Spend your days running and hiking through gorgeous natural landscapes, before whiling away your nights listening to live music and DJs with thousands of other adventurous, active types. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, then the Love Trails Festival is something you should know about.

Trying to put together an objective list of the best hikes in the UK is a thankless task. There are so many wonderful routes to consider, and people will always have their own preferences when rating a hike, from the type of terrain to the amount of climbing involved and the views.

It’s a lot easier to use what’s popular as a proxy for what’s best. Sure, you’re unlikely to find solitude, but if thousands walk the same route, word would get round pretty quickly if it was rubbish.

And it’s easy to find out what’s popular thanks to Strava, which has used the data from its 100 million-strong user base to rank the six most popular hiking stretches (known on Strava as segments) in the UK. It’s as close to an objective list as you can get, since people have literally voted with their feet by walking the routes. 

As you might expect, the UK’s biggest mountains feature prominently in the list, with routes up or around Ben Nevis and Snowdon taking spots one and two on the list and two of the Yorkshire Dales’ Three Peaks – Pen-y-Ghent and Whernside – coming third and fourth.

Another big mountain – Pen-y-Fan – comes in fifth, but actually it’s a specific route down that proved to be popular with Strava users. Rounding out the list is a tough climb in the grounds of Belfast Castle.

Using Strava segments is clearly not a foolproof way to pick the best hikes, since people might stray off the exact route and not add their data to the pile as a result, but there’s no doubt that the six routes produced are all excellent hikes and worth adding to the itinerary of any trips you might be taking to the relevant areas.

The UK’s Most Popular Hikes Based On Strava Segment Data

Ben Nevis, Scotland

This challenging route covers the last section of the climb to the top of Ben Nevis, with 575m of ascent in total. See the segment

The Llanberis path to Snowdon, Wales

The most popular segment around Snowdon is this route down the final section of the Llanberis Path, one of the longest routes up and down the mountain, but the one with the gentlest elevation change. See the segment

Pen-y-Ghent, England

Pen-y-Ghent is the smallest of Yorkshire’s Three Peaks, but the most popular Strava segment around it still involves a meaty 112m of climbing in just over a kilometre. See the segment

Whernside, England

Whernside is the tallest of the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales and this hike takes in the entire climb of the mountain from Ribblehead up to the summit at 736m. See the segment

Pen-y-Fan, Wales

You drop 468m in this segment on Pen-y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons, hiking from the summit all the way back down to the road. See the segment

Belfast Castle, Northern Ireland

The average grade of this challenging climb in the grounds of Belfast Castle is 10%, but the views from the top must be worth it, given the amount of people that tackle it. See the segment

Everyone knows that riding downhill on a bike is fun. And everyone can guess that cycling on traffic-free trails in the countryside is fun. Those two things alone mean mountain biking is double fun for beginners.

It may seem like a difficult sport to try, but not if you know about the trail centres that are dotted about the UK. These locations offer graded manmade trails along with bike rentals so you can venture out, safe in the knowledge that you have the right kit and won’t be greeted by some of the more gnarly obstacles you might encounter on natural trails – unless you want to.

Even if you don’t have ambitions to take up the sport, a visit to a trail centre makes for a great day out. Find your nearest one with this guide to the UK’s trail centres from Coach’s sister title Mountain Bike Rider, then read on for more advice to help you make the most of your first time mountain biking. 

What To Bring

If you’re hiring a bike and a helmet, there aren’t many more things you need. A drink and snacks (think carb-heavy energy bars) will ensure you don’t run out of oomph. Since you don’t want them bouncing around in a non-sport specific rucksack on your back, a bumbag, if you have one, is ideal. A hydration pack is even better as it will keep everything tight to your body.

If you’re bringing your own mountain bike, a helmet is essential, as is the kit for fixing a puncture: so tyre levers, a spare inner tube and a pump, or tubeless plugs if you use tubeless tyres. A multi-tool can also come in handy to make adjustments on the fly. 

Finally, don’t leave your phone in your car. Not only can you take a snap of the map of the trails to refer to on your ride, but it’s essential for getting assistance in an emergency.

What To Ride

Some mountain bikes have suspension at the front and back wheels, but it’s a good idea for beginners to start with a hardtail bike where there’s only suspension at the front. They’re often lighter, so you need to put in less effort to get around the trails, and they have more than enough suspension for beginner trails.

And if you take to mountain biking, a hardtail is a wise first purchase. They tend to be cheaper and easier to maintain, since you’re removing some complexity, and often feature superior componentry elsewhere on the bike than similarly priced full-suspension models. 

A case in point is the Cube Attention SL with RockShox suspension, Shimano 12-speed gearing, Schwalbe tyres and flat-mount disc brakes. The front suspension can be locked out for road riding, and with mounts for kickstands, mudguards and pannier racks, it can be transformed into a workhorse commuter bike. Aficionados, too, will find plenty to like in the attention to detail, and there’s an option to upgrade to a dropper seat, which connects to a button on your handlebars to raise and lower your seat in a jiffy.

How To Ride

There is very much a right way to ride, and that’s the right way round. All trail centres are one-way, so make sure you’re following the direction of traffic. It’s also worth beginning with the easiest grade if you’re a first-timer, or a grade below what you normally ride if you’re at a new trail centre.

From easiest to hardest, trails are colour-coded green, blue, red and black. The green ones will be flat and won’t have any tricky obstacles and they’re a great way to get used to handling a mountain bike. 

A blue trail will add a few ups and downs, and some challenging features, but confident road riders should be able to roll through these trails without any difficulty.

Once you get up to red you’ll be expected to have a greater degree of experience and be able to recognise technical obstacles and manage your speed accordingly. Black is not for the faint-hearted.

If you’re cycling along a straight, flat section, or uphill, lock out the suspension and have the saddle at hip height to make it easier to cover distance quickly, but if you’re facing a downhill with obstacles, unlock the suspension and lower the saddle so you have more room to move around on the bike.

For anyone thinking of going on their first UK climbing break, where better than the place that started it all? Rock climbing originated with Victorian mountaineers who developed the skills needed to ascend and cross rocky mountain faces in their bid to conquer the great European peaks. The sport came about as an offshoot of this and the first recorded rock climb in the UK was an ascent of the Lake District’s Napes Needle in 1866. 

The Lake District is best known in the climbing world for its abundance of multi-pitch mountain routes. "If you're in need of some guidance, you'll easily be able to hire an instructor to show you the ropes (literally). As well as guiding you around some of the best multi-pitch locations they’ll also be able to teach you the necessary skills to make the jump (not literally).

It’s also a great area for indoor climbers to make their first foray into the outdoors. Just be prepared for a decent walk into the mountains and be sure to pack accordingly. As well as climbing kit, you’ll need a good pair of walking shoes, waterproofs, warm clothes, plenty of liquid and some snacks. If you book an instructor they’ll discuss climbing kit with you and should be able to sort you out with anything you’re missing.

Picking Your Route

A day climbing in the mountains on a classic route is hard to beat. There are some great days out in the Borrowdale valley, with Little Chamonix a perfect first multi-pitch route. Dow Crag in the Coniston Fells is another good option, and there are plenty of options around Langdale as well. Or you could just opt for the pioneering route at Napes Needle. 

For a detailed overview of the best multi-pitch routes to try, we suggest picking up a copy of Classic Rock by Ken Wilson.

Booking An Instructor

If you’re planning to book a guide or instructor for a multi-pitch route, aim to use someone who is registered with the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI) or British Mountain Guides. Doing this ensures you’ll be hiring an instructor or guide who is well qualified and has the right skills to make sure you enjoy your day out safely. It also means they will have appropriate insurance. 

Climbing Festivals In The Lake District

Climbing festivals offer a great way to explore a local area and enable you to access experts and guides who can supply you with knowledge on everything from improving your climbing to buying new kit. They’re also ideal if you want to find inspiration for your trip or enjoy a few rest days between activities.

Kendal Mountain Festival and Keswick Mountain Festival are both great opportunities to watch films about the outdoors, hear talks on mountain adventures, and check out products from outdoor clothing manufacturers.

The Arc’teryx Academy weekend is another event worth attending. As well as films, food, music and the chance to demo some climbing kit, the weekend provides skills training. This covers everything from introductory rock climbing and multi-pitch sessions to learning to lead, rescue skills and scrambling. All training is provided by the  International School of Mountaineering and is heavily subsidised by Arc’teryx, meaning you’ll get first-class tuition at a great price. Spend a couple of days skilling up and then get straight on to the crag to put your learning into practice.

• Rock Climbing For Beginners
• Best Activity Holidays In The UK

Where To Eat And Drink In The Lake District

The Lake District is one of the best places in the UK for food and drink, whether that’s at the end of a long day on the mountains, or long leisurely lunches to pass the time if the weather hits hard and you need to kill a day or two.

Some of our favourite options for food in the Lake District include The Round in Keswick, Kysty in Ambleside for breakfast, Rattle Ghyll Deli in Ambleside for snacks and sandwiches, and Sticklebarn National Trust café if you’re in Langdale.

For drinks, we suggest Hawkshead Brewery in Staveley, The Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale, The Drunken Duck and The Golden Rule in Ambleside, and The Sun in Coniston. 

Places To Buy New Kit In The Lake District

As you can imagine, there’s no shortage of places to pick up some new outdoor equipment and clothing in the Lake District. Our recommendations are Needle Sports in Keswick and The Climbers Shop in Ambleside, which are superbly stocked and have knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Things To Do If Your Climb Is Called Off

Let’s be realistic, the weather doesn’t care about your plans or what season it is. It’s well worth having a few back-up activities ready so you can still make the best of your trip.

If you absolutely have to do some climbing on your climbing holiday – and who would blame you? – there are some great climbing walls in the Lakes. Our favourite locations are Kendal Wall, the bouldering venue in Ulverston, and Kong at Keswick.

And if you fancy a break from climbing, why not give outdoor swimming a go? Suzanna Swims offers a number of group swimming opportunities in some of the Lake District’s most picturesque locations – although you may want to think about wearing a wetsuit in the colder months.

What do you get the person who has everything? A new experience! And this collection of some of the finest experience days available is sure to help you find the right pressie for all the hard-to-buy-for friends and relatives in your life.

Is your giftee the kind of person who’d love to fly down some white water, or just fly? Are they a car nut who’ll get a huge kick out of driving a vintage Porsche on ice, or, if that’s a bit lightweight, maybe DRIVING AN ACTUAL TANK would go down better? All of these are options available to you and that’s just a small taste of what’s available.

And don’t let the pandemic put you off, with organisers promising to be flexible you won’t lose out if circumstances change unexpectedly.

Give The Chance To Set A PB

A free race entry is a great present for any keen runner, but it’s pretty hard to enter them for an event you know they want to do without giving the game away. The solution is a RunThrough gift voucher, since RunThrough puts on over a hundred events each year. Most of them are in England, but there are enough locations that most people will be able to find a race near them, and there is a good mix of fast, fun and scenic courses to choose from.

Buy from RunThrough | £20-£450

Give The Chance To Slow Down

Slow travel involves using boats, buses and trains to get around, rather than cars and planes, which is not only more sustainable but gives you the chance to really enjoy your surroundings and stop off at less touristy spots along the way. Byway is spearheading the movement with trips around the UK and Europe, and you can buy a gift card that goes towards the cost of one of those trips.

Buy from Byway | From £50

Give The Open Water

Wild swimming in the Lake District is a glorious experience, and if you book a session through the Another Place hotel on Ullswater you’ll be led by Colin Hill, who has swum the English Channel solo and is one of the UK’s foremost open-water swimmers. The options include stargazing swims at night, cross-lake swims to test your endurance, and winter cold-water swims to test your resolve. Since it is a gift, maybe opt for one of the summer ones.

Buy from Another Place | From £40

Pack Them Off To Wales For An Outdoor Adventure

Plas y Brenin offers courses to teach essential skills for outdoor pursuits – like how to deal with an avalanche – as well as adventures that offer the “thrills without the skills”, which sounds more up our street. Experienced guides will steer you well clear of snowy oblivion and instead take you to the top of Snowdonia, or the best MTB trails, or along the dramatic coastline from a sea kayak. If you’re not sure what kind of experience your giftee will fancy, get them a voucher and let them choose.

Buy now

Give Them A TV Nostalgia Trip

Children of the ’90s – prepare for a nostalgia overload. Grab your satin bomber jacket and head for the Aztec Zone, or the Medieval Zone, or whichever was your favourite from the Crystal Maze game show. Solve as many challenges as you can to win crystals, which will be exchanged for five more precious seconds to gather tokens in the Crystal Dome. The Crystal Maze Live Experience, which has locations in London and Manchester, is a joyous day out even if you never saw the show, but it really does help to explain some of the silliness if you have seen it.

Book London now | Book Manchester now | From £99 in Manchester and £102 in London, for two people

Give An Olympic Experience

There are loads of great cycling events in the UK that are perfect as gifts, but for the riders in your life who feel the need for speed, a session in the Lee Valley VeloPark velodrome is the way to go. A Track Taster gift voucher affords an introductory class at the epicentre of Team GB’s Olympic 2012 glory, and you are going to need supervision, because riding up a 42° camber on a bike without brakes is not something beginners should tackle without instruction. Once your giftee gets to grips with the bike and the steep sides of the track, however, they’ll be flying along at speeds never reached before on two wheels.

Book a taster session | £40, including bike hire and helmet

Give A Go On The Longest Slide In The World

Who says slides are for kids? No-one when the slide involved is 178m long and the longest tunnel slide in the whole damn world! The Slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit in London’s Olympic Park takes 40 seconds to go down and you hit speeds of 24km/h along the way. That might not sound that fast, but when you’re flying around the 12 tight turns and the corkscrew section of the ride, 24km/h will feel like plenty – trust us.

Book now | £33.50 for two people

Give A Treetop Adventure

Go Ape offers the chance to move from tree to tree without touching the ground. There are now 30 Go Ape locations in the UK, most of which are set in spectacular parks and forests. The treetop obstacle courses comprise zip wires, vertiginous ladders and wobbly rope bridges, but there’s no time limits so everyone can tackle the course at their own pace.

Book now | £66 for two people

Give A Day Driving Vintage Porsches On Frozen Swedish Lakes

That’s a sentence with a lot to it. Vintage Porsches. On frozen lakes. In Sweden. Just let your mind dwell on that for a moment. The reality is driving a load of rally-equipped old-school 911s under the instruction of world championship drivers. This is the (obviously incredibly expensive) stuff boyhood dreams are made of.

Book now | From £1,600pp

Give The Ability To Fly

Impatient thrill-seekers will appreciate indoor skydiving. It provides a similar feeling to falling through the air, but there’s no need to worry about the weather ruining your day or getting more and more nervous while the pilot climbs slowly to 12,000ft. Instead, participants pitch up, don a flight suit and jump into the skydiving tunnel. Essentially, it’s a very powerful upturned fan capable of suspending humans in mid-air. With one-to-one instruction, you’ll learn how to perform fancy free-fall acrobatics in the space of hours, rather than months.

Book now | £49.99

See related 

• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK
• The Best Activity Holidays In The UK
• Active Stag Do Ideas In The UK And Europe

Give The Gift Of Flight

Not just any kind of flight either – your giftee will take the controls of an ex-military T67 Firefly propeller-driven plane. That’s after a thorough briefing of course, and the expert fighter pilot will probably want to take the helm for take-off and landing.

Book now | £395

Give The Gift Of Flite

You may not know what a Fliteboard is yet, but when you find out, we can almost guarantee you’ll want to try using one. It’s basically an electric motorised surfboard that lets you fly over the water at speeds of up to 26 knots (48km/h), all controlled by a remote. The battery allows you to travel up to 19 miles (30.5km) so you can really get around. The first venue in the UK where you can use a Fliteboard is at OTC Watersports in Dorset. Book your giftee in now, and demand that you get to go along as their plus one.

Buy from OTC | £199 for and individual session, £149pp for groups of 2-4

Give A Chilly Climbing Experience

If your giftee doesn’t have the time for an expedition abroad, help them to experience ice-climbing indoors in London or Lochaber in Scotland. You’ll be supplied with crampons, patient tuition and a big refrigerated room containing an 8m “ice tower” (15m if you opt for the Scottish location). There’s no need to worry about frostbite or polar bears, and with a variety of routes to ascend, this experience is suitable for accomplished climbers, improvers and people who once watched Cliffhanger on VHS.

Book now | £75

Give More Air Time

If Indiana Jones had a penchant for bouncy castles rather than dusty old religious relics, we feel certain he would approve of Bounce Below. Located in an old Victorian slate mine in Wales, this is a subterranean adventure playground for adults that comprises slides, chutes and bouncy nets – all suspended in spectacular neon-lit caverns. Bouncing around like Lara Croft, 50m in the air, in a cave that’s twice size of St Paul’s Cathedral? That has to be worth the price of entry.

Book now | £25

Give The Gift Of Captivity

This excellent live escape game is a lot like taking part in TV show The Crystal Maze, although thankfully you won’t have to dress up in a jumpsuit (not that anyone will stop you if that’s your thing). The object is to solve the mystery and escape the locked room in under an hour. Assemble a team of three to six players and together you’ll crack the clues, reveal hidden compartments and unravel riddles. Each room is themed, ranging from an Egyptian tomb to a Mission: Impossible-style job complete with smoke and laser beams.

Book now | £75 for three people

Give A Ride On A Hot Dog

Hot dogs are not only a suspiciously delicious form of meat but also an inflatable two-man kayak that can transport your dad down the rapids at the Lee Valley White Water Centre. If you’ve never paddled a hot dog before, and it seems a safe assumption, never fear – you get plenty of time to practise before you head for the rapids.

Book now | £100 per boat

Give Them A Tank

Armourgeddon’s Tank Driving Taster will see you take an FV432 tank for a spin, initially with the hatch open, then under “battle conditions” through a periscope. Set your sights on Tank Paintball Battles instead, and learn to load the breach, stick your fingers in your ears and fire your tank’s hilariously-powerful paintball cannon. It’s just like the Brad Pitt film Fury, but without the gory casualties.

Book now | £80

Give The Gift Of Survival

We’re not saying it’s definitely going to happen soon, but when the breakdown of modern society arrives, we’ll want Nick Weston in our survival squad. Weston is an expert in all aspects of thriving in wilderness whose East Sussex foraging and wild cookery school Hunter Gather Cook offers a spectrum of courses for the would-be Wildman, including finding fungi, deer butchery, fishing, cooking on fire and – although you shouldn’t need much instruction for this last one – feasting. Who said the new world disorder couldn’t be smoky and delicious?

Book now | From £180

Give Them A Taste Of What It’s Like To Be Iron Man

What happens when you cross a hoverboard with a jetpack? A flyboard, that’s what. Invented by former world Jet Ski champion Franky Zapata in 2011, flyboarding has swiftly become one of the most popular new extreme sports. Feet strapped to the board, participants squeeze the trigger to unleash jets of water that propel them 5m into the air. This introductory lesson takes about two hours, including a safety briefing and 30 minutes of “flying” time. A decent level of fitness is required and it’s probably best if you can swim – even if it’s just doggy paddle.

Book now | £95

Give A Blokart Session

We don’t need to tell you that a blokart is a beach-going kart powered by windsail, do we? Of course not, but we should inform you that you can send your nearest and/or dearest off to ride in one for an hour in Jersey. After a briefing that lasts just ten minutes, they’re off, rolling around the sand at the wind’s behest and probably shrieking in delight/terror at the complete lack of control.

Book now | £35

Give A Kickabout With A Football Legend

The best thing about buying your dad the chance to hang with his  football hero? The look on his face when it finally sinks in. The worst thing? The rest of your year spent listening to how excited he is and then how excellent the experience was, how he lobbed David Seaman from the halfway line, and so on and on and on and on… If you can handle the endless anecdotes, take a look at Play With A Legend, which can make exactly that happen with a multitude of former sports stars.

Book now | Prices vary

Send Them To Hogwarts

Do family days out come any better than visiting the wizarding world of Harry Potter? In fact, scrap that – do days out in general come any better? If you know a Potter obsessive then book them a trip to the Warner Brothers Studio tour, which takes in sets from the films including Diagon Alley, Hogwarts’ Great Hall and the Forbidden Forest.

Book now | £47, kids £38

If you’ve ever looked at the traditional 1,407km route of a cycle from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and thought it seemed a bit short, a bit boring, then you think in the same way as adventurer Aaron Rolph.

Rolph decided to extend the trip by starting in the Isles of Scilly and finishing in Shetland, and then added in a load of detours to visit some of the UK’s most stunningly beautiful locations.

“I wanted to showcase the incredible spaces we have on offer in the UK,” says Rolph. “I wanted to do a Land’s End to John o’ Groats adventure, but choosing an off-the-peg challenge that was quite direct just didn’t feel very exciting. I wanted to get off the beaten track and see some of the best areas.”

Rolph’s The Great Escape trip ended up being more than 2,700km long and included kayaking, climbing, coasteering, swimming and a whole lot more as well as cycling. If you’re looking for inspiration to plan a UK adventure of your own, Rolph collaborated with cycling brand Knog to create a documentary of his journey.

We were particularly taken with the sea kayaking sections of The Great Escape and so we asked Rolph to tell us more about the sport.

Why would you recommend sea kayaking to people?

It takes you to places that you wouldn’t normally be able to go. You can experience nature or the landscape in a way that’s totally unique. It’s a cliche, but you sort of do feel at one with the water being at that level, and every time I sea kayak it feels like a nature safari as well. You see so much wildlife that you’d never experience by any other means. It’s amazing.

