kit. Here are six of the best 3-season hard shells to keep the rain at bay.

Used & abused • TRAIL'S GEAR, TESTED FOR YOU

Llechog & Moel Cynghorion • Find solitude on this unusual but highly rewarding route within sight and sound of Snowdon's nose to tail tourist trails.

Stanage Edge • On and off the beaten track in the Peak...