TRAIL HEAD

Everyone has a nostalgic memory of summer. The warm summer breeze, the scent of freshly chopped grass, the sound of soft speakers and chatter in the park, playing cards on a mild evening; you get the gist. As always, we want to encourage you to get out there, and with this being the pathfinder issue, it’s the perfect opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

The perfect place to start is with our pull out pages (p.11). This is jam packed full of phone free activities that you can easily do in your back garden or on your next adventure. Get the tunes on with one of our GORP playlists, and munch away on our summertime trail mix (p.14).

Summertime goes hand in hand with festival season. We are excited, you are excited, everyone is excited, but maybe all this partying is damaging the environment? Learn how to be a more sustainable festival goer on (p.15).

If you do want to step out of your ‘comfort pit’ as Bear Grylls calls it, there’s no better way to start than diving head first with our freediving expert as she gives tips for beginners (p.20). Or perhaps you’ve considered trying out paddleboarding, but is it really as easy as it looks? Find out on (p.6). Watch out when you fall in the water though, as it seems we have an invasion of jellyfish heading our way, find out more on (p.22).

If you prefer to remain on dry land, this issue also features hiking and foraging tips, from both an influencer and a complete novice (p.6 and p.10), as well as new recommendations for your next holiday (and no it’s not Greece or the Canary Islands), (p.5) and the latest in gorpcore fashion (p.8).

And finally, If you’ve ever felt like the outdoors wasn’t accessible to you, one of our writers chats to an LGBTQ+ walking group, aiming to change that (p.21).

This month, in our podcast The Great Out There, the GORP team became modern day Indiana Jones’ and got involved with geocaching.

We hope this issue encourages you to take a different path and inspires you to embrace the summer and get out there.

By Maggie Gannon and Tianna Williams

Team

CONTENT

EDITOR Maggie Gannon

PRODUCTION EDITOR Tianna Williams

Inga Marsden Manon Jones

CRAFT EDITOR Grace Nicholls

PRODUCTION EDITOR Holly Chapman

Almha Murphy Ben Jones Matthäus Bridge

COMMUNITY

EDITOR Poorvi Singhal

PRODUCTION EDITOR Robyn Quick

Frances Daniels Erin Zammitt Isaac Murphy

COVER IMAGE BY James Lawson