Should you start with an instructor? What happens if you capsize?

It’s worth stating that my good friend Ed came with me. He’s an experienced paddler – qualified and trained – and I was able to rope him in to help me get to places that I wouldn’t have been safe to go to without his guidance.

There are loads of places where you can do courses and learn the basics [go through British Canoeing, the UK’s governing body for paddlesports]. The aspiration for most people is to be able to roll confidently in the water if you do capsize. You’ve got a spray deck, which locks you into the boat with some force. It’s not hard to bust out if you need to but if you have the right technique, you can right yourself by rolling.

But if something does go wrong at sea, actually you probably won’t roll because they’re big, heavy boats. If you’re really good, you might be able to, but you’re more likely to do a T rescue which is where someone kayaks in at the side, stabilises your boat, helps get you back up and then pumps the water out.

Or if it goes really wrong, then you swim out. It’s not the end of the world! I think most people envisage a spray deck being firmly locked in and the idea of going upside down being quite scary, but you can fix it. I jumped in to practise and once you realise that you can get back into the boat no matter where you are, you realise you’re a bit safer than perhaps you feel.

How tiring is sea kayaking?

The beauty of it is that it is low-impact, almost no impact at all. Once you condition your upper body and get your paddling technique down, then you can go for much longer than you realise. I’ve done maybe 50km in a day. Psychologically, paddling takes a bit of getting used to because you don’t feel like you’re progressing at speed. It’s relatively mellow.

What safety equipment do you need?

The main thing if you’re going far out to sea is to have a VHF radio for life support. Hopefully you won’t have to use it, but make sure that it’s in a suitable position where if something were to go wrong, you’ve got access to it.

You also need a personal flotation device, a life jacket. Some people carry flares. I’ve got a Garmin inReach, which is like an SOS device. It’s tiny, just a button, and when you press that it goes through to a headquarters somewhere in the States and they orchestrate the rescue based on the location.

What are some of the best spots that stood out to you on your trip?

Scotland’s always such a special place. The west coast of the Highlands is so wild and unpopulated and it feels like you’re in nature the whole time. There was a peak we climbed on the coastline called Suilven. It’s got such character. You’re surrounded by what must be thousands of small lakes and then the sea right in front. To have such a peak just on the coastline feels really special.

The Isles of Scilly are definitely up there too. Then around Jura in the inner Hebrides there’s nice whisky and good paddling. But there is a big whirlpool near Jura, so it’s not for beginners.

Is it worth practising on rivers before heading for the sea?

You can do some lower-grade river paddling to get your skills up. That feels very safe and not too hectic. If you’re doing grade one white water up to grade two, it’s very mellow. Grade three is starting to get more interesting. A lot of those handling skills will transition into sea kayaking. If you’re comfortable with how the boat moves, and running eddies and flows and all the rest of it, you’ll be able to use the same skill set.

Given the complexity of water movements, and how they can change so quickly, you’ve got to understand the theory a lot more with sea kayaking.

See related 

• Adventurer Mark Beaumont On Cycling Around The World In 80 Days
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK
• 5 Things Worth Knowing Before You Try To Learn How To Kitesurf

How do you judge the conditions to make sure it’s safe?

I’ve got this notoriously optimistic perspective, so maybe I’m not the right person to ask! But you can look at the swell. You can look at the wind patterns. There’s an app called Windy which is really useful. It graphically shows you the wind movements throughout the day.

Probably the biggest complexity when sea kayaking, as far as I can tell, is tidal movements in more complex areas of islands where you get channelling and and bottlenecking of water. That’s where the tides really ramp up. We went for a paddle a couple of weeks ago where the tide rose, and we hit about 25km/h! I cannot paddle 25km/h. There was funky stuff going on in that water.

Restrictions on foreign travel are starting to ease in the UK, but guidelines are still changing regularly, so this year one of the best holiday options is still exploring parts of the country you might have overlooked in the past in pursuit of sunnier climes.

One of those parts is north Wales, which is a hotbed of outdoor adventure and home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK.

North Wales is easy to explore without a car thanks to a decent network of bus routes – and you can skip the work of cross-referencing timetables to create an itinerary by outsourcing it to slow-travel company Byway, which has partnered with tourist board Go North Wales to launch a multi-stop trip planning service in the area.

Byway specialises in car- and flight-free holidays, making it easier to enjoy travelling between destinations by train, bus and boat. You get to avoid the frustrations of sitting in a traffic jam and paying through the nose for parking everywhere you stop. Byway books all your accommodation and travel for you, and helps to create an itinerary once you enter the kind of activities you enjoy on the website.

See related

• 6 UK Cycling Holiday Ideas To Suit Every Kind Of Cyclist
• The Best Activity Holidays In The UK
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK

In north Wales, you are spoilt for choice for activities, but the first thing to nail in place on your schedule is a visit to the world’s longest and fastest zipline. Actually, maybe that should be the second thing to book, because a trip to the world’s first underground trampoline park also sounds pretty epic.

There are also many more conventional outdoor activities to be found in the Plas y Brenin National Outdoor Centre, including rock climbing and abseiling, and endless opportunities to hike around the awesome scenery of Snowdonia National Park.

Byway still has accommodation available in north Wales this August, so you can save your summer if your plans have been torpedoed by the rules around foreign travel, but if you ask us this is a holiday that should be top of anyone’s list.

Find out more about Byway’s north Wales trips at byway.travel

There are three main types of running holiday. The most arduous are the training camps pros use to get in shape ahead of a busy season of racing, and the most common is when pros and amateurs alike jet off for a long weekend somewhere to take part in an event.

The third kind is the most fun. These are the running holidays where you visit somewhere beautiful and explore it by running, usually on trails. You can book a flight, buy a load of OS maps and do this all yourself, but the smart bet is to sign up with a running holiday organiser for this kind of trip. Why? We’ll let Simon James, founder of running holiday company Run The Wild, explain.

“Planning your own adventure can be a big task and time-consuming,” says James. “We take the hassle out of arranging your own trip, which can be daunting, particularly if you’re dealing with a foreign language.

“It’s not just that, though –we add much more to your experience. It’s fun running in a group, and our guides know the best routes and the best places to stay, and that only comes from being a local.

“Along the way we teach you about the environment you are running through, from the edible flowers to the wildlife and names of the mountain tops. We keep you safe on the trails, book your accommodation, move your bags and meet you with luxury picnics on route.”

Assuming you’re convinced, here are some of the best running holidays companies to book with, starting with Run The Wild themselves. Obviously, the global pandemic makes holidays problematic, but all the companies below are still operating. Where possible, we’ve linked to each company’s COVID-19 statement or policy for you to read and digest before booking.

Run The Wild

James’s company puts on trips in the UK and Europe, with its most popular trips being short jaunts to the Chilterns and the Alps.

“Our Introduction To The Alps trip involves two mornings of trail runs beneath glaciated peaks and through pine forests,” says James. “For those who want to push themselves further, we have a two-day run in the Chilterns, which covers just under 60km and is perfect for runners thinking about multi-day trail events, ultraruns and marathons.”

Run The Wild also put on longer trips to the Alps, including a seven-day trip in the area around Mont Blanc.

“Running in the Alps is like no other running you have ever experienced before,” says James. “The mountains are big, the paths exhilarating and the views spectacular. The sense of freedom and adventure is unparalleled.” runthewild.co.uk (COVID-19 response)

Contours

If you’re happy to navigate yourself along a multi-day route, but would rather someone else set the route for you and transported your luggage from point to point, Contours is a great option. Its trips cover some of the UK’s best long-distance trails like the length of Hadrian’s Wall, and itineraries are designed to take your fitness into account so you can make the daily distance covered manageable. Contours provides maps and guidebooks for the route, books your accommodation, sorts breakfast each day, and transports you to and from the trail. As a result it’s cheaper than other holiday options and you can go any time you like, though you won’t get the benefit of a guide or the fun of a group run. contoursrun.co.uk (COVID-19 response)

Nomadic Running Company

This trail-running holiday company offers a vast range of locations for its trips, ranging from quick three-day jaunts in the Cairngorms or Brecon Beacons, to epic journeys through Kyrgyzstan or Oman’s Al-Hajar mountains. If you’re looking for adventure, you’ll certainly find it here, and each trip is given a detailed grading so you can decide whether you have the fitness and trail-running chops to handle it.

These gradings range from moderate, where you’re expected to cover 20-30km over two days and climb as much as 500m in one day, to demanding, where you might climb as much as 1,500m in one day and cover 45-55km over two. There is something for most people, and you can also arrange private trips with the company built around its existing itineraries or get an entire holiday designed around your running dreams. nomadicrunningcompany.com (COVID-19 response)

The Way Of The Runner

Organised by Adhanarand Finn, author of some of our favourite running books, these running retreats are mostly set in Dartmoor, with the odd excursion further afield such as Chamonix in September 2022. There are several trail runs to take part in across the weekend, and the last retreat was joined by ultramarathon pro Damian Hall. Along with the Chamonix trip you can currently book a place on a day trip running 35 miles (56.3km) across Dartmoor in April, with another Dartmoor retreat to be confirmed. thewayoftherunner.com

The Adventure Running Company

Have you ever considered climbing Mount Kilimanjaro? How about running up it? The Adventure Running Company lives up to its name by offering a ten-day trip up and down Africa’s highest mountain. There are also trips set in Morocco’s Atlas mountains, along with the French and Italian Alps – including Chamonix, the spiritual home of trail running in Europe. While most of the trips are aimed at experienced runners, the Chamonix itinerary and one closer to home in Wales cater to all abilities. theadventurerunningcompany.com

Destination Sport Experiences

Unlike other companies on this list, which organise the runs you’ll be doing on your holiday, Destination Sport Experience (DSE) organises trips to some of the world’s biggest running events. That includes World Marathon Majors like Berlin and Chicago, where the guaranteed entry on offer from DSE means that even runners who strike out in the ballot for those events can still run them. Along with sorting entry DSE will organise your accommodation at hotels ideally placed for the event, as well as activities like shake-out runs and pasta parties. 

For those who prefer something more exotic than the Majors, you can also take part in events like the Polar Circle Marathon in Greenland and the Marathon du Médoc in the south of France, which features wine-tasting stops on the route. destinationsportexperiences.com

Train In Kenya

If you have ever wondered how Kenyan athletes get so fast then this trip to Iten, the high-altitude region where many of the best runners in the world go to train, might be one to try. Famous runners hit the trails around Iten every day and are by all accounts perfectly amenable to running with average Joes – as long as you can keep up, that is. Bookings are being taken for two-week camps in March, August and December 2022. The company also offers a 12-month transfer policy, so if you can’t travel for any reason, either because of COVID-19 or an injury, or if the camps are cancelled, your booking can be switched to another date in the next 12 months. traininkenya.com

More Running Holiday Ideas

• The Best Trail-Running Spots In The UK According To Run The Wild
• Olympian Jo Pavey Recommends Five Amazing Coastal Runs In Devon
• Great Coastal Runs In The UK
• The World’s Best Marathons

Had enough of beach holidays and city breaks? Whether you’re looking for a one-day activity or want to spend weeks on a serious test of your fitness, there’s something for you in this list of extreme (and not-so-extreme) challenges.

With a little training – or in some cases no training at all – everyone will be able to tackle the beginner challenges on the list, but if you fancy one of the advanced or extreme challenges then it’s going to take some serious preparation and, in the case of the extreme adventures, probably a fair chunk of your annual leave. Whichever challenge you opt for, however, you can be sure you’ll have a great experience and undoubtedly get a little fitter at the same time.

Beginner Outdoor Challenges

1. Cycle Up Bealach Na Bà

This winding mountain road in the Applecross Peninsula in north-west Scotland is the biggest climb you’ll find on British shores, ascending 626m from sea level over the course of just 9km. It’s scored as 11/10 in terms of difficulty in 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs by Simon Warren, the only rating above 10 on Warren’s list of the toughest British ascents. In short, it’s a challenge that should be on every cyclist’s bucket list, perhaps as part of the annual 145km Bealach Mor sportive. cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/bealach-na-ba/

2. Swim From Nevis To St Kitts

The Narrows is the strait between the islands of Nevis and St Kitts in the Caribbean and every year a couple of hundred people swim the 4km of open water between Oualie Beach on Nevis and Cockleshell Beach on St Kitts as part of an organised event. Taking on that distance in the sea is no small feat and beginners are encouraged to use training fins to make it easier, but it’s a truly beautiful stretch of water to be in, and getting to spend time on a Caribbean island before and after is no great hardship either. nevistostkittscrosschannelswim.com

3. Finally Learn How To Surf

Surfing should be great fun, but in reality you’ll often spend most of your time waiting about, missing good waves and then getting unceremoniously dumped in the wash when one does finally arrive. The multi-million pound Adventure Parc Snowdonia is home to the world’s first artificial inland surfing lagoon, consistently churning out perfect rides that run for 150m. We had always struggled to stand up on a board, let alone make it to the end of the wave, but managed it in an hour or so here. Highly recommended. adventureparcsnowdonia.com

4. Rough It In The Woods

He might be a tad more familiar with hotels than he originally let on, but Bear Grylls still knows his survival stuff. These hands-on courses, designed by the man himself, range from an overnight adventure in the South Downs to a five-day survival course in the Scottish Highlands, including a self-rescue survival challenge. beargryllssurvivalacademy.com

5. Reach New Heights In Germany

Indoor climbing is a brilliant way to keep fit, but nothing beats heading out and doing it for real. The world-famous spot Frankenjura in Bavaria has over 8,000 established routes, including nearly 300 graded for beginners. There are a variety of route lengths, so there’s something for everyone in this land of limestone crags and picture-perfect forests. climb-europe.com

6. Go White-Water Rafting

You don’t have to head Down Under to get the thrill of hurtling along on an inflatable dinghy – but the Tully River in Cairns, Australia, is regarded as the best place in the world to give it a go. It encompasses 44 rapids winding through a World Heritage rainforest, complete with huge waterfalls and dramatic gorges, nearly all of which are suitable for people who’ve never even picked up a paddle before. raft.com.au

7. Take The Bull By The Horns

As far as physical challenges to tick off the manly bucket list go, this takes some topping. The Rodeo Bull Riding School in Houston, Texas, is run by one of the world’s best rodeo cowboys and promises to teach you all aspects of the sport, before letting you loose on the real thing. We can’t find anything on its site that states we definitely won’t get gored, though. Reassuring… greatamericandays.com

8. Swim Between Two Castles

The RNLI Castle 2 Castle Swim sees 450 swimmers (and no more, so don’t delay your entry) complete a one-mile (1.6km) open-water swim across the Carrick Roads estuary in Cornwall. The two castles in questions are Pendennis Castle in Falmouth, where the event starts, and St Mawes Castle on the Roseland Peninsula. The event boasts a fun and friendly atmosphere, and costs £25 to enter, though you’re also expected to raise at least £50 for the RNLI. eventbrite.co.uk/e/rnli-castle-to-castle-swim-2023-registration

Advanced Outdoor Challenges

9. Complete George Fisher’s Tea Round

Named after the George Fisher store it starts and finishes at, this 30-mile (48.2km) route around the Lake District involves summiting the 10 fells you can see from the top floor of the store, climbing almost 12,000ft (3,657m) in the process. You can run or walk the route either clockwise or anti-clockwise, and finishers are rewarded with some goodies from Montane, which sponsors the Tea Round, and a cup of tea and a slice of cake in the George Fisher store. georgefisher.co.uk/pages/george-fishers-tea-round

10. Take On Ten Y Fan

A true test of anyone’s mettle taxes mind as well as matter and this climbing challenge places both your body and brain under significant stress. If you know your Welsh mountains, you will have already guessed what this challenge entails. For everyone else, it’s climbing Pen Y Fan ten times. In 24 hours. The 886m Brecon Beacons peak is the highest in south Wales but it’s not exactly K2, so your first climb may very well be a breeze – but it will only get trickier. You’ll have to cope with the tempestuous Welsh weather as well as the setting of the sun (providing there is any). Take extra care to follow the safest route, but one that allows you to reach the summit in sufficient time. 10yfan.com

11. Swim A 10K

The UK’s first open water 10K event, The Dart, is an incredible journey down south Devon’s Dart estuary. Making your way along a river with 1,600 other swimmers is an experience like no other. And because this isn’t a race (everyone takes it at their own speed), you don’t need to worry about getting accidentally kicked in the face or swum over by screw-faced competitors. outdoorswimmingsociety.com/dart-10k

12. Go Heliskiing Or Heliboarding

Getting taken up a mountain by helicopter isn’t just a fancy way to skip the ski-lift queues. You’ll get dropped off in pristine, untouched powder before making your way down on a route untouched by anyone else that day. It’s not just for 80mph black run bombers, either – in Whistler, Canada, while there are trips for gnarly adrenaline junkies, total powder novices are catered for too. whistlerheliskiing.com

13. Race The Scotland Coast To Coast

Use your feet, pedals and paddles for 169km as you run, cycle and kayak from one side of Scotland – which is certainly not the world’s flattest country – to the other. The race starts at Nairn on the east coast and heads south west to the finish past Fort William, taking in Loch Ness along the way. It’s a two-day event, although the brave (and exceptionally well prepared) can attempt it in one day. ratracecoasttocoast.co.uk

14. Escape From Alcatraz

In its 29 years as the world’s most infamous maximum-security prison, no-one ever escaped alive from the shores of Alcatraz. Now, each June, 2,000 of the world’s best triathletes assemble in San Francisco to try. To be fair, security isn’t what it was, but this triathlon with a brilliant novelty factor is still a gruelling affair. A 2.4km swim through frigid waters from Alcatraz Island to shore is followed by a 29km bike leg, then a 13km run through the rugged trails of Golden Gate Recreation Area. Set against the famous skyline of San Francisco, it’s little wonder the event draws over 20,000 spectators. escapealcatraztri.com

15. Cycle Mont Ventoux’s Three Ascents

Lance Armstrong called Mont Ventoux “the hardest climb in the Tour de France”. But the Tour only ascends it once – the real challenge is to cycle up all the mountain routes in a day, racking up a Herculean 4,443m of ascent and 68km. You can face winds of 100km/h or more near the summit. cycling-challenge.com

16. Learn To Kitesurf

One big, fat, undiluted serving of adrenaline, this. You can learn to harness wind power on the water pretty much anywhere these days, and KiteWorldWide offers package holidays with lessons all over the world – in Greece and Italy but also Cape Verde and Panama. Blow as much of your holiday time on it as you can, because it’s not especially easy to pick it up, but once you do, hoo boy, you’ll feel like you’re flying. kiteworldwide.com

17. Ice Climb Ben Nevis in Winter

Britain’s highest summit is a straightforward hike in normal conditions – but in winter, covered in ice and snow, it’s a different beast. There are routes of all lengths and difficulties; make sure you have the necessary skills or go with an experienced guide. visitfortwilliam.co.uk

18. Cycle Across England

Around 13,000 people cycle coast to coast in England each year – the challenge is to complete the C2C route in a weekend. The traditional route starts at Whitehaven on the west coast and ends at Tynemouth, taking in the Lake District. Most of the route is quiet country roads, cycle paths and off-road trails, so there’s plenty of scope to let loose. Going west to east takes advantage of prevailing winds, as well as short uphills and long downhills. sustrans.org.uk/c2c-or-sea-to-sea

Extreme Outdoor Challenges

19. Run Britannia

This challenge certainly falls into the extreme category, so much so that you’re getting more than two years’ notice about it so you have adequate time to prepare if it does tickle your fancy. Run Britannia 2025 takes place in June and involves running the length of Britain, completing a 1,000-mile (1,609km) route from Land’s End to John o’Groats. The event is organised by Rat Race, which has picked out a runner-friendly route that avoids the biggest roads and includes some of the country’s most scenic walking trails, although that does mean you’ll be racking up 70,000ft (21,336m) of ascent along the way. 

