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TGO Reader Awards 2025: Voting open

The Great Outdoors Reader Awards 2025

Walking from summit to sea off Cader Idris, Eryri. Credit: Jessie Leong

Recognise the people, businesses and organisations you value by voting for them in The Great Outdoors Reader Awards 2025!

Thirteen years ago, we launched our first annual Reader Awards. They’ve established a reputation as the UK’s biggest democratic celebration of the people, places and businesses that make our outdoor lives better. Once again, The Reader Awards are open across 15 categories including the Open Outdoors award, pub of the year, campaigner of the year, brand of the year, and many more.

Click here to vote for your Reader Awards winners

What makes these Reader Awards different – and gives extra kudos to the winners – is that it’s you, the outdoorgoing public, who decide the results. Only your nominees make it onto the shortlist, and only those who win most of your votes walk away with a top accolade. The nominee with the most votes in each category will receive a Winner award, while the nominees with the second and third most votes will both receive a Commended accolade.

Taking in Lake District views (Credit_ Jessie Leong)

Taking in Lake District views. Credit: Jessie Leong.

From talented authors and tireless campaigners to charming campsites and cosy pubs, the shortlists in these 15 categories represent the most inspirational personalities, organisations and businesses in the outdoor world. Ultimately, only three in each category can win, but being shortlisted is an achievement in itself, and we encourage you to take some time to find out about the nominees you may not be familiar with. Links or brief descriptions are provided for each category to help you discover more about them.

Click here to vote for your Reader Awards winners

Happy voting! And please share the link so others may have their say, too! Voting closes on Sunday 15 December.

Reader Awards 2025: the shortlist

Bothy-bound in the Grey Corries with Ioan Andean.

Bothy-bound among the Grey Corries. Credit: Jessie Leong.

Walkers’ pub of the year

Your favourite place for a post-walk pint or quality pub grub.

Walkers’ cafe or restaurant of the year

Anywhere with sit-down dining, from chippies upwards.

Hostel or bunkhouse of the year

Casual accommodation catering for muddy boots.

Campsite of the year

Celebrate excellent locations, friendly staff and great facilities.

Walkers’ app of the year

Anything you use on your mobile device to aid your outdoor adventures.

Outdoor personality of the year

Who inspired you in 2024 and whose adventures can’t you wait to follow in 2025?

  • Anna Wells – passionate mountaineer and paraglider who became the first woman to complete a Winter Munro Round in 2024
  • Ben Larg – pro surfer hailing from Tiree, Inner Hebrides, who has been breaking big wave records since he was a teen
  • Elise Wortley – explorer who followed in the footsteps of Henriette d’Angeville, the second woman to summit Mont Blanc, wearing period clothing
  • Ella Foote – wild swimmer, author, body positivity activist, and director and founder of Dip Advisor
  • Jasmin Paris MBE – British runner who became the first woman to successfully complete the Barkley Marathons in 2024
  • Kenton Cool – a world-leading high-altitude climber and adventurer, Kenton has climbed Mount Everest 18 times
  • Lira Valencia – London Wetlands Ranger and advocate for better representation in conservation otherwise known as the Urban Wildlife Queen
  • Lorraine McCall – the first woman to complete a round of the 231 Grahams in one single journey, fundraising for Alzheimers Scotland
  • Merlin Sheldrake – British mycologist and best-selling author known for his work to put fungi on the map
  • Paul Harris ‘Warrior Walker’ – Royal Marine Veteran who is the first person to walk the perimeter of the UK twice continuously

Outdoor book or writer of the year

Guidebooks, memoirs, novels, photographic books and more.

Outdoor film or filmmaker of the year

On the big screen or on YouTube, adventure films that help you connect with the outdoors.

  • Access Land – a BMC Right to Roam film by Mark Vaughan 
  • Capsized – directed by Roxanna Barry, this film follows Every Body Outdoors co-founder Emily Williams on a canoe trip across Lewis
  • Danielle Sellwood – former GB canoeist telling stories of sport and adventure, including Younger, a documentary about female British athletes aged over 60, and Untethered, which premiered at KMF 2024
  • Elli Schneider – this year the first-time TGO Challengers shared her journey – and other epic treks – over at Elli Hikes on YouTube
  • Liam Karl – adventures and camps in the Peak District and beyond shared under the guise of ‘Good Bloke Outdoors‘
  • Martin Bell – running buyer for an outdoor mountain store with over three decades of experience sharing adventures at The Determined Runner
  • My Wilderness – created by Ana Norrie-Toch and Rupert Shanks, this film explores movement and freedom in the Scottish landscape
  • Stephen J Reid – based in Ireland, this ‘consistently inconsistent filmmaker’ shares the joy of being outdoors
  • Thawn: A Stubbornly Scottish Snow Film – a Hannah Bailey film with Patagonia featuring pro snowboarder Lesley McKenna 
  • Unfiltered – a Renee McGregor film giving a personal portrait of the ultra runner and nutrition specialist

Campaign or campaigner of the year

Inspiring campaigns that matter to walkers and the individuals who champion them.

