Active Outdoors began as an idea I had after I moved to Inverness to work as a sub-editor on the Inverness Courier – and enjoy spending more time in the great outdoors.
Within six months of moving to the Highlands from Glasgow, I was writing a regular feature containing a walking route and a cycling route each month, which really helped me to discover the area as well as share the experience with readers.
The column began in May 2008 and since then it has grown in popularity, becoming a weekly feature in April 2010 with either a walking route, cycling route, mountain walk or special feature. This is when Peter Evans, a former editor of TGO and Climber magazines, joined the team when he moved north from Dollar and made it his mission to complete a round of the Munros (which he was already well on the way to doing!).
In November 2011 Active Outdoors expanded and now appears weekly in six local newspapers across the Highlands and Moray.
It still contains a great regular feature on a walking, cycling or mountain route with a selection of photographs and is now backed by retailer Go Outdoors.
We hope to continue bringing Active Outdoors to you for many years to come!
You can now read Active Outdoors every week in these newspapers:
Strathspey & Badenoch Herald
Inverness Courier
Ross-shire Journal
Northern Scot
John O’Groat Journal
Northern Times
John Davidson's Guide to Walking and Cycling in Inverness and the Highlands
I'm a journalist in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland who specialises in the great outdoors - including walking, cycling and mountaineering. I write a regular Active Outdoors feature for the Inverness Courier as well as contributing to other publications, including leading hillwalking magazine TGO.