There are only 40 spots available in the challenge, and the 2023 event sold out in less than six hours, so if you are keen to take on Run Britannia in 2025, it’s worth signing up to be notified when places are available. One last thing to note is that it’s a very expensive event at £7,950, but you can use the ample prep time to do some saving. ratracerunbritannia.com 

20. Walk The South West Coast Path

The Pennine Way may be more remote and muddier, but the South West Coast Path is England’s longest National Trail. The 1,014km route starts in Minehead, Somerset, and follows the wild coast around Devon and Cornwall into Dorset, finishing in Poole. To walk it in one go you’ll need a couple of months, but you can tackle its tough ascents one at a time for a satisfying hike. While the coastal weather doesn’t always smile on walkers, the scenery is outstanding – the path has sections designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Heritage Coast and World Heritage Site. southwestcoastpath.com

21. Race The Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence

The idea of a half Ironman is much less intimidating if you take part in one somewhere bright and sunny rather than grey and gloomy. The Ironman 70.3 Pays d’Aix – a qualifying race for the Ironman 70.3 world championship – takes place in the city of Aix-en-Provence, which apart from its promise of sunshine has a reputation as a training mecca for French cyclists and triathletes. Competitors swim 1.9km, cycle 90km and run 21km, with the bike ride the most challenging part and not just because of the distance. The course includes the famous mountain pass in Provence, around Mont Sainte-Victoire, immortalised by the painter Paul Cézanne. The road isn’t in good condition and there are some long, torturous ascents. ironman.com/im703-aix-en-provence

22. Run The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

Why? It’s simply the most challenging foot race in Europe. The 166km trail loops the Mont Blanc Massif, with a total height gain of 9,500m. Competitors must carry all their requirements and while super-athletes finish in around 20 hours, most runners take 30 to 45 hours – that’s if they finish at all. Shorter races and a team 300km are also available. ultratrailmb.com

23. Walk The Pennine Way

This is the classic long-distance trail in the UK. The record for the 431km stomp along the backbone of England is a maniacal two days, 13 hours and 35 minutes, although most mortals will take 16-19 days. The trail leads from Edale in the rugged Peak District through the Yorkshire Dales, along Hadrian’s Wall to the giant Cheviots and the Scottish border. Although notorious for foul weather and treacherous peat bogs, the Way has the wildest and best upland walking in England. It was too tough for arch-rambler Alfred Wainwright: “You won’t come across me anywhere along the Pennine Way,” he said. nationaltrail.co.uk

24. Paddle From Devizes To London

The Devizes Westminster International Canoe Marathon, the longest nonstop canoe race in the world, goes 200km from sleepy Wiltshire up the Thames to Westminster and requires about 30 hours of hard work. Training is essential to complete the race: “many ‘fit’ people have turned up to take part,” the organisers say, “but most collapse and fail within a few hours.” Paddling through the night, fighting exhaustion and mental fatigue, is a real test of fitness and character, and finishing in under 24 hours is seen as a good time. The intensity of training required is said to be the closest you can get to Olympic training. dwrace.co.uk

25. Run One Of The Big Three Rounds

The big three rounds are three epic ultramarathon-distance runs in the UK that take in some of the most challenging and breathtaking scenery the country has to offer. The most famous of them is the Bob Graham Round, which involves tackling 106km (66 miles) and 42 peaks in the Lake District, with more than 8,000m of climbing. The Paddy Buckley Round is set in Snowdonia and is 100km (62 miles) long with 47 summits and more than 8,500m of climbing. The Charlie Ramsay Round is in the Scottish Highlands and requires you to run 90km and climb 23 Munros, including Ben Nevis, for a total of more than 8,600m of ascent.

With each of the three rounds the challenge is to complete it in under 24 hours, which is a stern test for anyone. You can also adjust the challenge involved by going for it in different seasons, changing the direction you do the round in or, if you’re truly mad, by going for a double round and doing it twice.

If you can’t choose between which of the rounds you’d like to do, then you could always do all three. Inov-8 ambassador James Gibson did the trio in one winter, coming in under 24 hours for all three. Impressive.

More Adventures

• Munro Bagging: A Great Way Of “Escaping From Our Modern Sanitised World”
• Six Top Tips For The Rat Race Coast To Coast Adventure Race
• The UK’s Best Adventure Races
• Why You Should Try Fell Running
• The Best UK Adventure Holidays
• 5 Things Worth Knowing Before You Try To Learn How To Kitesurf

Every race you tackle in any sport is an adventure. Even if you’ve cycled a hundred sportives and run dozens of 10Ks, the next one will find a way to surprise and delight you. However, some races are undoubtedly more adventurous than others. For example, running, cycling and kayaking across Scotland is more likely to throw up unexpected challenges than running around a city centre.

Some go further still, like the truly epic 11-day adventure race created by Bear Grylls for the TV series World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. It’s fair to say that none of the races on this list are quite as adventurous as Eco-Challenge Fiji, and you’re much less likely to speak to Bear Grylls during these UK events, but you can be sure you’ll still find something to take you well out of your comfort zone.

In what will be a surprise to no-one given the COVID-19 pandemic, all this year’s events have been cancelled, but you can and should sign up for next year’s adventure races now. You’ll need plenty of time to prepare for them and who doesn’t need something to look forward to at a time like this?

Race The Sun Brecon Beacons (27th March 2021)

Teams of four race to complete this race before the sun sets, starting at dawn to give themselves as much time as possible. The event starts in Talybont with a cycle along the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal, before a 13km hike up to the 886m summit of Pen y Fan and then a 24km ride to Lake Llangorse for a 3.2km canoe. After you leave the water you’re almost done, with just a 17km cycle back to Talybont for the finish.

Sign up | £195, plus £1,800 fundraising target per team of four

Man Vs Coast (4th July 2021)

The particular part of the coast you’ll be pitting yourself against is on Cornwall, with a 25-mile (40km) route that goes from St Michael’s Mount to Land’s End. You’ll run as much of that route as you can, but you’ll also have to swim some sections and clamber over a few cliffs to complete the race.

Sign up | From £150

See related 

• Six Top Tips For The Rat Race Coast To Coast Adventure Race
• The UK’s Best Obstacle Course Races And Mud Runs Of 2021
• 32 Great Outdoor Challenges
• The Best Action Cameras

Man Vs Lakes (17th-18th July 2021)

How does one best a body of water, or indeed several of them? By running 26.2-30 miles (42.2-48.2km) around them – the exact distance will depend on how you go about crossing the quicksands of Morecambe Bay to start the race. After that you’ll be running up and down some of the many mountains and valleys of the Lake District, with 4,200ft (1,280m) of climbing to tackle in total, before you finish with a relatively relaxing kayak loop on Lake Coniston.

Sign up | From £99

Race The Sun Lake District (11th September 2021)

Sunrise marks the start of this team event and the objective is to complete the three sections of the race before sunset. Those sections are a 64km cycle, a 3km canoe on Derwentwater and an 18km hike to the summit of Skiddaw, which at 913m is England’s sixth-highest mountain. No mean feat, but you have got almost 14 hours to get it done.

Sign up | £195, plus £1,800 fundraising target per team of four

Coast To Coast (11th-12th September 2021)

Run, cycle and kayak from Nairn on the east coast of Scotland to Ballachulish on the west coast. The 169km route takes you past Loch Ness and through plenty of rugged Highland terrain. It can be tackled in one go or as a two-day event, with a night spent camping at Fort Augustus. As you’d expect, you cover the bulk of the distance on two wheels, but there are both on- and off-road sections to tackle, and you’ll still be running over 32km in total as well as finishing with a 1.6km kayak – the difficulty of which should not be underestimated, as we found out the hard way.

Sign up | Solo: One-day event £300-£400, two-day event from £350-£450. Pair: One day £280-£380, two day from £330-£430. Prices rise every month

Take our paltry pound off the table and put the global pandemic to one side, and we’ll argue that the UK is still a great place to holiday till the cows come home, with plenty for those who crave an injection of adrenaline and a satisfying ache in the muscles. And it’s worth moving quickly if you want a break this summer: while centres are reopening to customers, each is having to make good on postponed bookings. Still, if the adventure that floats your boat isn’t going to happen until 2021, there’s no harm lining up something to look forward to now. Start with our picks of the best heart-racing holidays, and if you find you need a cup of tea and a nice sit-down afterwards, perhaps these more sedate UK activity holidays will be more your speed.

Climb 15 Welsh Mountains

When three peaks just aren’t enough to satisfy your urge for adventure, perhaps 15 will do the job? You have five days to tackle 15 of Snowdonia’s highest mountains, starting with big poppa Snowdon itself, with expert guidance provided by instructors from National Outdoor Centre Plas y Brenin (£694). In total you’ll be taking on over 4,250m of climbing, and hitting the summits of five 1,000m-plus mountains. And if that still doesn’t sound tough enough then make sure you sign up for the winter version of the challenge, rather than the less snowy summer option.

If hiking isn’t really your thing, there are plenty of other opportunities for adventure with Plas y Brenin too, with mountain biking and sea kayaking trips available for all abilities. pyb.co.uk/adventure

Go Diving At Scapa Flow

Five of the Orkney Islands – Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy – combine to shelter the waters of Scapa Flow, making the area a haven for ships. And where there are ships, there are shipwrecks, which means these waters offer some of the best diving in Europe. Divers of all levels can see the wrecks, which include seven German ships scuttled at the end of the First World War. If you’ve never dived before you can get your PADI qualification by doing a course (from £625) with Kraken Diving, which also offer guided dives (from £170) of the area or a snorkel safari (£60pp). krakendiving.co.uk

Blokarting In Jersey

A windy day in Jersey is the setting for this adventurous activity, where you jump into a gokart with a sail and set off over the sands of St Ouen’s Bay at high speed. Absolute Adventures promises that it’ll take just ten minutes to learn how to control the blokart, which is steered like a bike, so you’ll be tearing around the beach in no time. That’s good, because you’ll want to get as much blokarting in a possible before the tide comes in and you end up sailing out to sea. absoluteadventures.je

River Tubing In Perthshire

As if the sensation of near-drowning wasn’t terrifying enough, the sport of river tubing ups the ante by throwing the threat of concussion into the mix. Actually, clinging to an inflatable donut as it pinballs from rock to rock through raging rapids is all fun really (we promise), and you can do exactly that with Nae Limits, based in Perthshire. If/when you come out alive and gagging for another hit of adrenaline, the adventure experience company offers an Awesome Foursome package (£180) – a four-activity weekend with white-water rafting, canyoning, cliff jumping, quad biking and clay pigeon shooting to choose from. Nae Limits will even help you out with some wonderful local B&B options to calm your frayed nerves in after a hard day of not dying. naelimits.co.uk

Caving In The Peak District

Leave all the meeting requests, mortgage repayments and visits from the in-laws to the surface dwellers and head underground, where nobody can get a hold of you on WhatsApp or send a morning catch-up request to your iCal. Bliss. OK, you’ll have to deal with your fears of dark confined spaces, but Pure Outdoor’s two-day beginner’s caving course (£165) in the Peak District is the perfect way to escape modern life’s minor irritants. Learn to navigate through tight underground walls cut by ancient waterways and made entirely of fossils and minerals, and take in some remarkable crystal formations, before emerging topside and heading back to any one of the company’s recommended local B&Bs. And then do it all over again the next day. pureoutdoor.co.uk

See related 

• The Best Activity Holidays In The UK
• 32 Great Outdoor Challenges
• Munro Bagging: A Great Way Of “Escaping From Our Modern Sanitised World”
• Caver Robbie Shone on Going Beyond the Known Limits of Exploration
• Active Stag Do Ideas In The UK And Europe

Cable Wakeboarding In The New Forest

You no longer need the shaggy locks of Patrick Swayze in Point Break and the vernacular of Bill and/or Ted to try your hand at wakeboarding. Cable schools – a revolving line around a lake, removing the need for a boat – have made the sport accessible, and the New Forest Water Park’s the perfect place to get stuck in for the first time. Strap in, hold on and get to grips with the adrenaline-pumping sport under expert tuition, before drying out and resting your aching thighs beside a campfire, then retreating to your tent or trusty campervan for some much needed kip. newforestwaterpark.co.uk

4x4 Motor Safari In Cheshire

Love the idea of a go-anywhere, tackle-anything adventure in some stunning surroundings, but would rather not have to empty your loafers of puddle water after every step you take? You’re in need of some Top Gear-approved petrol-scented 4x4 action. Master an all-terrain vehicle at Motor Safari’s weekend breaks in Cheshire by smashing it through water and climbing it along “surely not up there!?” inclines, before resting up in a range of accommodation options that include bushcraft-style lodges for the Bear Grylls fans among you, and five-star spas for you more demanding Clarkson types. motor-safari.co.uk

Mountain Biking In Wales

When a holiday company tells you to “just bring booze”, you know that first, it’s talking your language, and second, it’s about to really look after you. Such is MudTrek’s advice when talking about its mountain biking escapes to the rugged countryside of Carmarthenshire. With home-cooked meals, BBQ cookouts, options from weekends to full week stays, three types of accommodation to choose from, personalised photos and movies to take away as mementos, as well as more off-piste riding than your legs can handle, you’re gearing up for a seriously cool break in the saddle. mudtrek.com

Sea Kayaking In Scotland

Wilderness Scotland’s West Coast Explorer package is the real deal. Not only will you breathe in the breathtaking coastal areas and wildlife of Knoydart, Plockton and the iconic Skye from an unrivalled vantage point atop your very own kayak, but you’ll be paddling with everything you need for a spot of wild camping under (hopefully) clear skies, too. The cherry on top is the promise of an exceptional local pub meal when you come ashore for the final time. Sign us up. wildernessscotland.com

Climbing In The Lake District

There’s nothing like climbing up a cliff face to take your entire body to its limits. Feel that deep burn from fingers to feet at the Lake District’s Via Ferrata Xtreme, a multi-award-winning experience that’ll have you clinging to exposed ridges, scaling vertical climbs, manoeuvring across cliff-edge ladders and scrambling up giant cargo nets at heights twice that of The Shard. And if you’re smart enough to book a stay at Paradigm’s luxury self-catering properties, one ticket for the adventure comes free. honister.com

Road Cycling The Atlantic Highway

Seven days, 920km, one entire landmass, end to end. Sounds like a challenge, right? It sure is, buddy. This is the MizMal, a cycle from the top of Northern Ireland all the way down to the southern tip of the Republic of Ireland. It’s so called because you kick things off at Mizen Head and end at Malin Head, hugging the entire western coast – known as the Atlantic Highway – as you go. Wild Atlantic Cycling, which runs the trip, will help you reach your destination in one piece – and maybe even with a smile on your weary, weather-beaten face. wildatlanticcycling.com

Surfing In Snowdonia

Photograph: Nick Pumphrey

Dream of the perfect wave, and you’ll probably imagine the giant rollers crashing into golden sands in Hawaii, the barreling blue lagoons of Tahiti or the spine-snapping monsters off the coast of South Africa – not Wales. But cool your jets, dude – this is Surf Snowdonia, the head-high wave that peels perfectly for 150 metres in a manmade lagoon nestled in Conwy Valley. It’s the only place to be if you want to unleash your inner Kelly Slater before crashing out in an onsite glamping pod, without leaving UK waters. surfsnowdonia.co.uk

“I need a holiday.” Yeah, you do, and considering that a jaunt abroad may well be followed by two weeks of confinement you’d be wise to take that break on these shores. Given current circumstances, outdoorsy fun seems like a fine choice, so we’ve compiled a shortlist of excellent ideas that’ll not only have you returning home well rested, but carrying a great sense of achievement too.

It should go without saying – although we’ll say it anyway – that different parts of the UK are in different states of lockdown. You shouldn’t hop in a car tomorrow, for instance, and expect to be able to rock up in Wales and go fat biking on a beach, or swing by the Lake District and take a dip. With a fair wind you should be able to make a pre-planned trip later in the summer, so take the below as inspiration and make sure you contact rental shops or activity providers well in advance.

Yoga And Wild Swimming On Anglesey

If you love Wales, wild swimming and yoga, then boy are you in for a treat. These yoga retreats on Anglesey include guided trips to some of the most beautiful swimming spots on the island, whether you’re keen to jump into the sea, relax in a mountain lake or immerse yourself in a waterfall. It’s sure to be an invigorating experience, and your guides will be on hand with tea and cake to help you warm up afterwards. Then it’s back to the retreat for more yoga – the sessions are more challenging in the morning and then relaxing in the evening. The country house location offers views of Snowdon and 21 acres of private parkland to explore when you’re in between swims and yoga sessions. You can book now for one of two retreats currently available in 2020: the first runs from 24-27th July and the second from 18th-21st September, with prices starting from £515. thezestlife.co.uk

Coracle Rowing In Pembrokeshire

Sure, you could experience the lake at luxury activity retreat Bluestone from the comfort of a kayak, but it’s a bit safe don’t you think? A bit done? Coracle rowing, on the other hand, is so little known we’re going to have to explain it. Essentially, it’s paddling around in a large round barrel solo. These historic vessels were used by ye olde Welsh fishermen, and while it’s not the most comfortable ride, you’ll really feel a sense of achievement when you master it. And the relaxing posh accommodation and spa waiting for you on dry land will more than make up for your sore backside. bluestonewales.com

See related 

• Walking Holidays In The UK And Abroad
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK
• The Seven Best Things To Do In Newquay, Ranked

Stand-Up Paddleboarding In Cornwall

Not only does it give an incredible vantage point from which to see the great British coastline but stand-up paddle boarding, the much-hyped surf-kayak crossover, is also an intense full-body workout which places particular demands on your core. Oh yeah, you’re damn right it’s time to cash in the benefits of all that core work you’ve been doing. WeSUP, the UK’s first adventure centre dedicated to the sport, offers a spectrum of exciting Cornish waterborne day trips – and the 24-hour paddle, BBQ and camp package up Falmouth’s Helford Passage is the one that’s got us really wanting to cross the Tamar and rush to the foot of the country. wesup.co.uk

Open-Water Swimming Around Scilly

Popping over to the Scilly Isles for a weekend? Make sure you’ve got Adventure Scilly saved in your browser favourites. From wild swimming to trail running, this firm has got you covered, and will prove to you that a trip to the little spit of land beyond Penzance is more than just a watercolour painter’s relaxing dream destination. adventurescilly.co.uk

Shark Spotting in Scotland

Finally, Shark Week is no longer something that only our transatlantic brothers and sisters can enjoy. In the cold dark waters off Scotland lurks the enormous yet graceful basking shark – the second biggest fish in the entire ocean and a sea beast that Basking Shark Scotland is totally obsessed with tracking down for you. BSS is now taking bookings for seven-day sea tours in 2018, which’ll have you staying in self-catered accommodation on the Isle of Coll and enjoying six days of boat trips to see these 10-metre monsters in all their glory. There are even tanks and airfills for the braver among you who fancy jumping in alongside the swimming behemoths. baskingsharkscotland.co.uk

Walking In The Cotswolds

Walking, eh? You’re pretty good at it. Plenty of hours under your belt. Semi-pro, if anything. But is there anywhere better in the UK for showing off your stepping skills than the majestic, poetic surrounds of the Cotswolds? No sir, there is not. Cotswold Walks offers a huge range of walking tours, from guided to self-guided, from luxury short breaks to tailor-made ones. These guys are the leading walking and hiking specialists in the area, so you know they’ll safely guide you up, down and out of the hills, and to the pub for a well-earned local pint at the end of the day. cotswoldwalks.com

Wild Swimming In The Lake District

Walking is probably your first thought when it comes to Lake District activities, which is mad, because there is so much water. It’s right there in the name! You’ll probably want to steer clear of the most popular lakes, like good old Windermere, because of the boat traffic but there is still a huge amount of gloriously fresh H2O to tempt open-water swimmers, from novices to veterans. There are several companies that rent out equipment – you’ll be wanting a wetsuit – and offer guided sessions for those who lack experience venturing out into the open water. You’ll find contact details plus a round-up of top swimming spots and general safety advice on the Lake District website. lakedistrict.gov.uk

Clay Pigeon Shooting In Suffolk

If you’re yet to throw some lead up into the sky or enjoy the scent of smoke wafting from your gun as you eject your empty cartridges from their barrels, then you haven’t lived. Clay shooting is the at-times-infuriating, at-times-deeply-satisfying but consistently exciting pastime that isn’t just for craggy-faced tweed-wearing farmer types. For proof get on down to High Lodge, a top-drawer destination set up by seven-time world champion John Bidwell. It’s set in the heart of tranquil Suffolk woodland and comprises of luxury lodges, hot tubs, fishing, golf, a restaurant and a fantastic clay shooting set-up. And with “have-a-go” starter lessons for £35, you’ll be peppering those little discs in no time. highlodge.co.uk

Fat Biking In The Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes

The second tallest sand dune in Europe is found on the south Wales coast and the best way to travel down it is undoubtedly on a fat bike, whose huge tyres enable you to travel over sand without it being a horrendous slog. In fact, it’s just the opposite – a gigantic amount of fun – though do expect to feel some nerves when you’re at the top of the 60m-high Big Dipper dune, steeling yourself to ride down it. You can hire bikes easily in the nearby town of Porthcawl and ride along the beach to the dunes by yourself, or as part of a guided tour. porthcawlbikehire.co.uk

While the evenings and nights of stag dos will almost always remain sacred periods devoted to bacchanalian pursuits, more and more stag groups are filling the daylight hours with activities that burn almost as many calories as you drink back in later.

Forget paintballing or ten-pin bowling. Fill the periods between drinking with adventure. We’re talking caving, climbing or driving a flipping tank – all excellent ways to form daytime bonds with your fellow man that can be comprehensively cemented through alcoholic misadventures that night.

Stag Do Ideas In The UK

Become Bear Grylls

According to the Bear Grylls Adventure experience there are four main skills you need to learn to be comfortable in any situation. These are solving mazes, solving escape rooms, overcoming physical obstacles and archery. You’ll get to do all four in the Basecamp section of your trip to the Bear Grylls Adventure centre in Birmingham. And that’s not all. After you’ve completed Basecamp there are four headline activities to add to your expedition: scuba diving (or snorkeling) in a tropical tank, climbing walls designed to mimic famous real-world ascents, tackling a high ropes course that’s accessed via a zip line from a (model) helicopter, and indoor skydiving. Or you can get an all-in pass and do all four headline activities plus Basecamp.

Book with Bear Grylls Adventure | From £18pp

Negotiate The Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course

If you have ever watched the Ninja Warrior TV show and complained that the competitors were making a meal of completing the course, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and tackle the obstacles yourself. There are now four Ninja Warrior UK Adventure Parks in the UK – Cardiff, Gloucester, Stoke-on-Trent and Wigan – with each containing a massive range of obstacles, from balance beams and spider walls to monkey bars, as well as the show’s famously difficult-to-conquer warped wall.