  • Charlotte Ditchburn – otherwise known as the Public Rights of Way Explorer, Charlotte champions accessibility and access to nature
  • Cal Major – a veterinary surgeon, ocean and nature advocate, and world-record adventurer, passionate about reconnecting people to the ocean
  • Feargal Sharkey – lifelong fisherman and former lead singer of the Undertones, Feargal now campaigns to protect natural waterways
  • The Green Runners – a community making changes for a fitter planet and hoping to win the race against the climate emergency
  • Hills2Oceans – the BMC Hills 2 Oceans litter picking campaign aims to encourage our members to pick up litter from crags and hillsides
  • Protect our Winters – POW helps outdoor people protect the land they love by promoting non-partisan policies designed to protect our world
  • Ruth Tingay of Raptor Persecution – former President of the international Raptor Research Foundation, Ruth now focuses on campaigning against the illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK
  • Save our Mearns – a group set up to oppose the SSEN Transmission’s East Coast 400kV Phase 2 plans for pylons in the landscape of the Mearns
  • Trees for Life – founded in 1986 by Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life is a registered charity working to rewild the Scottish Highlands
  • Wild Justice – Wild Justice uses the legal system to get a better deal for UK wildlife, challenge government decisions and give you opportunities to speak up for wildlife

The Open Outdoors award

Recognising individuals or groups who have inspired people to head into the outdoors, widened participation, improved outdoor education, or encouraged diversity.

  • Black Scottish Adventurers – providing guided group adventure to promoting well-being through adventure and the protection of the Scottish landscape
  • Black Trail Runners – a charity run by volunteers to host taster sessions, help members travel to and enter races, and enable black runners to gain instructor support
  • Cambrian Mountains Society – a Welsh charity dedicated to promoting Mid Wales’ uplands: the Pumlumon massif, the Elenydd (including the Elan Valley), and Mynydd Mallaen
  • Due North CIC – a not-for-profit social enterprise supporting people to get outdoors, improving physical and mental health through running and navigation events
  • Forest School Association – the professional body and UK wide voice for Forest School, promoting and supporting best practice, cohesion and ‘quality Forest School for All’
  • Granite Girls Climb – co-founders Phoebe Sleath and Keely Mackinnon are passionate about the mental and physical health, power and possibility outdoor climbing provides women
  • Ife Iyanu, Wanderers of Colour – committed to social justice, increasing access and participation outdoors, and an increased understanding of the systemic barriers
  • Yorkie Talkies Outdoors – launched by Emma Shipley six years ago, this business offer group and guided adventures across the UK
  • WildMinders – a nature-based childminder community offering a more natural and sustainable childcare approach
  • Paths for All – a Scottish charity championing everyday walking for a happier, healthier Scotland

The Extra Mile award

Outstanding voluntary effort for the benefit of the outdoors or charitable causes.

  • Britain’s Mountain Rescue teams (England, Wales, Scotland, plus Independent Scottish Mountain Rescue) – volunteers who are on call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in any weather
  • Cave Rescue Organisation – based in Clapham in North Yorkshire, the team provides the cave and mountain rescue service in the Three Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales
  • Fix the Fells volunteers – a team of volunteers supporting rangers in repairing and maintaining the mountain paths of Lakeland damaged by erosion
  • Fran Pearson of KitSquad – the founder of UK-based scheme providing second-hand adventure gear to low-income individuals to boost accessibility in the outdoors
  • Kirstie Smith, Arran Runners – a volunteer for the running team based on the island dubbed ‘Scotland in Miniature’, who loves sharing the landscape with the community
  • Mountain Bothies Association volunteers – unpaid work parties maintaining simple shelters in remote country “for the use and benefit of all who love wild and lonely places”
  • National Trust volunteers – celebrating volunteers who make the Trust’s work to look after nature and history for future generations possible, from nature conservation to helping in historic houses
  • Peter Judd, BMC volunteer – a longstanding and proactive Hillwalking Rep for the Peak Area, Peter is a champion of hillwalking and an ally to hillwalkers
  • Rachel Inwood Healey – adventurer and mother who volunteers for Gloucestershire Women’s Adventure Group (Love Her Wild)
  • Scotland’s Bog Squad – volunteers who undertake restoration work aimed at re-wetting peatlands, so that the natural flora and fauna can thrive

Independent retailer of the year

Retailers who operate independently with five or fewer stores.

Chain retailer of the year

Outdoor retailers with six or more stores.

Online retailer of the year

Your favourite places to buy gear, maps and books online.

Outdoor clothing or equipment brand of the year

Gear brands with consistently high-quality, good-value kit or with commendable customer service.

Click here to vote for your TGO Reader Awards winners

Voting closes on Sunday 15 December 2024. There are two parts to The Great Outdoors Awards. This article announces the shortlist for the Reader Awards, which have been nominated by our readers and the outdoor public at large across 15 categories. 

The other part of The Great Outdoors Awards is the Gear of the Year awards which recognises the best and most innovative outdoor gear as selected by expert judges.

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