Book with Ninja Warrior UK | £10

Climb A Wall Of Ice

Yes, like in Game Of Thrones. Well, to an extent – the wall of ice is only 12m high and you’ll have ropes and expert advice, which is a little different to tackling a sheer 200m wall of ice while the Night’s Watch and/or White Walkers attack you. Thrillingly, ice-climbing is not even the most adrenaline-filled pursuit you can take on at Ice Factor in the Scottish Highlands, because there’s also an aerial assault course to work your way through. The 250m-long course including obstacles like tightrope walks, vine swings and commando nets, all of which are 10m above the ground. ice-factor.co.uk

Book with National Ice Climbing Centre | From £49.99pp

Get Castaway In Cornwall

The coastal Cornish town of Newquay is one of the best adventurous stag spots in the UK thanks to the huge range of activities on offer and an equally impressive nightlife scene. We’ll assume you can organise a piss-up in a pub, but for the daytime book the Cornwall Castaway mini-adventure with Newquay Activity Centre. You’ll be shipwrecked off the coast and have to make dry land through wild swimming and climbing along the rocky coast, jumping off some sizeable cliffs into plunge pools along the way. Once you make it to the charmingly-named Dead Man’s Cove you’ll learn survival skills and get some foraged food inside you. Then it’s time to return to civilisation by paddling a Super SUP (stand-up paddleboard) back to the shore. Oddly there is no time allocated on the schedule for creating a friend out of a volleyball, so you’ll have to bring one along. All together now… WILSOOOOOOOON!

Book with Newquay Activity Centre | £69pp

Climb Three Peaks

Not those three peaks. While climbing the three biggest mountains in each country in Great Britain – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – is a great activity, it’s a bit too time-consuming and requires too much training for a stag do, so keep that powder dry and try the Yorkshire version of the challenge instead. The towering trio of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough can all be climbed as part of an epic hike that will take under 12 hours, leaving plenty of time to celebrate your achievements in one of the many excellent pubs in the area. You can sign up for an organised trip to do the Yorkshire Three Peaks, but it’s also easy to arrange yourself. Use the advice and kit list on the Three Peaks Challenge website to make sure you have everything you need.

Book a private group excursion with Three Peaks Challenge | £85pp, minimum group of 15

Play Football In A Bubble

Football is a great activity for a stag do but to really up the stakes, try playing it with every player’s upper body encased in a huge inflatable sphere. This way when one of the stag’s weird friends from childhood starts pulling out some annoyingly impressive footwork, you don’t have to charge in with a brutal reducer that casts an unpleasant shadow over the rest of the weekend. Instead you can bump him to the floor in hilarious fashion. Haha!

Book with The Stag Company | From £29pp, minimum group of ten

Bike The Brecon Beacons

For a shot of pure adrenaline, it’s hard to beat mountain biking, especially if you get the chance to ride in the spectacular scenery of Wales’ Brecon Beacons National Park. Guided by Adventure Travel, your group (bar the odd fish who never learned to cycle and will be left in the pub) can ride the best climbs, downhills and jumps the area has to offer during three to six hours in the saddle.

Book with Adventure Britain | From £55pp

Lay The Smack Down

Don some Speedos and do your best Macho Man Randy Savage impression at a private wrestling school (booked through a stag do company and available in Blackpool, Liverpool, London and Manchester) complete with full ring and ex-pro coaches. You’ll learn real moves, come up with your own special finisher, and then round the day off with filmed tag team battles or a Royal Rumble. Just ensure there’s enough time before the wedding for any accidental black eyes to heal.

Book with Stag Web | From £35pp

Do The Ultimate British Pub Crawl

This legendary 143km Yorkshire Dales walking route taking in 26 country pubs isn’t one for the unfit… or weak-livered. The eight-day (with six days of walking) circular hike is populated with traditional, remote boozers complete with slightly odd locals (beers and people). You’ll cover 17 to 22km each day, meaning you can get away with telling everyone at the wedding you did an ultramarathon together. No-one needs to know how long it took or how much beer you had on the way. The walk is detailed in the guidebook The Inn Way... To The North York Moors, but it can be tackled with the help of a tour company, which will transport your bags to each night’s accommodation so the only thing weighing you down will be the pints you have with lunch.

Book with Brigantes | From £435pp

Puzzle Your Way Through The Crystal Maze

It’s not the most active option on this list, but it is undoubtedly the most nostalgic. If you’re of a certain age, tackling Physical, Skill, Mental and Mystery games to collect crystals in the Aztec, Medieval, Futuristic and Industrial zones, all with the overarching aim of amassing time to collect as many golden tickets in a huge Crystal Dome as possible, is just about the best way to spend an hour. In fact you don’t even have to be of a certain age, or a fan of either the original with Richard O’Brien or the new Richard Ayoade-fronted version – it's just bloody great fun. You can try the live experience of the beloved ’90s cult TV show in either London or Manchester, and we’d heartily recommend you do just that.

Book with The Crystal Maze | From £29.99pp (Manchester) or £54.99pp (London)

Butcher Bambi

Reconnect with your primal instincts at Hunter Gather Cook where you’ll kick off the day by skinning and butchering a deer – it’s a bit like the dark BBC comedy Stag, minus the getting hunted to death. Once there’s fresh meat on the fire (also built by your stag crew), it’s time to sink local ciders in a treehouse while the groom-to-be endures an I’m A Celebrity-style bush tucker trial administered by your worryingly gleeful woodland hosts. Next stop: Brighton – only a few miles away.

Book with Hunter Gather Cook | From £120pp

Drive A Ruddy Tank

Ditch normal paintball guns in favour of taking control of a genuine FV432 tank at Armourgeddon in Leicestershire. You’ll work in three-man crews, driving and shooting the 40mm paint-firing cannon as you’re pitched against up to 11 more tanks in a WW2-style battlefield scenario. For the full effect watch Fury beforehand and argue over who gets to pretend to be Brad Pitt.

Book with Armourgeddon | £99pp

Leave Your Comfort Zones

Depending how dirty your mind is, getting into small damp holes and wriggling about for a bit doesn’t sound like most people’s idea of fun. Caving is an absolute blast, though. The feeling of venturing in to the unknown and emerging intact from a situation that looks like the start of a Casualty episode (back when it used to be about gnarly accidents instead of hospital staff romances) can’t be topped. Use Adventure Britain to handle the logistics (and safety) – we went and loved it.

Book with Adventure Britain | From £55pp

Race Tiny Powerboats

It’s thrills without the skills, or effort, in these little inflatable powerboats – well, apart from the effort of hanging on for dear life. Ripping through huge wakes whatever the weather, two pairs go up against each other with a pro driver at the wheel. You’ll hang on for life as the Zapcats fly off the top of ramp-like waves and skid round the designated course in Bournemouth at breakneck pace. If ocean conditions are good enough, you even get a crack at driving. stagweb.co.uk

Book with Stag Web | From £99pp

See related

• The Best Activity Holidays In The UK
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK
• Fat Biking: Cycling On Snow In Switzerland
• The Best Experience Days That Make Great Gifts
• 32 Great Outdoor Challenges

Stag Do Ideas in Europe

Give Gaelic Games A Go

It’s fair to say you can’t get close to mastering the skilful Irish sports of hurling and Gaelic football in the space of a couple of hours, but what you can do is get a taste. Both are brilliant fun and allow you to whack your stag with a stick (in the hurling part anyway) with surprisingly little intervention from the ref. The sports are fast-paced and frequently involve minor melees in the middle of the pitch, with the result that after just a couple of hours even the fittest stag groups will be happily knackered and more than ready to hit the pub for a few well-earned pints of Guinness. You can find Gaelic games taster sessions in several Irish locations – consider the charming city of Galway if you’re keen to avoid the well-trodden stag path to Dublin.

Book with Stag Weekends | From £43pp

Test Your Sporting Mettle

If bragging rights are as important to you as boozing on a stag do, head to the Skill Zone in Dublin, where you and your companions can compete for supremacy in a ten-sport challenge. You’ll shoot hoops, kick balls, climb walls, fire (toy) guns and hang from a pull-up bar for as long as possible, with each sport scored to give you a final tally that you can shove in the face of your defeated rivals, or never speak of again if you finish dead last. You may be surprised at what you’re best, and indeed worst, at – the Army officer in our group who let himself, his Queen and his country down during the shooting challenge certainly was.

Book with Skill Zone | €20pp (around £17)

Go Big Game Fishing In The Algarve

Portugal’s Algarve is an area where you’d perhaps expect to encounter nothing more dangerous than sunburned Brits, but head out on the seas around Albufeira and you have the chance to reel in some seriously big fish. Three kinds of shark patrol the waters – hammerhead, blue and mako – and there are also tuna and swordfish lurking in the depths. Once you’ve snapped a pic with your catch you’ll have to let it go, but the exhilaration of besting a mighty sea beast will carry you through an epic night out once you’re back on solid ground.

Book with Design Adventure | £110pp, minimum group of ten

Go Full Viking

Photography: © Hipfel/Starck

Make like Ragnar with a trip down central Sweden’s Klaralven river. Vildmark i Värmland provides the timber and tuition for your group to build its own raft for a one-, two- or five-day adventure, staying on the boat, in tents and a traditional log cabin on the way. Seeing beavers swim alongside you while moose graze on the riverbanks is pretty great, but the total disconnection from the modern world is what sets this apart from other stag do activities.

Book with Vildmark | From £250pp

Cycle Your Way To Inebriation

Destroy the lager-lout reputation of British stag do parties by becoming beer connoisseurs on UTracks’ Bavarian Beer Trail Cycle. The seven-day trip is a gentle meander through the Aisch Valley, home to nearly a third of Germany’s breweries – there are so many in close proximity that you can stop for a drink at one every few kilometres. Planning on taking gulps rather than sips? Shorten the 60km circular route with local trains and trams. utracks.com

Book with UTracks | From £690pp

Cruise The Croatian Coast

Live the swag life of a rapper – or nerdy app inventor, if you wear glasses – by getting a skippered yacht to navigate Mediterranean waters and drop anchor at island beach clubs and bars. You can spend a week on a five-cabin boat, including flights, transfers and accommodation, for around £500 per person – not exactly cheap, but not too bad for a taste of the luxury lifestyle. seamaster.co.uk

Book with Sea Master | From £509pp

Photography: Adam Drake-Hughes (@adamgetssurfrage / @drakehughesphotography)

Carve your way through the water at speed, use a wave as a ramp and perhaps throw in a few tricks if you’ve been doing it for a while – really, why wouldn’t you want to kitesurf? The answer is that learning to kitesurf is hard. “Facefuls of sand and surf” hard. “Being hurled through the air while trying to stand up on the board then Googling the difference between bruised and broken ribs” hard.

That, at least, was my experience, attempting to learn over a five-day trip with KiteWorldWide to Essaouira on the Moroccan coast, flying with RyanAir from Stansted. But ask anyone who skis or snowboards how easy learning that was, and then ask them if it was worth it. When I asked a group of experienced German kitesurfers why it was worth persevering, they needed just one word – “freedom”.

Imagining that feeling, plus losing a few hours watching kitesurfing videos on YouTube, will probably be enough to get you looking at flights and packages, so here are a few pointers from Coach and Abdeloauhad Nasser (pictured, above), co-owner of Explora Watersports, which provides lessons for KiteWorldWide in Essaouira and other locations.

1. You Don’t Have To Be Fit…

“It’s more of a technical sport,” says Nasser. “That’s why it’s getting very popular, because everybody can do it from ten years old to 70 years old.” That said, learning will be easier if you’re used to endurance sports like running and have a bit of strength to keep going while you acquire the technique, which requires getting used to a new set of co-ordinated movements for your feet and hands, just like learning to drive a car. In the six weeks before the trip, as well as my usual cycling to work, I opted for one strength class a week through Classpass and I think it was time well spent.

2. …But You Can Be Prepared

One thing you can easily do to get ahead of the game is try the individual elements of kitesurfing before you go – namely power kiting and cable wakeboarding. “It’s exactly the same position on the board,” says Nasser, “so you just need to understand the kite. If you have a feeling for the board, learning’s so easy.” There are cable wake parks all across the UK and it’s similarly easy to find an activity centre that will offer an experience with a power kite.

3. Flying The Kite Is A Bit Like Driving A Barge

While we’re not recommending spending a weekend on a canal to prepare to learn kitesurfing, we found the trick to steering a longboat carried over to the kite. Both are very easy to oversteer and if either stray off-course, it’s almost always too late to correct deftly. Anticipating where the kite’s going and making small corrections in plenty of time keeps things steady and under control.

See related

• 32 Great Outdoor Challenges
• The Best Activity Holidays In The UK
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK

4. Anyone Can Pick Up The Basics In A Fortnight

Everyone’s different, so who knows how long it will take you to pick up kitesurfing? But whoever you are, it’d be a surprise if you weren’t able to crack it in two weeks, conditions permitting.

The process I went through, which will probably be similar wherever you learn, starts with learning how the kite works on dry land, how it’s set up and how to stay safe. You’ll launch the kite on the beach and find the “wind window” (essentially where to put the kite to get different levels of power), and also need to overcome the instinct to tense up when things go wrong: the trick is to let go and all the power in the kite will dissipate.

Once you can demonstrate control you’ll walk the kite out into the surf and try body dragging, which means getting the kite pull you through the water.

The next part is the trickiest, and it’s the point where my trip ended after four sessions over three days. While keeping the kite in the air, you have to slip your feet into the board’s straps, get some power in the kite, stand up and get going – travelling a few metres before falling over. This, said Nasser, can take two or three lessons to get past, but after that it’s working up to travelling downwind, 50m away from the shore, turning and going back towards the shore. Kitesurfing, in other words!

The other reason you might want to take your time is so you can learn in the sea. There are many places where you can learn on flat, calm water where you’re not trying to slip a board on while getting battered by waves (hot tip: wait for the set of waves to pass), but if you plan on continuing with kitesurfing you’ll inevitably end up on the sea at some point so why not surmount that obstacle while you’re learning?

5. Make Sure There Are Other Things You Want To Do At Your Destination

There was plenty of wind during my trip but it tended to be too blustery in the morning, making those times a bit of a write-off. Even going to a destination with reliably windy conditions like Essaouira is no guarantee you’ll be able to kitesurf whenever you want, so it’s worth making sure there are plenty of other ways to pass the time.

Essaouira has a ton of active stuff to do with surfing, horse riding, camel riding, quad biking, beach yoga and hiking aplenty. There’s also the medina to wander around, featuring shops, markets, restaurants (Umia and Ramsess were particular favourites) and more in the fortifications of the old town.

We also stayed in the new luxury villas at Jardin Des Douars – surprisingly affordable if you fill each room with couples – and there was a private pool to splash about in and an onsite spa to try. It’d be foolish not to choose a treatment which uses argan oil, since Morocco is the source of this in-demand beauty product.

Coach travelled with kitesurfing travel specialist KiteWorldWide. Kitesurfing and surfing lessons were provided by KiteWorldWide's partner Explora Watersports. Ryanair now flies direct to Essaouira from London Stansted.

It’s not overstating it to say that today we’re enamoured with the great indoors. There are more on-demand entertainment options than ever before, and if you’d never been out in the countryside before the idea of tearing your eyes away from a screen and humping your way up a hill may seem odd.

It’s something Kash Butt, one of the founders of community group Boots And Beards, knows all too well. He fell in love with the great outdoors on family trips as a kid, but now has to drag his youngest up and down a hill.

But Boots And Beards has also found there are plenty of people who want to get outside and they experience life-changing benefits as a result. As part of a campaign from the UK’s National Parks and adventure clothing brand Columbia to celebrate groups who are helping people experience great landscapes (Columbia kitted out Boots And Beards with some slick new kit as well), we spoke to Butt about how Boots And Beards got started, why he devotes so much time to running it and why it’s so popular.

What was your first experience of the outdoors?

When we were younger, probably primary school age, my dad would have Sundays off and usually he’d get us together and we’d go and have a day away: a wee picnic, climb a hill, go see a few waterfalls, something like that. We had such a great time because there were quite a lot of youngsters coming along, just being out with people your own age, exploring and finding new things to see – we loved it.

How did Boots And Beards come about?

As I got older, obviously, I got busy with life – family and work. Then my cousin contacted me and said, “Kash, we don't really see enough of each other, why don’t we meet up and go walking like we used to?” We just started doing some hill walks every second Sunday and getting our kids out at the same time.

I would start posting on Facebook – “we were here today, we had a great time” – and people saw those pictures and said, “Kash, why didn’t you tell me? I would love to have gone with you.” So from there, we knew there was interest within our community to go outdoors, but there was nothing that we were aware of where people could get together and go outdoors as a group. That’s why we said, OK, we’ll start a group. We kept the format going, every second Sunday, go out for a hill walk and get as many people out with us as we could.

How did it develop?

We formally constituted it in 2016, and it’s just got bigger and bigger. We are at a stage where there are so many people contacting us trying to do different events and activities that we don't have the time or the volunteers to cope.

The main activities that we are dealing with at the moment are hill walks, badminton and boot camps and last year we took on the Duke of Edinburgh Award for youngsters to do through us. We’ve done spin classes, fishing, trips abroad, and local trips to Glenmore Lodge and Balmoral Castle. People want us to do cycling and canoeing as well, but we don’t have the time! I’ve got a full-time job and the people who do this all have full-time jobs as well. We do as much as we can, but obviously at the same time we don’t want to burn ourselves out.

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• 32 Great Outdoor Challenges
• Dave Cornthwaite Wants You To Say Yes To Adventure

Why do you think the demand is so high?

In my generation, everyone was just out and about when we were young. Entertainment was there, but it wasn’t on such a big scale, or wasn’t very accessible. People just preferred to go out play football or different sports. My generation want to show our kids that there is another world out there that you should be exploring – don’t just get sucked into being at home.

How about your kids – have they taken to it?

My eldest will happily climb a hill, but he wants to do it as quickly as possible and get down and just go home. My youngest, I have to drag him the whole way up and drag him the whole way down. He needs a lot more motivation to do something like this. So I see the difference from when we were younger. When we were younger, we were happy to get out as much as possible. These days it’s more that they want to stay indoors as much as possible.

What do you think are the advantages of spending time outdoors? Why are you trying to get your kids out there?

Number one is physical health. When we were out and about playing we were just healthier, our immune system was a lot stronger. It’s also a way to get away from all the humdrum of your everyday life of working or education. Out there you’re free, you can explore and do what you want.

Another reason is to do with mental health as well – there’s a calming effect. And the other thing we are trying to do is teach how important our environment is.

What kind of changes have you seen in people that have got involved in with Boots And Beards activities?

Major changes. The first boot camp that we did, we had a dietitian measure everyone up. And from his results, he said he’d never seen a group of people who are more at risk of getting type 2 diabetes – that’s something major in the Asian community. And when we passed this forward to the participants who were doing the boot camp, it seemed to wake them up a bit. I’ve got people now who’ve made drastic changes to their diet and they’re doing more exercise. They’ve taken that into their home life as well, with their partners, kids and family. I’ve got people who are doing marathons, Tough Mudders and major cycling events. It’s just instilled a whole new dimension to their characters.

Photograph: James Carnegie

When we took a trip down to Devon to run with former European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey, she took us through a track session but also for a run along the clifftops near her home. It was frankly stunning, so we jumped at the chance to share Pavey’s favourite coastal runs.

If you’re heading to that part of the country for any reason, pack a pair of trail running shoes and give one (or all) of these routes a try. You won’t regret it, and who knows? You may end up bumping into Pavey. If you do, make sure to say hello – she’s as down-to-earth and friendly as elite athletes come.

Jo Pavey’s Five Favourite Coastal Runs In Devon

Near my home in east Devon is a large Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is crisscrossed by tracks. I’m also just a few miles inland from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the beautiful South West Coast Path (SWCP), a 630-mile-long path that stretches from Minehead in Somerset right the way around the south west peninsula to Poole Harbour in Dorset, with some fabulous sections for running. As a teenager I used to love running back and forth along sandy beaches, and I think this helped to start a lifelong love of coastal running. I’ve run hundreds of miles along the path over the past 30 or so years.

Here are five stand-out routes I have run in Devon, although it was very hard to keep the list so short – there are so many other nice sections. During these runs you’ll get to enjoy wonderful views of dramatic cliffs, pebble or sandy beaches and tumbling surf, while inland there’s rolling Devonshire farmland, woodland, and areas of upland heathland and moorland. Hillsides are dotted with farmsteads and nestled in the valleys are pretty little hamlets and villages.

The coast path has some rocky and very uneven sections, so you will need some decent trail running shoes with plenty of grip. But you’ll also be running along some level firm trails and even some short sections of country lanes, and because of this I prefer a more flexible trail running shoe – the Saucony Peregrine is my go-to. I hate stiff, rigid shoes and the Peregrine is one of the few shoes that feels at home on both the uneven rocky trails and paved paths.

Don’t be disappointed if the weather isn’t all blue skies. Although I love sunny days some of these coastal routes are amazing in the midst of winter with raging surf and bracing winds. It feels like the landscape really comes to life in poor weather. The sounds of the crashing surf and strong winds make you feel exposed to the full force of the elements and it’s invigorating.

You need to plan ahead carefully if you want to avoid out and back running – check bus times or arrange a drop-off and pick-up. A nice pub with an open fire is always a bonus! Make sure you take a camera and stop from time to time to enjoy the beautiful views. Remember, running isn’t just about trying to run fast!

Sidmouth To Beer (9 Miles/14.5km)

Photograph: James Carnegie

This is my local stretch of coastline and is one of the most spectacular areas of the Jurassic Coast. It’s also one of the more severe sections because the climbs are tough but the views are well worth the effort! You’ll need a good head for heights – the cliffs tower hundreds of feet above the pebble beaches below. My husband, Gav, and some of his friends run to Beer every year on their Run To Beer For Beer. It’s not an organised event, it’s just something he and his friends in our village do for a bit of fun.

You have the option to start your run on the esplanade in Sidmouth, which has a wonderful mix of Georgian and Regency buildings, and from there you have to run straight up the very steep Salcombe Hill to join the coast path. This is a lung-buster of a climb to tackle at the start of a run and so I normally drive and park opposite the Norman Lockyer Observatory. From here you head east along the coast path towards Beer.

There are options to follow inland paths and you can avoid some of the more extreme climbs but this takes away some of the fun! There is a bus that you can take back to Sidmouth, or alternatively you could take an inland route on your return. There are a network of inland paths and country lanes to choose from but without local knowledge, or a decent map or navigation app, you can quickly lose your way.

Hope Cove To Salcombe South Sands Beach (7 Miles/11km)

With its high cliffs towering above remote coves and some spectacular headlands, this is one of my favourite sections of coast path. Rugged rocky outcrops, bracken and heather give this area a wild feel, similar to the moors, especially when windswept in winter. The estuary at Salcombe is beautiful and if you fancy cooling off it has some sandy beaches – in fact there are places for a dip in the small coves if you need a rest during this run. Hope Cove gets pretty busy in the summer, but I’ve only run this in midwinter when it’s much easier to park and you have much of the path to yourself.

The start point is near the lifeboat station in Inner Hope, where you’ll see some steps that lead you up a steep climb to Bolt Tail. Follow the path and you’ll cross Bolberry Down and then on to Soar Mill Cove. This little beach is a great spot for a quick dip in the sea. From the beach, cross the small bridge and follow the signs for Bolt Head or Salcombe – along the way you might see a wild pony or two! Beyond Bolt Head you’ll eventually hit the road leading down to South Sands Beach. It’s an extra mile to Salcombe town centre.

Croyde To Woolacombe (5 Miles/8km)

We often visit north Devon as a family for beach trips or short camping breaks, and I’ll often make a beeline for the Baggy Point footpath. This area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its geological significance. You can run this as a circular loop and I add in the beach from Putsborough to Woolacombe, although you will have to time your run with an ebb or low tide to do this.

If you’re staying in Croyde you can start there, or park in the National Trust car park at the start of the path. Not far beyond the houses near the car park, you’ll come across some huge whale bones beside the path! The path starts out very moderately, but as you climb and head towards the spectacular Baggy Point it gets very narrow and steep, so be extra careful because it’s a long way down to the base of the cliffs! Out to sea, if it’s a clear day, you’ll see Lundy Island and the Welsh coastline. If you get very lucky, you might spot a grey seal below the cliffs .

During the run you’ll have the option to head down to the beach and run along it from Putsborough, or take the SWCP path through the dunes behind the beach. Another option is Marina Drive above the dunes which is a scenic place to park stretching along the hillside. If the tide is out I always take to the beach here! I normally run right at the water’s edge where the sand is firmer. A good plan is to run a loop using two of the above combinations.

See related 

• “One Of The Most Beautiful Trail Runs In All Of Britain”
• The Best Trail-Running Spots In The UK According To Run The Wild
• Trail Running For Beginners

Lynton To Combe Martin (14 Miles/22.5km)

Not only does Devon have two coastlines, but it also has two upland moorland national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor. Most of Exmoor lies in Somerset but the western side including a coastal strip is in Devon. The coast path from Lynton takes you through a spectacular mix of moorland and coastal scenery, and you’ll probably see Exmoor ponies along the way. I’ve included this run because I think the views over the Valley of the Rocks and Heddon’s Mouth are amazing.

It’s best to run this section of path then get a bus or lift back to your start point. Great Hangman, where Exmoor meets the sea, has far-reaching views over the Bristol Channel and is the highest sea cliff in England with a cliff face of 800ft [244m] and the actual summit is just over 1,000ft [305m] above the surf. Overall you will climb around 3,000ft [915m] during this run and it has some pretty steep climbs. Take care because there is a short section of road after Castle Rock, in the Valley of the Rocks, which can be a bit busy in the summer months.

Salcombe To Torcross (9 Miles/14.5km)

I’ve come back to Salcombe for this final run. For a long run you could combine this with the Hope Cove route, although the start point lies on the opposite side of the Salcombe estuary. I’ve included this section for those who really enjoy exposed clifftop running. Starting at the Salcombe estuary, you head east towards Torcross. The start point and the lighthouse are a highlight for me on this next section, which has dramatic views. Far below you’ll see lots of sandy coves. As with all the routes, there are lots of great country pubs in the area for post-run refuelling.

Buy the Peregrine 11 from Saucony | £115-£135

If you’re planning on heading to the UK’s coastline this summer, the last thing you’ll probably think of doing is brushing up on your survival skills. The hairest situation most people would expect to handle is facing down a chip thieving seagull, but it’s all too easy to get caught out by cold water – whether you planned on getting wet, fell in accidentally or took a spur of the moment decision to take the plunge.

That’s why the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is asking people to learn how to float in case you find yourself in trouble in the sea or other body of cold water. The RNLI are trying to reach men in particular, because 90% of the 115 people who died accidentally on the UK coast last year were men. If you’re about to brush off this advice because you’re the don’t feel the cold, wear shorts in winter type, let Ant Middleton, the type of man who steals chips from seagulls, set you straight.

The RNLI has a five step plan to use when you find yourself in danger in cold water. It’s especially important if you’ve dropped into the water unexpectedly, because suddenly hitting cold water can take your breath away and befuddle the senses, but the steps can also help you survive if you get yourself in a pickle while swimming, especially if you’ve been swept out to sea.

Here are the five steps, which are illustrated in detail on the Respect The Water website and also in the video below.

1. Fight your instinct to thrash around
2. Lean back, extend your arms and legs
3. If you need to, gently move your arms and legs to help you float
4. Float until you can control your breathing
5. Only then, call for help or swim to safety

It’s smart to practise this in a safe environment like a swimming pool rather than simply reading the above and hoping it sticks. It’ll take just a few minutes in your local pool to get to grips with floating and it could save your life.

Whether you’re jetting off to the other side of the world or spending a weekend in Bognor, you’re going to need to bring some clothes with you – it’s just not practical to wash your clothes every night, or even every other night. And unless you’re going to be trekking on foot through inhospitable areas, a suitcase rather than a backpack is your best bet for transporting your belongings safely and easily.

Ideally your suitcases will have a long lifespan, so it’s worth spending some time thinking about exactly what kind of travel you’ll be doing to get a model that will suit your needs. We’ve done a lot of that thinking for you – no need to thank us – with answers to some common questions and some top suitcase picks as well. All that’s left to say is bon voyage, don’t forget your toothbrush and send us a postcard.

Suitcase FAQs

What size suitcase do I need?

You’ll know whether you pack light or heavy, but the real question is what size can you use for carry-on if you’re flying? Unfortunately there’s no standard across all airlines. The best advice we can give is to check the size requirements of airlines you travel with regularly and make sure the suitcase you choose is compatible.

Is a hard shell or soft-sided suitcase better?

You may have once been warned you off hard-shell cases because the extra weight will eat into your baggage allowance. Thank them for their advice, then ignore them, because lighter materials are used these days. Otherwise, it’s down to how breakable and how valuable you think your possessions are. Both will protect the contents but a hard case will undoubtedly be better.

Are two or four wheels better?

Two-wheeled suitcases are easy to pull along behind you, but they can fall over easily when you let go of the handle. Four-wheelers are far sturdier when left unsupported, and they are generally easier to steer through tight aisles and crowds of people.

Does the interior matter?

When swiping through Tinder it’s important to remember that it’s what’s on the inside that counts – and the same applies to suitcases, particularly since what’s inside tends to vary greatly. Some suitcases come with inside pockets, while some can be separated into two or three sections. If your preferred suitcase lacks any organisation, you can always remedy that with a set of packing cubes, such as these affordable ones from Amazon.

The Best Suitcases To Buy

The four-wheeled S’Cure suitcase is an excellent choice for both portability and protection. A waterproof seal keeps the elements out, while three separate locks – one a combination lock for added security – ensures everything is kept in.

Inside, you’ll discover the S’Cure is packed with pockets, compartments and dividers to keep everything in order. At 4.1kg, it isn’t the most lightweight of suitcases, but the Flowlite outer material and aluminium handle help keep it the right side of unwieldy. If you want a case that will accompany you on many a trip over many a year, this will do the trick.

Buy on Amazon | £219 (currently reduced to £173)

Worried about your weight allowance? Or just fed up with heaving heavy luggage around? If so, this 2.2kg four-wheeled model should help lighten the load. At 74cm long, it offers a lot of interior space and comes with a comfortable pull-along handle that’s the full width of the case. It isn’t as sturdy as heavier cases, but you needn’t fret about durability thanks to the ten-year warranty.

Buy on Amazon | £59.95

See related 

• The Best Men’s Weekend Bags
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Essentially a duffel bag on wheels, the Rolling Transporter is one of the most versatile cases we’ve found. It’s especially well suited to travellers who don’t have the space to store a full-sized suitcase at home.

The Transporter is available in 40-litre, 90-litre and 120-litre models, and the design revolves around one huge compartment that’s accessible by a zippable flap which covers the entire top of the case. You’ll find smaller pockets on either side of the flap, too. It’s made of a tough, water-resistant fabric that’s also surprisingly flexible.

What we like most about this suitcase, though, is the way its extendable handle makes it so easy to move back and forth. The grab-handles make lifting it straightforward too, and the rigid base assures this two-wheeler will stand upright – plus it’s lightweight enough to be an excellent choice for almost any kind of traveller.

Buy on Amazon | From £128.57

Want something that will stand out? Choose the flame red, sunny yellow or gradient pink colourway. You won’t be sacrificing substance for style, though – this is a hard-shell case that’s astonishingly light, especially considering how rugged it feels.

The interior is split into two main sections, a zipped compartment and an open area with elastic straps. And even when stuffed to the gills, the four-wheel design makes it a dream to manoeuvre.

Buy on Amazon | From £82.32

Another duffel/suitcase hybrid, Samsonite’s X’Blade is smart enough to look the part if you’re travelling on business, but is also suitable for extended travel thanks to the whopping 150-litre capacity – significantly more than all other cases in our list.

Size aside, it’s also versatile, boasting several handles including a multi-stage telescopic wheel handle that you can adjust to suit your height. On the inside, the X’Blade is predictably roomy, with assorted pockets. They include a wet pocket, a show pocket and large zipped exterior pockets, which will help you keep your items in good order. Its frameless design also means that despite the gargantuan capacity, you can store it without it taking up too much space.

Buy on Amazon | £138.25

If you can’t make up your mind between a backpack and a suitcase, settle on this hybrid item of luggage. With wheels and a pull-up handle, it can be used as a pull-along suitcase, or whacked on your back once you release the hidden straps.

This two-in-one design isn’t without its drawbacks, the main one being the weight that comes with the handle and frame. At a hefty 4kg, if you anticipate carrying it on your shoulders a lot you might be better off with a bona fide backpack.

Buy on Amazon | £220 (black model currently reduced to £181.09 plus £16.25 delivery)

For too many visitors, a trip to Taiwan starts and ends in Taipei. While the capital is an extraordinary place that’s well worth spending some time in, there’s a lot more to enjoy in Taiwan.

Venture outside the city limits and you’ll find some remarkable natural parks, with attractions ranging from canyons to the mountains covered in misty forests in the centre of the country. There are 286 peaks over 3,000 metres on the island and five mountain ranges to explore.

After spending a whirlwind week exploring Taiwan, these are the eight activities I reckon should top any list when planning a visit.

8. Have a dram of Kavalan Whisky

In 2015 the Best Single Malt gong at the World Whiskies Awards didn’t go to a Scottish, Irish, American or Japanese brand, it went to Kavalan’s Vinho Barrique. That’s far from the only award the Taiwanese distillery has picked up in recent years – not bad at all considering it only released its first bottling in 2010.

Kavalan is based in Yilan County and you can visit the distillery for a tasting, but even if you can’t fit in the hour’s drive from Taipei, it’s worth trying a few of its many whisky variants wherever you are in Taiwan, not to mention grabbing a few bottles in duty free.

7. Marvel at Qingshui Cliff

If you’re driving around Taiwan then it’s worth stopping off on the trip south from Taipei or Yilan County to Taroko Gorge (highly recommended, as I’ll come to) in Hualien to take in the view of the Qingshui Cliff from the observation decks along the road. This towering coastal cliff drops dramatically into the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most scenic spots you’ll ever find just off a motorway.

6. See the city from Taipei 101

Every visit to Taiwan should include a few days in the bustling capital and no visit to Taipei is complete without a trip to the top of Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world (now the tenth). Take the speedy elevator to the observation platform for an unparalleled view of Taipei that’s only lacking 101 itself, and while you’re there it’s worth queuing to eat at the sensational dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fung in the shopping centre at the bottom of the building.

5. Drink some bubble tea

While you can get hold of bubble tea all over the world now, it’s still worth trying it in Taiwan where the drink was invented. There’s a flavour to suit everyone, as long as you’re keen on the chewy tapioca pearls that are the drink’s calling card. If you’re looking for authentic bubble tea from some of the first to serve it, there are two main contenders who both claim to be the birthplace of the drink – Chun Shui Tang Teahouse in Taichung and Hanlin Tea Room in Tainan. But perhaps the best place to try it is the nearest night market, more on which later.

4. Hike along Taroko Gorge

Taroko National Park is easily-accessed from Hualien city and running through it you’ll find the absolutely stunning 19km-long Taroko Gorge. A trail has been cut into one side of the canyon, which allows you to walk a 4.4km section (and then walk 4.4km back – never forget the return journey) and gaze at the amazing views of the Shakadang River, which is peppered with bluish-green pools.

3. Get up early and go running

It’s best to exercise early in Taiwan, because later in the day you’ll have to cope with heat, humidity and, if in a city, air pollution. Get up for the sunrise, however, and it’s a fantastic place to run, whether that’s in the massive sports park that even small towns seem to have – I stumbled across one with a running track, tennis and basketball courts, a rugby field and a baseball stadium opposite my hotel – or, if in Taipei, the long cycle tracks that line both sides of the rivers that flow through the city.

While I was in Taipei I took part in the inaugural Eva Air Marathon (actually a half marathon), the route of which mostly follows the cycle paths along side the Keelung River, making for a fantastically scenic city race.

See related

• The 11 Best Things To Do In Taipei, Ranked

2. Stuff your face in a night market

It’s never wise to eat too much at dinner in Taiwan, because some of the tastiest food you’ll come across on your trip will be in the many night markets that can be found in every town and city. The smell of stinky tofu (that’s its proper name, we’re not being rude) – worth trying at least once, but certainly not to everyone’s taste – plus the massive crowds of people will lead you to the nearest night market, where you’ll find a huge variety of foods, drinks, fairground games and much, much more.

Along with stinky tofu, other treats worth trying include a steamed bun typically filled with pork called gua bao, a small sausage in a large “sausage” made from sticky rice so it looks a bit like a hot dog, and deep-fried popcorn chicken. It’s not just about food either, with a variety of drinks available to wash down your quick bites. Be wary of the amount of sugar in some of these, though – there will be several levels to choose from and the standard option is a lot of sugar, which isn’t always conducive to getting to sleep once you leave the night market.

1. Get lost in the mist in Taipingshan’s forests

Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area is a few hours’ drive south of Taipei and the most scenic spot I visited in Taiwan. Travelling from Taipei to the area involves climbing quickly to an elevation of around 2,000m, which would offer splendid views if it wasn’t for the mists that roll into the mountain forests most days. However, these create a remarkable, almost eerie atmosphere along the several trails you can walk around Taipingshan, including one along the old logging railway line complete with moss-covered tracks and bridges.

You can also jump aboard the Bong Bong train while you’re there, which runs along a short section of the old logging route, and other attractions include the Jioujhihze hot spring, an ideal spot for relaxing after a day exploring the forests. That said, none of the hiking is too arduous, with most of the designated trails just a few kilometres long, so plan to take in two or three during your trip. My favourite was the Chinese Hemlock Forest Nature Trail, which climbs through the forest to a viewing platform at almost 2,200m looking out over a sea of clouds.

EVA Air flies to Taipei from London Heathrow via Bangkok daily. Economy return fares from £533, premium economy return fares from £1,051, Royal Laurel return fares from £2,331. evaair.com

Visit the Taiwan Tourism Bureau online for help preparing an itinerary

With its incredible versatility, the Honda HR-V offers a remarkable amount of interior space, making it the practical choice if you’re carrying bulky loads.

Like most other cars, the rear seats can split and fold. But the clever Magic Seats system allows the seat bases to flip up, allowing tall or odd-shaped items to be carried with ease...

For more information, visit honda.co.uk

When you first step out onto the streets of Taipei it can be an overwhelming experience, especially at night. The city is incredibly busy and bustling crowds, neon signs and the smell of stinky tofu assaults the senses (it’s actually called stinky tofu, we’re not savaging their cuisine). You never really get used to it when visiting.

However, I found that busyness only added to the excitement of being in a city so far removed from my own, and over a few tremendously enjoyable in days in Taipei I tried to see and do as much as possible. Here’s a countdown of my favourite things to do in and around Taiwan’s capital.

11. Visit Longshan Temple

Crowds of worshippers gather to pray to over 100 different gods and goddesses at the remarkable Longshan Temple, which is found in the historic Wanhua district of Taipei. Beautiful paintings and sculptures adorn the temple buildings, and offerings to the gods are piled high on every available surface. It’s a fascinating place to visit.

10. Enjoy the view from Elephant Mountain

For the best view of Taipei hike up Elephant Mountain, which is accessible on foot from the Taipei 101 tower, though you can also take a train right to the foot of the trail. Climbing up the stair-filled route takes around 20 minutes and the reward is a sensational view of the city with Taipei 101 in the foreground. If you go up in late afternoon you can watch the sun set over the city.

9. Strike gold in Jiufen

The charming mountain town of Jiufen is a short bus, train or taxi ride away from Taipei and well worth making time for. Jiufen was a gold-mining town during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan between 1895 and 1945, and its architecture reflects this Japanese influence. The setting of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away is often said to be based on Jiufen and although director Hayao Miyazaki has denied the link, the scenery of the town does bring to mind the classic anime.

8. Watch the changing of the guard at the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Found at one end of the massive Liberty Square in the centre of Taipei, the Memorial Hall contains a statue of Chiang Kai-shek, a military and political leader in the Republic of China who moved the government to Taipei in 1949 when the Communist Party founded the People's Republic of China on the mainland. Chiang’s legacy is a matter of debate, but he is one of the most important figures in the history of Taiwan. Time your visit on the hour to watch the changing of the guards at the Memorial Hall.

7. Cycle along the rivers

Cyclists are well catered for in Taipei with over 100km of cycle paths along the banks of the rivers that frame the city. The Tamsui and Keelung Rivers surround the centre of Taipei, and there are many riverside parks to cruise through on an extended ride that offers great views of the urban skyline. It’s best to get up early to do this though, because the heat and humidity can be fierce.

6. Release a sky lantern in Shifen

Shifen is another former gold-mining town just outside Taipei that you can combine with a visit to Jiufen for a day trip. Along with a stunning waterfall, Shifen’s main attraction is sky lanterns, which are set off from the train tracks in the town. Write your hopes and wishes on the lantern, or just something inspirational you saw on Instagram, and then let it fly.

5. Go shopping in Dihua street

Found in the Datong district of Taipei, Dihua Street is one of the oldest in the city, and one of the most exciting to walk down. Shops selling local products crowd both sides of the street, with tea, medicinal herbs, incense and an incredible variety of dried food, including sea creatures and seemingly every mushroom in existence, available. You’ll also find plenty of street performers on Dihua Street. The quality of these varies, as you’d expect, but a very talented string quintet of young children brightened up my visit immeasurably.

See related

• The Eight Best Things To Do In Taiwan, Ranked
• The Best Running Holidays In The UK And Abroad
• The Nine Best Things To Do In The Maldives, Ranked

4. Eat dumplings

If you can, eat dumplings at Din Tai Fung, which has several restaurants in Taipei including one at the base of Taipei 101 – just look for the big queue. Din Tai Fung specialises in xiao long bao, soup dumplings that contain broth along with filling. Scaldingly hot broth, so don’t dive in as soon as the dumplings arrive at your table. Instead, hold the dumpling on a spoon after dipping it in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and ginger, then let the broth cool a little before consuming. The dumplings are excellent and you can watch them being made through the glass walls of the kitchen. The chefs make thousands of dumplings by hand each day, with each one folded 18 times to create the twirl at the top.

3. Hit the heights at Taipei 101

The tallest building in the world when it was completed in 2004, Taipei 101 has since dropped to tenth spot in the rankings, but when you take the lift to the top it I can confirm it still feels mighty high. That lift was once the fastest in the world, travelling at 60.6km/h, though like the tower it climbs it has been superseded by the lift in the Shanghai Tower. There are indoor and outdoor observatories near the top of the tower, both of which provide glorious views of Taipei that only lack Taipei 101 itself. I recommend heading up after the sun sets to see the city at night.

2. Stay up late at a night market

Unless you’re chowing down at Din Tai Fung, I recommend going pretty light on dinner and saving some room for the abundance of tasty snacks on offer at Taipei’s many night markets. These are found all over the city – just follow the sights, sounds and smells until you find one. You’ll discover a fantastic range of snacks – although I’m not including the omnipresent stinky tofu in that fantastic tag – drinks, including the always exciting bubble tea, and fairground games to try your luck on. Forget bars and clubs, this is where you want to go when the sun goes down.

1. Run the EVA Air Marathon

The main reason I travelled to Taipei was to take part in the inaugural EVA Air Marathon, which is not actually a marathon – in parts of Asia the word is used loosely to describe long races. The event has a half marathon, a 10K and a 3km, all of which start very early indeed to avoid the worst of the heat. Along with 5,000 other people I ran the half marathon, which started in the dark at 5.30am. This made the early kilometres of the race in the city centre pretty eerie, with normally bustling streets almost entirely deserted.

After seven kilometres or so the race hits the Keelung River and sticks to the banks until the finish, making for a very scenic run that offers grand vistas of the city and, owing to the early start, a view of the sunrise over some distant mountains. It’s a terrific event and set to return in 2019, though sign-up details are yet to be released. It’s also timed perfectly during autumn in Taiwan, when it isn’t stiflingly hot and there’s little rain.

EVA Air flies to Taipei from London Heathrow via Bangkok daily. Economy return fares from £533, premium economy return fares from £1,051, Royal Laurel return fares from £2,331. evaair.com

Visit the Taiwan Tourism Bureau online for help preparing an itinerary

Recent research on Brits’ holiday habits has found that more than a third (37%) are planning a winter getaway in 2018. Whether it’s skiing or snowboarding in the Alps or catching the winter sun by cycling the Côte D’Azur, there’s plenty of scope for those seeking an active holiday in the run-up to Christmas. Getting there by car isn’t just a cost-effective option, it’s also a great way to take in Europe’s beautiful scenery. But finding the right vehicle to reach your destination is key, particularly if you and your travel partner need room to bring along bulky winter sports gear.

This is where the Honda HR-V comes into play. The crossover is attractively designed without being too ostentatious, and with a spacious interior and plenty of boot space, it’s a pleasing mix of style and practicality. For those eager to hit the slopes this winter season, the HR-V really excels thanks to its adaptability carrying luggage and equipment.

The car’s Magic Seat system is the true ace up its sleeve, offering various ways to reconfigure the interior space to suit your needs. For instance, by collapsing down the back seats the already-ample boot space is vastly increased, giving plenty of room to pack in everything you’ll need for an active winter holiday. The low boot lip also means getting awkward or bulky kit in and out of the car is straightforward.

There’s plenty more that can be done to transform the interior, giving you the flexibility to carry items with you as you explore the holiday destination. Flip the rear seat bases up and lock them into place against the headrests and you’ve created a flat floor space between the boot and front seats. That’s perfect for storing everything from skiing equipment to snowboards and bikes – and with the gear stowed in the back, it’s much easier to just open the back doors, take everything out then head straight to the piste.

The Magic Seat system even boasts a ‘long mode’: fold away the passenger and back seats and you can accommodate items that are up to 2.4 metres long. So, for those with more ambitious winter season plans, there’s enough room to slide in a surfboard or kayak.

The in-car tech is impressive, too. Heated seats mean you’ll always be driving in comfort, the Garmin sat nav provides pinpoint guidance and the Honda CONNECT in-car audio and information system has a range of features to accompany the holiday drive. The latter’s touchscreen can be paired up with a smartphone to browse the latest news, sports and weather apps – and you can stay in touch with friends and family back home through the handsfree system. Plus, there’s the option to stream music or listen to your favourite podcasts or audiobooks along the way.

When it comes to comfort, practicality and technology, the Honda HR-V is a versatile blend of all three. If you’re looking for a reliable, flexible vehicle for your next winter sports holiday, this crossover has you covered.

For more information, visit honda.co.uk

The level of desired activity an active holiday involves varies from person to person. For some people an active holiday needs to involve several hours of heavy sweating every day, while others are looking for an altogether easier affair, with spells on the beach, at historic attractions or in restaurants broken up by leisurely sporting pursuits that are all about enjoyment.

Whether you fall into one of those categories or somewhere in between, we have a terrific European holiday suggestion for you. Scroll down and you’ll find some of the best active holidays the continent has to offer. And if you’re looking for something closer to home, then check out our round-up of the UK’s finest active breaks.

Take The Ultimate Sledding Trip

A team of huskies pull you across the snowy tundra and frozen lakes of Swedish Lapland while you gaze up at the Northern Lights. How does that sound for a winter holiday? Pretty damn good, we think you’ll agree. While the huskies do take on the bulk of the work, dog-sledding is quite a physically demanding activity, but you don’t need any prior experience of it to take an eight-day trip with Nature Travels, which will teach you everything you need to know to get by.

Book with Nature Travels | From £1,432pp

Go Climbing In The Frankenjura

Located in northern Bavaria, the limestone area of the Frankenjura offers some of the best climbing in Europe, with all levels of experience accommodated for by the vast area of crags to clamber up. Hire a car so you have easy access to both the best climbing spots and the array of small village pubs serving up superb local beers. Best to sample those after climbing, not before.

Canoe The Sella River

The Sella River runs through Asturias in northwest Spain and if you have even a passing interest in canoeing you might well have known that already, because it’s one of the sport’s hotspots. The International Descent of the Sella River is an annual canoe competition that has run on the first Saturday of August since 1930, and you can join the hordes of paddlers taking on a 20km stretch of the river then, or head to Asturias another time and enjoy the river without the crowds.

Cycle Along The Loire

Cycling in France is hardly a novel suggestion, but it’s fair to say that not even the pros who power through the Tour de France every year have managed to sample all the delights that the country has to offer those on two wheels. BSpoke puts on an incredible variety of tours around France, and its Rivers of the Loire eight-day trip stands out as an ideal blend of cycling, sightseeing and wine-tasting. You ride 25-50km a day (apart from a climactic 63km on the final day) along scenic country roads, which allows plenty of time for other activities like visiting historic chateaux and sampling the produce of famous wine-making areas like Chinon and Saumur.

Book with BSpoke | Tour and flights from £1,495

Hike The Via Dinarica Trail

Long-distance trekking in Europe doesn’t get better than this route, which runs for 2,000km through the Dinaric Alps in the Balkans, passing through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania along the way. Until employers offer a very generous amount of annual leave, most people won’t hike the whole shebang in one go, so the big decision you’ll need to make is which stretch of the trail to sample. One of the most popular sections runs from Sutjeska National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Durmitor National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Montenegro. Along the way you’ll have the chance to summit Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest peak – the 2,386m Maglić – and raft in Tara Canyon, which is the deepest in Europe.

See related 

• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK
• Four Great Cycling Trips To Take By Ferry

Go Wild In Crete

Wildfitness puts on seven-day breaks that are designed to put you back in touch with nature, as well as allowing you to sample local cuisine and explore the area under your own steam. It’s a great way for city-dwellers in particular to clear their head and the active parts of the trips show off the best of the countryside. There are several locations to choose from but our pick is the Crete trip, set in Milia in the mountains on the west of the Greek island, which offers the chance to trek up and down peaks, clamber around gorges and swim in turquoise seas. And when you’re not out exploring there are cookery workshops using fresh ingredients so you can master some Mediterranean dishes to make when back in Blighty.

Book with Wild Fitness | Seven nights, shared £1,575pp, single £2,500pp

Horse Riding In The Dolomites

Share the load of your activity with a trusty steed by signing up for a couple of weeks of horse riding in the stunning Dolomites mountain range in northern Italy. There are plenty of farms and stables where you can find a gee-gee fit to carry you and your gear around the spiky terrain, and the stables themselves regularly put on events and other activities you can try when you start a feel a little saddle-sore.

If you’ve booked a trip to the Maldives the chances are your plan A is to kick back and relax on the beach. And that is a good plan, no arguments on that front. However, there are a whole lot of other things you can do in an island paradise, and filling your days with watersports and animal-based excursions will make a trip to the Maldives even more rewarding.

I spent a week at Coco Palm’s stunning Dhuni Kolhu resort, where you can try a wealth of different activities. Doing pretty much any activity in the Maldives is a great experience, because you’re on a tropical island for goodness’ sake, but below you’ll find the sports, trips and experiences you absolutely should not miss out on doing.

One thing you don’t find is diving. That’s because diving is an activity that tends to dominate a trip with courses and full-day excursions. I’m certain diving in the Maldives is a truly superb experience, but all the activities below are picked to fit into a regular holiday schedule, so you can spend a couple of hours trying them before returning to the beach.

9. Find An Even More Deserted Island

One of the great delights of being in the Maldives is the sense that you are truly getting away from it all, and the half-hour seaplane trip from Male to Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu (pictured) only enhanced this on my trip. Once on these islands there are only a couple of hundred people there with you, but if you want an even more private experience, you can jump on a speedboard over to the completely deserted Embudhoo Island for a drink at sunset or an overnight stay in the only hut on the island.

8. Catch Fish, If You Can

For the record, I could not. Even as our guide reeled in fish after fish, the bait on the end of my hand-line was studiously ignored. On the odd occasion I thought for a second I had caught a whale, but my hook had actually snagged on some coral. However, even if you don’t manage to catch any fish, a trip out to try is an excellent way to spend an evening, because being on a boat gives an even better view of the sunset than you get from the island. And if you do get lucky and reel in a monster, the chefs at Coco Palm will cook it up for you to enjoy the next day.

7. Relax In A Kayak

I’m going to call this a must for couples on a romantic break. Jump in a two-person kayak and slowly make your way around the island, kicking back at frequent intervals to catch some rays and stick your head in the water to see what exotic animals are swimming around beneath you.

6. Eat Fish, Eat All Of The Fish

The yellowfin tuna is the national animal of the Maldives, which hopefully means they have a lot of them, because I ate so much I may have depleted their stocks. It’s not just tuna either, with all manner of reef fish and other delicious fruits of the sea to enjoy, cooked in every manner you can imagine – chowing down on barbecued lobster and calamari on the beach under a star-filled sky was a particular highlight. Even if fish isn’t your thing, make sure you try a coconut tuna curry, which is a local staple and an absolute delight.

5. Try Windsurfing

I was apprehensive ahead of my first attempt at windsurfing, which looked quite complicated with its surfboard and sail set-up, but it’s actually one of the simpler watersports to get to grips with in a short time. It’s also tremendous fun and, once you have got the hang of it a little, really quite a relaxing way to pootle across the water. That’s in low winds, of course. When the wind does get up, it’s an altogether more adrenaline-filled pursuit, and you can skip across the waves at speed if you have the skill required.

4. See Dolphins

Dolphins are normally the highlight of any aquatic animal excursion, but in the Maldives there are also turtles, which I like more (see below). I’ll also admit my opinion on this front might be coloured slightly by the fact that my dolphin trip was cancelled owing to poor weather. But, still, dolphins are immense. Get up bright and early and you’ll be treated to a spectacular sea sunrise as you go hunting for the aquatic mammals, with both bottlenose and spinner varieties found in the waters of the Baa Atoll.

3. Fly Over The Waves On A Wakeboard

Well, you can if you’re a more accomplished board-rider than me, which isn’t difficult. Wakeboarding, which is like waterskiing but on a board you’re strapped into, is quite tricky for newbies who don’t surf or snowboard, but over the course of my first half-hour learning the sport I did manage to stand up a couple of times for a few seconds – and and those seconds were exhilarating. The technique isn’t too tricky to learn, so give it a couple of lessons and even the most incompetent of boarders – I promise you – will get the hang of it.

See related 

• Videos Of Four Epic Adventure Holidays That’ll Give You Itchy Feet
• The Best Active Holidays In Europe
• Ten Epic Adventure Holidays In Chile

2. Go Turtle Crazy

Did you know turtles can get fat? Neck rolls and everything. That’s just one of the turtle facts I learned from the vet at Coco Palm’s turtle rescue centre, which provides a temporary home for injured and ill turtles before they are hopefully released back into the ocean. Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu is also a regular nesting site for turtles, with some almost unbearably cute wee ones hatching and making their way to the ocean during our stay. Several types of turtle frequent the reefs around the island so you can see them while snorkelling and diving, which is an awe-inspiring experience.

1. Snorkel, Snorkel, Snorkel

Dip your head beneath the waves and you’ll find a whole world waiting for you. The coral reefs around the Maldives are teeming with life, and it definitely seems like most of it is brightly coloured – even large clams have beautiful patterns on display. At Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu you can see an array of spectacular fish and coral on the house reef, and even the occasional turtle, ray and shark, but you can also go out with a marine biologist to explore more abundant reefs, and this was the highlight of the entire trip. Not only did we see a turtle and a huge variety of fantastic fish, we learned all about those animals and indeed the impressive coral itself from an expert while swimming around them. Unbeatable.

Seven nights from £1,949 per person in a Beach Villa on a half board basis or £2,399 per person on all-inclusive basis at Coco Dhuni Kolhu with Turquoise Holidays (01494 678 400, turquoiseholidays.co.uk), including return flights with Emirates via Dubai from London Heathrow to Maldives and return seaplane transfers.

Whether you live in a city or the countryside, it’s unlikely you think of Great Britain’s landscape as truly remote, rugged and dangerous. But that’s probably because you’ve never been properly introduced, or have forgotten about, the Scottish Highlands, and that area’s mountains in particular. The peaks over 3,000ft (914m) are called Munros after Sir Hugh Munro who catalogued and published a list of them in 1891. Ten years later, someone (not Munro, sadly) had climbed them all, setting a lofty goal taken up by an ever increasing number of people to “bag” them all.

It’s no easy feat – there are currently 282 on the list (there have been a few substitutions and additions over time due to more accurate measuring) – and a fair few require ropes and the requisite technical skill to reach the summit. But there are plenty of more accessible ones, in the words of Mountaineering Scotland’s Heather Morning who was helping Merrell promote its MQM Flex shoes, “roly poly grassy Munros” which still offer an experience the likes of which you’ll struggle to find elsewhere in Britain.

“It’s a really special place to be,” says Morning, “getting away from civilisation into remote wilderness areas, the beautiful views, the fresh air. There’s no doubt some of the best days of my life have been spent with good friends sharing those mountain experiences – the sense of fulfilment when you get to the top of the mountain after working hard for that over several hours.

“We live in a very sanitised world where people want immediate rewards for a minimum amount of effort put in and I don’t think anything is more of a contrast to that. You’re in an environment where you have to make your own decisions and those decisions might have very real consequences.”

Ah yes, consequences. Bagging Munros, even the wee-est one, is no walk in the park, so we asked Morning for advice on tackling Munros for the first time to help you have an adventure on these shores. Hot tip: September’s a good time to aim for when planning your first expedition.

Do A Bit Of Hill Walking First

Sure, you may have some impressive numbers in the weights room or a parkrun PB you’re proud of, but Munros require a different kind of exertion. “On an average Munro day you’ll probably be out for six to eight hours,” says Morning. “It’s not like going for a half-hour gym session – it’s a more sustained level of effort at a lower heart rate.

“You need to have a progressive approach so it’s a good idea to build it up gradually. Do some lower, easier hills first, before you start heading up something that’s more physically and technically demanding.”

Learn How To Read A Map

It’s not advisable to rely on the map app on your phone. Trust us when we say you don’t see people on a mountainside turning this way and that trying to move the direction of the blue dot on the screen.

In part, being able to navigate your way around is essential because of how the UK marks trails, or to be more precise, doesn’t. “We’ve very much developed a culture in the UK of only ever having signposts at the road’s heads – and not necessarily that either,” explains Morning. “But once you’re on the hill you’re on your own, making your own decisions with regards to which way to go.” Although we should say that you won’t necessarily be blazing a trail. “Most Munros will have a pretty well-worn track because it’s such a popular activity and some of the paths are constructed to mitigate against erosion.” Morning recommends following the recommended route in the WalkHighlands guide if you’re just starting out.

The other part of learning to navigate is somewhat more serious. “Twenty-five percent of fatalities here in the hills are the direct result of a navigation error,” cautions Morning. “We often advise people to do a one-day navigation course before they start heading into the bigger hills so they’ve got a heads-up on how to find their way about, particularly if the weather turns bad.” You’ll find courses and plenty more essential information on Mountaineering Scotland’s Safety and Skills section of its website.

Check The Weather Forecast

Morning tipped us off to the Mountain Weather Information Service, which gives specific weather for the Munro tops.

Pack Well

“There’s a comprehensive kit list on our website,” says Morning. “It varies from winter to summer, but some basics for summer would be a pair of walking boots, clothing that dries easily, so not cotton clothing, a set of waterproofs, fleece layers, hat and gloves even if we’re in a heat wave, and obviously a rucksack to put that in. Then also food and drink, and a map and compass – and knowing how to actually use that map and compass to be able to navigate safely.”

See related 

• Walking Holidays In The UK And Abroad
• The UK’s Best Adventure Races Of 2021
• The Best Places In The World To Cycle Include Scotland

Plan To Go During The “Shoulder Seasons”

In the summer months you will have to contend with midges. “They’re just annoying wee beasties that bite you, particularly if it’s still and damp,” explains Morning. “But if you’re moving then you’re usually faster than they are.”

And if you’re new to mountaineering it’s obviously advisable to avoid the colder months. “In winter, obviously, there’s snow on the ground so you need some technical skills and equipment like an ice axe and crampons, and know what to do with them.”

Morning, then recommends bagging in “May and September when it’s a bit cooler and you’re not going to have a midge factor to contend with.”

Expect Ticks

Morning explained that ticks are an increasing problem in the Highlands. “They’re sheep or deer ticks – little bugs on vegetation that latch on and start sucking your blood. They can transmit a really serious disease called Lyme disease. It’s worth people being aware that they exist and know how to check themselves. I have several a week latched on to me that I pull off.” The good ol’ NHS has a guide to Lyme disease, including how to safely remove a tick.

Merrell UK are proud to support Munro Bagging in association with the MQM collection

Alastair Humphreys is a man who knows about adventures both large and small. Early in his career, he went big: witness his four years cycling around the world, his walk across southern India, his six marathons through the Sahara and his Atlantic Ocean row. Recently, though, he’s been going local: he pioneered the art of “micro-adventures” and wrote a book aimed at convincing everyone else to fit more adventure into their lives. In his most recent project, he made his way across Spain busking on the violin – no easy feat, considering he only learned to play it three months before setting off…

What’s the adventure you’re most proud of?

I’m really proud of my first adventure, not just because cycling around the world was the biggest thing I’ve ever done, but because doing something for the first time is so hard. Your friends think you’re an idiot, your family disapprove, you have no skills, no experience, no reason to believe you can achieve the goal. So it is crazy, difficult, scary, but also exciting. I look back at the young version of me and am surprised, grateful and proud that I summoned up the balls to try something new, something so difficult.

The biggest physical challenge you’ve faced?

I spent five years training for an expedition to the South Pole. Sadly I had to withdraw from the expedition so I never made it to the Pole. But this was my first experience of physically training hard for an expedition. I joined the gym for the first time. I learned to do deadlifts and all that good stuff. I even came to enjoy deadlifts! So that was an exciting new physical challenge.

In terms of an actual expedition, pulling a 350kg cart across the desert with my friend Leon was tough. Rowing across the Atlantic Ocean was a grind: two hours row, two hours rest, two hours row, two hours rest, 24 hours a day seven days a week for 45 days. Then the Sahara marathon is a different sort of physical struggle again, running 150 miles through the Sahara in a week: hard, yes, but short and therefore more mentally manageable.

What’s the most dangerous situation you’ve found yourself in – and how did you get out of it?

I try to avoid dangerous situations. I like being alive. I am not a daredevil. The dangers I have encountered are usually my own fault, and usually down to arrogance, hubris or trying to look good on camera. All very stupid reasons to die! An example would be when I crossed Iceland unsupported by foot and by inflatable packraft. I tried to paddle a stretch of river that was much too difficult. Why did I do it? I remember thinking to myself “this will look good on camera”. And off I went. I flipped, I nearly drowned, I scared myself. I learned an important lesson. And, as my punishment, I realised I had forgotten to press record on the camera! What an idiot.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about yourself?

I have learned that I am more stubborn and more persistent than I thought I was. But expeditions force you to be honest with yourself. So I have also learned that I am lazy and not nearly as tough and strong as I used to think I was. That is depressing to realise, but it’s good to realise too. Expeditions are all about learning skills – but learning about yourself too, and mine have given me confidence and momentum that are useful in the real world. Sport, training, expeditions, music, drama: these things that you do all help with the mundane realities of normal life.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about the world while enjoying adventures?

I could talk for ages about this, but I’ll keep it to two things. One: the world is still wild, beautiful and extraordinarily varied, but that is being depleted at a tragic rate. Two: most people in the world are good, kind people. Don’t take the politicians and leaders of a country as examples. Travel around a country slowly, preferably by bicycle, and you will learn that people have so much in common wherever you go. That’s a good thing to learn out on the road.

See related

• Dave Cornthwaite Wants You To Say Yes To Adventure
• What Ultra-Explorer Ben Saunders Has Learned About The World
• The UK’s Best Adventure Races Of 2021

What’s your next big challenge?

The South Pole is unfinished business for me, but I am self-aware enough to realise that some of my youthful determination has faded – I’m not sure my heart would be in a four-month masochistic slog any more! The challenges I like these days are more creative – trying to learn to write good books and to make good films. Last summer I busked across Spain with a violin, despite not being able to play it very well. It was an exercise in frugality, vulnerability and scaring myself. It was brilliant. I am currently trying to write a book and make a film about that adventure.

What advice have you got for an average guy who wants to inject some adventure into his life?

South Pole expeditions or cycling around the world can put people off the idea of adventure, because they think it is something they can never do. That is why I began promoting my idea of “micro-adventures” – short, local adventures that anyone can do. So I would urge anyone who thinks they don’t have time for an adventure to imagine what they could do in one weekend. How far could you cycle? How far could you run? Could you cycle to the next county, sleep by a river, swim in the ocean, and cycle home again by Sunday evening? That would give you a great story to tell at work and could inspire you to do more. Adventures can be short: the most important thing is just to go.

For more about Alastair Humphreys visit alastairhumphreys.com.

Here at Coach we get told about an awful lot of brand stunts, and by that we mean told about a lot of awful stunts we wouldn’t waste your time with. But every now and again something comes along that grabs our attention in a good way, and our hats are firmly off to Vollebak right now.

The high-end adventure gear brand has produced some attention-grabbing clothing in the past, including a Kevlar hoodie designed to last 100 years and all-black high-vis clothing. Its latest caper, though, is not about selling clothes but giving them away, because one very intrepid person is going to get free Vollebak garb for life.

In order to claim the prize, however, you’ll need to find Vollebak’s Extreme Discount Card, a chunk of wood about the size of a wallet which has been buried somewhere in the world. And given who Vollebak asked to bury the card – adventurers Jason Fox and Aldo Kane – you can be sure it’s not going to be hidden down the back of the sofa. In fact, the card was buried 18 months ago and no-one has come across it since, so you’re definitely not going to just stumble across it on your morning stroll. You need to get out there and hunt it down.

Vollebak has provided a clue to make that hunt a little easier, which is a five-minute film shot from the card’s perspective as Fox and Kane took it to its hiding place. The good news is the film contains all the hints you need to find the card. The bad news is that *spoilers* it appears to be under water.

Find the card and you get free Vollebak gear for life. And not just a T-shirt here and there – the winner will get one of everything Vollebak makes.

"It’s like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, only better. Instead of heart attack-inducing amounts of chocolate, you’ll win enough gear to break your closet,” says Vollebak co-founder Nick Tidball.

It’s a grand prize, and one that might make you consider cheating and trying to create a copy of the card, but good luck with that – it took master craftsman Saena Ku three months to carve it out of Bocote Rosewood, and the wood’s swirling grain is as unique as a fingerprint.

Happy hunting!

After quitting his job as a graphic designer and heading out for a trip across Australia on a longboard back in 2005, Dave Cornthwaite came up with the Expedition1000: a plan to take on 25 journeys around the world, each using a different form of non-motorised transport – and with a minimum distance of 1,000 miles. So far he’s completed 12, including a traverse of the Mississippi River on a stand-up paddleboard, a 1,001-mile swim down the Missouri River and more than 3,000 miles of sailing across the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, he’s written three best-selling books, delivered hundreds of lectures, and created life-enhancing brand SayYesMore. And he’s still got 13,000 miles to go…

What’s the adventure you’re most proud of?

I’ve never been asked this! I guess I never really considered pride as a factor, but I look back fondly at skateboarding across Australia – that was five months of solid work which totally changed my life. Paddleboarding the Mississippi was a lot of fun. I’m currently water-biking the Norwegian coastline and maybe this one, when finished, will be my proudest moment. It’s lovely combination of tough and magical.

The biggest physical challenge you’ve faced?

Swimming the Missouri, hands down. I didn’t swim so well when I started…

What was the most dangerous situation you’ve found yourself in?

There are two. The first, I was hit by a car south of Memphis and ended up 30 metres off the road. Luck got me out of that one. And on this trip around Norway, I’ve had moments where not coming home is a distinct possibility. It’s really important when you’re out at sea by yourself that you don’t panic, and in two-metre swells with an offshore wind, waiting is not an option. You just have to keep moving and do everything you can to get back to land.

What would you say is the biggest thing you’ve learned about yourself during your adventures?

Everything! I was clueless when I started. I guess with each adventure I’m still surprised what new challenges and situations there are. Slowly, I’m realising that I’m never really going to be an expert in anything, so maybe that’s it. I’ve been powered by ambition for so long, but now I realise that if that’s your drive you can never really be truly happy. So now I’m chilling out.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about the world during your adventures?

That people are good. I forget this when I’m in a big town and nobody talks to anyone or knows their neighbour. Then on every adventure, strangers take me into their homes in minutes. People are good and kind, and that’s global.

What’s the next big challenge you have your eye on?

Well, I’d like to survive this one before looking forward. But kitesurfing the east African coast has been on my mind, and I love the idea of putting on a monofin and swimming 1,000 miles underwater…

See related

• Make 2018 The Year You Go Kitesurfing
• The UK’s Best Adventure Races Of 2021
• The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK

What’s your advice to an average guy who wants to inject some adventure into their lives?

What the heck are you waiting for? It’s not a competition. Just make a decision and do something challenging that means you’ll bring home a good story.

Find out more about Cornthwaite’s drive to get people into adventuring at sayyesmore.com

Britain has some form with producing polar explorers – and of that impressive lineage, Ben Saunders is the current flag-bearer. The youngest man in history to reach the North Pole alone and on foot – he did it at 27 – he also led the first ever return journey to the South Pole via the route that Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott took in their attempts. As well as sheer grit, he owes much of his success to a brutal work ethic, using deadlifts, tyre flips and sled drags as well as more traditional training to build strength alongside endurance.

What’s the adventure you’re most proud of?

The Scott Expedition. Between October 2013 and February 2014 my team-mate Tarka L’Herpiniere and I made a 2,888km round-trip to the South Pole on foot. It was a 105-day journey, the longest ever polar journey on foot, and the first time that this journey – the same route that defeated Ernest Shackleton and killed Captain Scott and his team – has been completed.

And what was the toughest physical challenge you’ve faced?

See above! We were dragging 200kg each at the start of the expedition, and we covered 69 back-to-back marathons in the coldest, windiest, driest, highest-altitude continent on Earth.

What was the most dangerous situation you’ve found yourself in – and how did you get out of it?
We were attacked by a polar bear on my first major expedition, back in 2001. My companion on that trip, Pen Hadow, was carrying a Russian shotgun, which jammed five times before he was able to fire shots into the air to scare it away.

What would you say is the biggest thing you’ve learned about yourself during your adventures?

That I have an extraordinary capacity for endurance. I’m definitely not superhuman, however, and I have internal battles with laziness, self-doubt and procrastination like anyone else.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about the world?

The sheer scale of Antarctica was the thing that surprised me most. I’d been churning out this glib line about it in years of drumming up sponsorship – that it was nearly twice the size of Australia, or the same as China and India put together – but it was only after it took us three days to fly across it in October 2013, in order to reach the start point of our expedition, that it really sank in.

See related 

• How To Walk The Antarctic (Without Freezing To Death) With Ben Saunders
• Why Bodyweight Exercises Are The Best Prep For An Adventure

What’s your advice to an average guy who wants to inject some adventure into their lives?

Don’t overthink it! The hardest part of any adventure, or indeed of most training sessions, is getting out of the front door.

For more on Saunders, visit bensaunders.com

You’re just back from an abortive attempt to climb the North Face of the Eiger. What happened?

The Beast From The East happened! The plan was to attempt the North Face, but the weather absolutely hammered us. It was minus 35°C on the face itself with 50km/h winds, which took it to about minus 70°. We gave it a crack but had to move to some mountains further south and west, which weren’t being battered quite as much – but it was still pretty full on!

Do you think you’ll try again?

Yeah. There are few other places in Europe where you can feel so utterly dominated as when standing in front of the North Face of the Eiger. It’s a mile of steep or over-hanging rock, ice and snow, and remains one of the great mountaineering challenges. To be at the base and look up – well, any climber imagines what it must be like to climb. I’ve had that desire ever since I was a kid, and I’ll be back.

Age brings experience, but does that compensate for the loss of strength and fitness you had as a younger man?

It’s definitely getting harder! When I hit 40 [Steve is now 45] I really noticed my metabolism slow down and for the first time in my life I had to start watching what I eat. I’ve become vegetarian.

Did you find giving up meat difficult?

I had started cutting back on my protein intake before becoming vegetarian because I wanted to lose some muscle mass. Before, half of my calories came from protein sources but for the expeditions I have planned, I don’t need all that muscle. I need to be strong, but it’s more about power-to-weight ratio.

What do you do differently now that you didn’t do when younger that has helped you most?

My Eureka moment happened when I was training for the Marathon des Sables [in 2005]. I was struggling with joint problems and pain – until I discovered yoga. My mileage doubled and I’ve had no problems since. There are many types of yoga out there, so try out a few varieties and see what works for you.

What is the closest you’ve come to death?

Diving with crocodiles in Botswana. A big 5m male croc swam straight towards me through the swamp – it was like seeing a dinosaur come at you. It doesn’t matter how big and strong you are: if that croc strikes, it’s over. It’s true what they say – time slows down and your life flashes before your eyes. It was over very quickly – I think the croc was confused – but in that time thousands of thoughts go through your mind. I pushed it too far and I’ve not swum with crocs since.

You had a serious fall in 2008. How did that incident change your attitude or outlook?

I broke two bones in my back and shattered my ankle. I had 11 operations and it took me a long time to walk again. I think many young men have a tendency to feel invincible, but that was my moment when I realised I was mortal. It made me more thoughtful, and the risks I now take are always fully calculated.

What’s next on your challenge to-do list?

I have six different expeditions this year, including mountaineering, climbing, white-water rafting and cave diving, as well as two books to write, my Masters – and we [Steve is married to Olympic champion rower Helen Glover] are having twins. That’s going to be the biggest adventure yet!

How do you train for such a wide range of challenges?

I get my base level of cardio from cycling and kayaking, and I do a bodyweight exercises, which are critical for power, strength and balance. I work hard to maintain this baseline, then specialise in particular skills based on the next challenge.

See related 

• Why Bodyweight Exercises Are The Best Prep For An Adventure
• Why You Should Go Part-Time Vegetarian
• “Guys Who Do Weights Or Run – Yoga Changes Their Lives”

How do you unwind after a tough expedition?

I am terrible at relaxing! Instead I love going on long bike rides or treks where the only thing I think about is what I am doing in that moment. I find it cleansing – like meditation.

How do you stay so motivated?

People are passionate about things they love, and if I can play just a small part in making them love our planet and the animals with which we share it, then that’s all the motivation I need.

Steve Backshall Takes On The Ogre, which sees Backshall set out to climb the North Face of the Eiger, is available on BBC iPlayer

With hundreds of miles of rugged coastline and three National Parks that cover a fifth of the entire country, there are few better places to take an active holiday than Wales – whatever kind of trip you have in mind. Whether it’s blowing off steam with a group of friends, unwinding by yourself, or introducing your children to the wonders of the natural world, Wales delivers adventures of all kinds.

Here are seven amazing trips in Wales to consider.

Go Coasteering With Your Mates In Cardigan Bay

If you’re looking for an outdoor activity to tackle as group, there are few better options than coasteering, which involves roaming along the coast through a mix of scrambling, climbing, swimming and cliff jumping. The mid-Wales coastline is coasteering’s heartland and every trip you take will be different thanks to the changing conditions. A coasteering session with Cardigan Bay Active provides everything you want from an active holiday: you’ll explore untouched marine habitats, clamber along rocky reefs and hurl yourself into the sea from cliffs. That last one is optional, we promise.

Take The Kids Rock Pooling in Pembrokeshire

The coastline of Pembrokeshire is teeming with the kind of small and slightly slimy wildlife that delights kids and (some) adults alike. Set off on your own expedition, or book a rock pool safari with TYF Adventure for two glorious hours of investigating every nook and cranny for crabs, fish, shrimp and sea anemones.

Get Your Adrenaline Fix Riding The MTB Trails Of Snowdonia

Wales is a haven for mountain bike riders of all levels with plenty of great trails for beginners or families, but experienced riders with a hankering for a challenge should head for the Beics Brenin activity centre in Snowdonia’s Coed y Brenin forest. There are several black trails to try, including the 30km-long Beast and the MBR. The latter features the Cavity drop, which we defy anyone to ride down without shrieking with joy.

Take To The Water Around Anglesey For A Romantic Getaway

The island of Anglesey has over 200km of coastline to explore with plenty of secluded coves. Hire a pair of paddleboards or a two-person sea kayak and it won’t take long to find a secret stretch of beach you can have all to yourselves. And if you’ve never tried kayaking or stand-up paddleboarding before, a couple of lessons with B-Active@Rhoscolyn or Psyched Paddleboarding will avoid cold water ruining your hot date.

Strand Yourself On The Worm’s Head

If you’re looking to get away from the stresses and pressures of everyday life, embark on an expedition along the 1,400km-long Wales Coast Path and be sure to stop at the Worm’s Head headland near Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula. You can only get across to the headland during a 2½-hour period around low tide, so either make sure you get back sharpish or take it easy and enjoy the solitude while you wait for the tide to turn in your favour again. What better way to clear your head?

Cycle The Peaks Around Abergavenny

Gather your hardiest road riding companions and steel yourselves for some steep hill work. Abergavenny is a superb base for cyclists to explore south Wales and the Brecon Beacons National Park, and there are some truly epic climbs within a day’s ride. The most famous of them all is the Tumble on the northern side of Blorenge mountain, and if you fancy reaching the summit from another angle, ride the Tyla climb up the western side. Abergavenny Festival of Cycling, which takes place in July, features the 100-mile (161km) Iron Mountain race that includes climbing the Tumble and several other notorious ascents in the area. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

In the bleak British winter it can be hard to imagine summer’s return, but you can at least feel a little warmer right now by planning your summer adventures.

Keen surfers and wannabe wave riders alike now have the opportunity start next summer in the best possible way, thanks to the team behind the UK’s biggest international surf contest and festival, Newquay’s Boardmasters.

For the first time, Boardmasters is leaving the Cornish coast and heading for south-west France. The week-long Boardmasters Surf Camp (30th June to 7th July) in Moliets, just up the coast from Biarritz, promises all the chilled, good-times vibes of the original festival with group yoga and live music playing a big part, and also offers surfers of any ability the chance to ride the superior waves of the world-class beaches around the Landes region.

That’s not all. Not by a long stretch. After surfing, yoga and live music, there’s screenings at an outdoor cinema, evening skateboarding sessions, beach picnics, campfires, walks in the surrounding pine forest, cocktails in a tiki bar and more to fit into your simultaneously hectic but totally chilled-out schedule.

See related 

• The Full-Body Surfing Workout
• Why Urban Surfers Catch Better Waves
• Make 2018 The Year You Go Kitesurfing

On how the new camp came about, co-CEO of Boardmasters Andrew Topham said: “Over the years, thousands of our followers have discovered their love of surfing with their first lesson on Fistral Beach or Watergate Bay. And much as we encourage them to continually return to our Cornish home, throughout the winter months, we’re keen to give them another destination where they can enjoy our style of laid-back fun and great waves. We’ve merged all the best experiences of our Boardmasters beach festival into a special one-week stay, bringing all our surf, music and soul elements into the perfect getaway for those who want to start their summer with some serious fun and adventure.”

The week-long surf camp costs £349, which covers bell-tent accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner, group yoga sessions and live music. There are upgrade options too, including daily surfing lessons and boutique camping.

For all the details, visit boardmasterssurfcamps.com.

Earlier this year Guy Hacking, Tom Stancliffe and Rob Martineau, the founders of sports nutrition brand Tribe, completed a duathlon that began in Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and ended 2,000km later in London.

The challenge, which they dubbed Run For Love, was about more than just testing their physical endurance and mental toughness. It was created with the aim of raising awareness and money to help prevent human trafficking, a cause that gathered support not just in the form of donations but also in a community of amateur athletes who came together to take on their epic adventure. Here’s what the three men learned about fitness, pain and human spirit along the way.

The Training

The effort just to get to the start line must have been intense. What was the most challenging element of the training?

Rob Martineau From a training perspective, the biggest challenge is that it is day in, day out and there’s no real substitute for distance and getting miles in your legs. Certainly for three or four months leading up to the event we would be out every weekend for ten to 12 hours. The second thing is the strength and conditioning required. It was a question of balancing those long weekend sessions with targeted midweek strength sessions. Personally, I didn’t do enough on the strength and conditioning side.

Tom Stancliffe The key thing is building up slowly. That’s the training plan we followed. Where people go wrong is going from doing two five-mile runs back to back to doing two marathons back to back. You’ll find yourself coming in to work feeling it after a virtuous weekend’s training but you’ve run two marathons in a row and you’re feeling pretty whacked. It’s one thing to do that on race day but when you’ve got to go to work on a Monday morning every week having done 50 miles of running over the weekend, it’s pretty tiring.

Was speed important for any of your training sessions or was it all about distance?

Rob Martineau There’s a big difference between going for a sub three-hour marathon and training for something like this, where there’s much more value in time on your feet. You’re not worried about how fast you’re going.

It’s also a pretty raw adventure so you need to have a different state of mind to a marathon, where you show up, you have feed stations at regular intervals and then you get to the end and it’s all quite linear. With this, when you’re running up tracks in rural Bosnia, you need to have an adventurous spirit.

What would your usual training regime look like? How much of a step up was this challenge?

Tom Stancliffe I’ve always just loved running – I find it relaxing – so I do a lot of that normally. And since we’ve started Tribe we’ve worked hard to develop the community side of things so we do strength and conditioning groups, running groups and ride outs. So not hugely different – but a bit more of everything.

Did you all embrace the strength and conditioning side of training?

Rob Martineau I love long-distance running and I’ve never really had a problem with it. I’ll go out and do 40- or 50- or 60-mile runs and I love the freedom that gives me. That’s how I see running – as something that frees my mind.

But for the cycling side of training for this challenge, I found that I didn’t have enough time to train properly and that meant that by day seven on the bike [cycling from Zagreb to the North Downs in England, split over nine days averaging around 180km a day], my legs were gone. It’s often the boring stuff like glute strength that’s important. I go to the gym three times a week but it’s easy to not do anything for your lower body because you think, “I’m running and it doesn’t really matter what my legs look like”.

Tom Stancliffe I’ve done a bit and this challenge has allowed me to really come to understand the value of it. It’s only really in the past three or four years that strength and conditioning has become a serious part of running training. But you need to be disciplined, because there’s nothing I like more than putting my headphones in and just going out for a long run. Over a week of ultra-running you definitely see people’s bodies fall apart if they’re not in a strong shape. Going up and down Bosnian mountains is also very different to a running on flat concrete. Your weaknesses get found out quite quickly.

Guy Hacking It was really interesting to see, on the run, that the most muscular people were also often the people who had most trouble. Lifting crazy weights doesn’t really help you over a long distance. You get found out if you don’t have decent mobility and range of motion.

Did you train together leading up to the challenge?

Rob Martineau We trained a bit together but we’re in the office for 12 hours a day together, so we also did our own thing!

How would you describe each other’s training personalities?

Guy Hacking I get geeky about it. Tom just gets on with it. Tom will sometimes do double long runs in a day, which is something I’ve never done. Tom’s probably got the stubborn streak. And Rob has a mad streak in him… Halfway through the training he just went off and did a 70-mile run from London to Oxford. I’m miles away from being able to do anything like that.

Rob Martineau For me, I always like to combine training into my life. So for that run to Oxford I was running to my girlfriend’s house. I do a lot of running commuting to make it useful and, psychologically, I like the idea of getting from A to B.

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Tom Stancliffe There are a huge number of positives about this experience but one main one is that gives you an insight into professional athlete’s training, because you become quite obsessive and you’re constantly trying to find the energy. You’re always looking for the opportunity to train – all your energy and focus goes into one thing.

Did it take over your lives?

Tom Stancliffe Although I was probably slower off the blocks training-wise, certainly for three or four months we were training pretty hard. But also the project is something we all care about and it was so absorbing.

Looking back on the training, would you do anything differently?

Rob Martineau I’d have done more cycling… and more strength and conditioning work! Because if the glutes stop firing then your knees start bucking. So there’s a battle between how strong your capacity for pain is and how weak your body is getting. You hope you never cross that line.

Tom Stancliffe I’d say the same. Since I was 18 I’ve run five or six days a week so there’s a lot of understanding and experience there on the running side. I underestimated how much further ahead I was on the running compared with the cycling.

The Event

The challenge started with a 338km run from Sarajevo to Zagreb over six days

What were your emotions on the start line before you set off?

Rob Martineau It’s a mixture of excitement and frantic adrenaline. Bosnia is an amazing country but it’s also quite wild, especially near the boarder with Croatia. You’re also very aware that you’ve got about 60 runners who have come out to run the trails that you’ve plotted. We were worried about whether the support cars could access the route. It was going to be 38°C on the route, and I had to have a meeting to double-check the route with the landmine guy… There was just so much responsibility.

Guy Hacking You’re right at your limit. We had really high-quality athletes doing this but the drop-out rate was higher than the Marathon des Sables. So we were really testing our limits and there was a lot of apprehension. But if we’re brutally honest I don’t think we realised just how hard it was going to be until we were out there.

Tom Stancliffe I think people might have thought we were mad to both organise and take part in the event at the same time.

Did you ever think of sticking to the organisational side?

Tom Stancliffe We had quite a big role to play in rallying the troops and carrying a feeling of solidarity, and we thought we’d be best placed to do that if we were doing it ourselves.

Guy Hacking I think all of us had mentally put on the back burner that we were actually doing it ourselves. There was a sense that we were just travelling out there with a bunch of athletes, planning the route, going to see the ambassadors and all these things that were consuming us… you forget that you’ve got to run 35 miles [56km] a day in 38°C heat too. And then during the day we’d be taking it in turns to be the front man, be the back man, roaming in between. You are constantly thinking, “Is it going to be OK? Are people going to make it through the checkpoints?” So in a way, the organisational endeavour was as challenging as the physical one.

What did you struggle with most during the challenge?

Guy Hacking Three years ago we did a 1,000-mile run, which was 35 miles a day for a month. So we know we had it in us – it’s about getting yourself back into that headspace. When you start the run, it takes a couple of days to shift your perspective. It’s not normal to run with pain, for example. When you’re in pain you normally stop. But you have to suspend that and change your philosophy. Every day is going to hurt so you have to get used to that and embrace the pain. If we look at who really struggled with the event, it was people who are used to smashing out a three-hour marathon and then have two weeks of rest afterwards.

When did it start getting painful?

Guy Hacking I tend to be the weakest one. For the first few days I was the back marker, which meant walking a lot of it and weirdly, that’s not easier. During multi-day events time on your feet is a killer. You’d go to bed every night with your feet throbbing. That’s really difficult, especially when you know you have another day of it ahead of you. It’s not so much the pain at that moment in time – it’s understanding that it’s going to be the same again the next day. But that’s what you need to get your head into gear for.

How do you “embrace the pain”?

Tom Stancliffe You kind of… descend into it. You find lots of different lows and at each low you have to reframe your mental state to deal with it. It’s like if you set off running now and after 500 metres you might think, “Oh, I’m feeling a bit crap” then at ten miles you think, “Now I’m actually really hurting” and then at 20 miles you think, “Oh shit – now I’ve got an injury and I’m really hurting”. Then after 30 you think, “now I’m feeling ill, I’ve got an injury and I’m really hurting”. I think endurance is all about your ability to reset and find a positive outlook. Because, ultimately, things are going to get worse.

What were your lowest points?

Rob Martineau On the run when the sun got really hot and you could see the road stretching out in front of you and you could see the heat coming off the Tarmac… that can be hard. That was about locking in for the battle. There’s something really primal about it, in a way. And exhilarating. It’s about finding the right gear for that fight.

Guy Hacking Certainly for me the hardest point was the last day running because that came after a 43-mile [69km] running day. I had framed the whole run around that and I was telling myself to just break the back of that and then I’d be home and dry. The following day was a 29-miler, and I was like, “I’ve done 43 so this is going to be easy”. I set off that day at quite a pace but nothing was firing, nothing clicked, and it was the hardest stretch of the whole trip by a long way. I think that’s the perfect illustration of why ultra-running is all about where your head is at. It was interesting to see how people responded to it. Some of the people who were right at the front on the last day had been right in the middle of the pack on day one because they had framed it right. They knew what they were getting themselves into.

The Tribe team rides into Dinkelsbühl, about halfway between Munich and Frankfurt – and halfway through their challenge

The Impact

What will you remember about the challenge?

Tom Stancliffe The camaraderie and people genuinely loving it. It was amazing to see that happen because, before the event, we were trying to manufacture that but it was great to see that other people were able to own the trip, have their own experience and give the trip an identity of its own.

Guy Hacking The contributions were incredible. There were a couple of guys who have been staunch Tribe supporters and did a lot of work to get fit for the event, but in the end one of them had some stomach issues and the other’s ankle gave up so they had to drop out. Some people might have been livid with themselves or angry at the organisers, but these guys were in the support van or cycling alongside us, helping with morale. It was spine-tingling to see that.

What does doing something like this give you?

Rob Martineau Covering ground as a pack is not done that often. It’s not a race. It’s about coming together and doing something difficult together. There’s something quite primal about running with a pack like that. I’ve never been part of anything like that before. And secondly, ultradistance running is so different to any other form of exercise. It’s so simple and can give you such freedom. You’re trying to cover that ground and all you have is your feet and the road or the trail ahead of you. There’s the deep struggle but there’s also the meditative element and that’s good for both your body and your mind. I really do think we were born to run.

Guy Hacking What I like about cycling is the sheer distance you can cover. You know, just over a week ago we were in Zagreb and then we hopped on our bikes and now we’re here. Also, travelling at that speed and that close to the ground is a rare thing.

Why is the cause important?

Tom Stancliffe It has always been an issue that has touched us. It genuinely shocked us that we still live in a world where human traffic exists. It’s just such an awful abuse, and a significant percentage of the victims are children. So it was just a cause that moved us. So we’ve now set up a Tribe Foundation to help fight human trafficking. The runners and riders on the Run For Love were all raising money for the foundation, which is going to fund a helpline and another project that we’re about to vote on. Run For Love isn’t just about the training or the event. It’s about how much money we can raise as a group.

For more information about Run For Love, and to donate, visit triberunforlove.com

Whether you’re lying on a beach, exploring a national park or taking in the sights of a new city, one of the main purposes of any holiday is to unwind and unburden yourself of the stresses of your everyday life.

So it makes perfect sense to look for places that are especially relaxing when planning a trip – and, according to TravelSupermarket, UK residents might not have to go far to find the most serene spots in Europe.

Arundel in West Sussex topped the Mindful Getaways rankings as the most relaxing place to take a holiday. Southwold, Suffolk, claimed the second spot with both destinations scoring 30 on TravelSupermarket’s mindfulness scale.

For those who are desperate to escape these shores, Skyros in Greece was third and Chamonix in France was fourth. Then it’s back to the UK, with Scotland’s Loch Lomond in fifth.

With all due respect to Arundel, you are by now probably wondering exactly what criteria could determine that it is a more mindful place to go on holiday than, say, the Italian island of Capri (11th).

TravelSupermarket based the ranking on three criteria.

• The number of mindful activities like yoga and meditation on offer
• The population density, with less crowded areas assumed to be more relaxing (hell is, after all, other people)
• The number of spa and spa treatments available

These three rankings were each scored out of 10 and then totted up. Since they both scored 30, that means that Arundel and Southwold are not only the most mindful places in Europe, they are as mindful as it is possible to be! Just imagine how relaxed you’ll be when you get there.

Here’s the top ten destinations for mindful holidays in the UK and Europe. Start planning your next trip.

Top Ten UK Mindful Destinations

1. Arundel, Sussex
2. Southwold, Suffolk
3. Loch Lomond, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire
4. Ilkley, Yorkshire
5. Cirencester, Gloucestershire
6. Newquay, Cornwall
7. Woodbridge, Suffolk
8. Malmesbury, Wiltshire
9. Brecon Beacons, south Wales
10. Isle of Man

Top Ten European Mindful Destinations Outside The UK

• Skyros, Greece
• Chamonix, France
• Ischia, Italy
• Brač, Croatia
• Ibiza, Spain
• Capri, Italy
• Fuerteventura, Spain
• Grindavik, Iceland
• Lagos, Portugal
• Baden-Baden, Germany

Surfing and stag dos. That’s what most people will know about Newquay and it’s fair to say that the Cornish town excels as a destination for both. However, there is an awful lot more to Newquay, especially for those seeking an adventurous, active holiday because the list of possible activities to try there is long and varied.

Sure, (spoiler alert) surfing takes top billing, but the sea around Newquay’s seven beaches – how many beaches does YOUR hometown have, huh? – plays hosts to a host of other activities too. Coach crammed as many of them as we could into a weekend, as well as sampling as much of the superb local cuisine as possible, so we could provide you with this list of seven essential things you must try on a trip to Newquay. If you’re pressed for time, now you can prioritise (go surfing).

7. Run Along The Cornish Coast

There are two main reasons running along the coast – any coast – is great. The refreshing sea breeze is the first, and the second is the fact that’s it’s very difficult to get lost – just keep the large body of water on either your right or your left depending on which direction you’re going in.

RECOMMENDED: Great Coastal Runs In The UK

Newquay’s coastline is well served by footpaths to keep you as close to the sea as possible, and if you run to the tip of the many headlands in the area, there are great views looking back at the beaches and town. Look the other way and you might spot a seal or two.

6. Clamber Aboard A Super SUP

Admittedly there wasn’t a huge amount of standing up on show when we boarded the massive, inflatable super stand-up paddleboard (SUP) with our instructors from Newquay Activity Centre for a Super SUP Session (£40pp). After a couple of unwanted dips we opted to return to the more stable platform of our knees, but it turns out you don’t need to stand on two feet to enjoy paddling around the sea.

SUP, whether super or regular, is an altogether more relaxing way to spend time on the water than surfing or bodyboarding, making it a great way to unwind. That is, until you start playing super SUP games, which generally involve trying to tip someone else into the water without falling off yourself. Cue more unwanted dips.

RECOMMENDED: The Best Adventure Holidays In The UK

5. Indulge In Some Of The UK’s Finest Ales

Two of the best ales you can find on tap anywhere in the UK are Tribute and Doom Bar, both of which just happen to originate in Cornwall. Just as Guinness gets better the closer to Dublin you drink it, enjoying a pint of Tribute in the heart of Cornwall improves its flavour. There’s also have chance to sample rarer beverages produced by the St Austell Brewery. Our favourites included Big Job, a 7.2% double IPA, and Sayzon, which is – yes – a saison (a type of fruity, spicy pale ale).

4. Go Bodyboarding

Surfing (hang tight, it’s coming) is both tricky and tiring. For an easier way to catch some waves, grab a bodyboard instead. This smaller board is easier to carry out to sea, and even rank amateurs – and we were the rankest of amateurs – can ride waves after a few pointers from an expert. You can hire a board and head straight out to sea, but taking at least one lesson to learn proper technique and ocean etiquette is definitely worthwhile – we took a two-hour class with the Fistral Beach Surf School (£35pp for a group lesson).

3. Eat Pasties, And Seafood, And Cream, And… Just Keep Eating

The drinks are good in Cornwall, but the food is even better. Which is handy, because you’ll be burning bucketloads of calories spending so much time in the sea. The seafood is immense, of course, and it’s illegal – actually, genuinely illegal – to leave Newquay without eating at least one pasty.

Then there’s the clotted cream, which is used to make Cornish fudge and ice cream. It’s not easy to make fudge and ice cream better, but that’s what the fine people of Cornwall have managed.

If you worry that all this sounds incredibly calorific, trust us when we say you’ll need the energy for surfing, swimming, bodyboarding and everything else you do. As an example of what you can get away with, here is what our surf instructor told us he ate for breakfast to try and maintain his weight when spending all day in the water: one full English, one bowl of cereal, four crumpets and a pastry.

RECOMMENDED: The Best Activity Holidays in the UK and Ireland

2. Jump Off Some Cliffs While Coasteering

The rocky coast around Newquay is one of the best places in the UK to try coasteering, which broadly means making your way along the coast either by swimming or clambering. If you’re chasing a jolt of adrenaline, you’ll be amazed at how exhilarating it is to allow yourself to be swept in and out of little inlets by the powerful waves (you wear a helmet because of all the rocks), but the true thrills come when you climb to the top of a cliff and leap into the sea. On our trip with Newquay Activity Centre (£59pp for Super SUP plus coasteering), our jumps topped out at around 20ft (6m), but they take groups – braver groups – up to the 30ft mark. For an extra buzz, try closing your eyes before jumping.

1. Go Surfing, Obviously

Addictive, infuriating, exhilarating, absolutely knackering – just a few of the words that describe surfing. Which of those words spring to mind first will probably depend on how your last attempt to catch a wave went, but it’s “addictive” that really nails it, because once you’ve given surfing a try you will immediately start planning your next trip.

We took a two-hour lesson with Newquay Surfing School (£30pp including all equipment; private lessons £65pp) on Great Western Beach, one of several great surfing spots in Newquay, and it was tremendous. Sure, the number of waves we actually stood up on could be counted on one hand, but it only take one small success to make hours in the water entirely worthwhile. Go surfing.

Coach stayed at the Great Western Hotel while in Newquay and tried activities with the Newquay Activity Centre, Fistral Beach Surf School and the Newquay Surfing School.

You’re going to need a bigger bag.

The Cascade Loop – a three-day, 440-mile, unbelievably scenic road-trip through Washington State’s Cascade Mountains that begins just 28 miles north of Seattle – is so jam-packed with adventurous possibilities that you’ll be begging, borrowing and stealing luggage from your nearest and dearest to bring all your relevant gear with you.

We’re talking road bike gear, mountain bike gear, camping kits, fishing rods, hiking boots, riding helmets, snowboards, drinking hat… the lot. You’ll most certainly be that guy at check-in.

This absolute wonderland for the outdoor adventurer has a staggering amount of possibilities waiting for you, as we found out recently when we hopped on Norwegian’s new direct flight to Seattle.

“The reason there’s such variety of outdoor opportunity here is pretty simple,” says Charley Voorhis, a local film producer we met along our Cascade Loop road-trip, who’s based himself and his company in the heart of it to make use of the staggeringly beautiful scenery for his projects. “Where else can you get alpine wilderness and the desert within 30 miles of each other?”

After an exhilarating few days, we’ve boiled our trip down to just the ten key activities we’d recommend anyone try while there. Make this lot your priority for one epic trip.

10. Fuel Up At Pybus Market

If you can peel your eyes away from the stunning scenery that meets you as soon as you step off the plane at Pangborn Memorial Airport in Wenatchee (a 23-minute flight from Seattle), set your sites for an energising feed at Pybus Public Market, because boy, are you gonna need some fuel before things really kick off.

The market resides in a vast converted steel warehouse on the banks of the Columbia River, a 15-minute drive from the airport, and is home to 16 locally-owned independent traders peddling their quality wares, foodstuffs and beverages.

We plumped for the Pybus Bistro and struggled to reach the summit of its towering Market Burger. A couple of locally-brewed Bale Breaker Raging Ditch Blonde Beers sure helped the lot slide down, though.

9. Bike The Apple Capital Loop Trail

Once you’ve completed the spectacular ten-mile asphalt bike ride of the Apple Capital Trail Loop, which covers both the East and the West sides of the rolling Columbia River and journeys across bridges, through four riverfront parks, across ravines and takes in some seriously jaw-dropping mountain vistas, you can thank Steve Robinson, the director of Pybus Market, who pointed us towards it.

“It’s great for everyone,” says Robinson, who’s seemingly on his bike more than he’s off it. “It’s not too long, it’s relatively flat, and there’s so much to take in.” Hire yourself a bike from Arlberg Sports just outside of Pybus Market and start pedalling.

8. Camp Out At Spider Meadow

If you think the American dream is less about striking it rich and more about camping out under the stars beside a smouldering fire with wolves howling in the distance, then set your satnav for Spider Meadow and Phelps Basin.

Local backpacking enthusiast and champion rodeo girl Erin told us about this spot and we fell in love with it. “Be sure to pay for a Northwest Forest Pass, which is about $30 for the year, then begin at Lake Chelan (pictured) and take the pretty easy seven-mile hike through gorgeous mountains to get there,” she told us.

And when you arrive? Snow-capped peaks, gushing rivers, forests and more than enough space to pitch your two-man tent without upsetting any fellow campers. Or even seeing any.

7. Hike The Black Bear

Terrifying by name, but flower-strewn by, er, nature, the Black Bear Trail (or the Winthrop Trail Loop as it’s also known) is the local’s choice when it comes to hikes. Staff at the Sun Mountain Lodge, which sits on the route, told us about this route, which comes in seven- or 11.5-mile options.

This is one to set the alarm clock early for – you’ll be kicking yourself if you have to see the heart-stopping sunrise from your hotel window and not out in the wilderness.

6. Beer Up In Winthrop

Washington’s Yakima Valley is responsible for a whopping 75% of all the hops that make it into American beers, so, as you’d expect, Washington is one hell of a place to grab a cold one. And you’ll get exactly that at ye olde Winthrop’s Old Schoolhouse Brewery.

This tiny town looks right out of a classic western, but the beer here is anything but old school. One of the brewery’s modern craft Ruud Awakening IPAs later – at a poky 8% – and we were dead glad the food coming out of the kitchen looked, smelled and tasted as good as it did.

5. Mountain Bike At Squilchuck

If you like your cycling a little more white-knuckle, then get your fearless frame to Squilchuck – a haven for the adrenaline junkie on two wheels. Whether you’re a first-timer, a mid-range intermediate or a maniac mountain bomber with the scars to back it up, this state park will satisfy.

Everything from a classroom area and small jumps to a skills park, dual slalom tracks, miles and miles of trails and meaty, real shut-your-eyes-and-pray launch pads await you. Just make sure you bring your brave boy pants.

4. Crash Out At Sun Mountain Lodge

Because the chances of your blow-up mattress actually staying inflated throughout the night are slim to not-a-hope-in-hell, you’re going to want to find some bricks ’n’ mortar accommodation to recharge your batteries.

We mentioned Sun Mountain Lodge earlier when talking up Black Bear Trail, but it’s good for much more than hiking: this simultaneously rugged and refined mountaintop lodge knows why you’re here, and wants to help you tick all your adventure boxes, including boating, snowshoeing and bird watching. And it makes sure there’s an exquisite meal (the king salmon here was something else – really) and doughy-soft pillows waiting for you and your worn-out body when you get back.

Oh, and before you check out, make sure you ask manager Brian how he found himself in the remote northwest of the USA all the way from northern England. Quite the tale, that.

3. Unwind With Wine At Tsillan Cellars

All that changing tundra and all those mountain gradients make the Cascades the perfect place to make a huge variety of wines. You’re spoiled for choice as to where you dip into the fine wine culture, but you can’t do any better than paying the charismatic Dr Bob a visit at the award-winning Tsillan Cellars.

His passion project has manifested itself as a big, beautiful Italian-style tasting room and vineyards as far as the eye can see, all right on the shores of Lake Chelan. Sustained by the glacial waters of the North Cascades and refusing to sell its fantastic tipples – of which our pick of the bunch was the Sempre Amore blend – anywhere else but on-site, this is where to get your one-of-a-kind souvenir.

2. Take A Tour On Horseback

Even if the very thought of sitting atop a gigantic four-legged beast has you breaking out into nervous giggling, we urge you to try it. Red, with a smile that’d make even the most phobia-ridden rider feel at ease, of Sun Mountain Lodge Horse Riding can turn the most stubbornly anti-horse rider into an equestrian convert in just one hour – as she did with us, with a hack on one of her many perfectly suited steeds.

Dawson was the unlucky horse tasked with bringing us around to Red’s way of thinking and he did a mighty fine job of it. A slow walk past lakes, through scrub, up and down hills, and with the distraction of the most Instagrammable scenery we’ve ever set foot in, let alone ridden though, made this exorcism of fear one for the scrapbook.

1. Fish For Methow Monsters

And so to the one activity that embodies what it means to be on the Cascade Loop. It’s one that involves majestic natural surrounds, encounters with wildlife, sweating, challenging yourself to acquire new skills and escaping into the wilderness – everything we came to the Pacific Northwest to do.

Get in touch with Leaf at Methow Fishing Adventures and the man will bring you up-close and personal with some of the fine specimens sitting in the rivers of Cascades. We jumped into his wagon beside his pooch Blue to seek out the famous steelhead trout, the distinctive cutthroat trout, and the menacing bull trout in the local waters.

Our morning saw us land a small cutthroat and a very pretty 2lb (0.9kg) steelhead, battle it out for 20 minutes with a 5lb (2.25kg) bull trout, and come this close to hooking and meeting the nemesis of Leaf’s season – a “massive” cutthroat that he dubbed Moby and has evaded his hook so far this year.

Your heart will be pounding, your eyes will be sucking all the scenery in, your palms will be sweaty and your legs exhausted from hours of standing in the heavy flow of the river. And you’ll love every second of it.

Coach flew to Seattle with Norwegian. Norwegian flies four times a week direct from London Gatwick to Seattle using new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Economy fares start from £179.90 one way and premium starts from £599.90 one way. norwegian.com/uk

If you’re from the UK, the locals of Seattle are quick to tell you just how close to home you are when you arrive in their fantastic Pacific Northwest city. It’s the weather, more than anything. We must’ve been told, “Oh, we get all four seasons, just like you” at least five times during our 72 hours in their backyard and they weren’t wrong. Cold winds led into sunshine with the threat of T-shirt tan, before making way for heavy rain and then thick jumper conditions. In about 25 minutes. We couldn’t have been closer to home from 4,700 miles away.

There are other similarities that make Seattle feel a little like a home from home for the travelling Brit – a multicultural food scene and a huge craft beer movement, to name but two, and it’s easier to get to now that Norwegian’s flying there direct from London. But c’mon, you’re not really heading all that way to feel like you’ve just rolled out of bed, are you? You’re also getting an opportunity for some bucket list wildlife encounters, a rock music heritage to explore, must-have fashion labels to stock up on… oh, it goes on, as we’re about to prove. Here are our ten absolutely essential things you can do to make the most of Seattle, Washington, no matter how long you’re there.

10. Beat The Jet Lag At Starbucks Roastery

True, there are more exciting coffee options in Seattle than Starbucks. Artisanal coffee is a big deal there, with wonderful independent brews awaiting you at spots like Broadcast, Victoria and Cherry Street. But for a just-off-the-plane pick-me-up, go revive yourself at the next-level Starbucks at 1124 Pike Street. This isn’t your average ’Bucks – it’s a massive roastery and tasting room decked out with huge copper machines and vats, manned by probably the friendliest coffee staff you’ll ever meet inside a giant corporate machine. Choose any one of the rare and small-batch coffees, which are all packaged on site before getting shipped around the world, and you’ll soon shake off the fug of jet lag and be ready for an afternoon of exploring. And after all, this is the city that birthed Starbucks, so you kinda have to, right?

9. Retrace Cobain’s Final Footsteps At Linda’s Tavern

From the outside, Linda’s isn’t all that special: a cowboy-themed boozehole on Pine Street that makes you wish you were drinking in the far nicer and far trendier parts of Capitol Hill. But there’s a reason you’re there – to pay your respects. This is the last place that Seattle’s most famous son, Kurt Cobain (sorry Jimi Hendrix, but it’s true), was seen alive. And for a city that really doesn’t do much by way of cashing in on Nirvana nostalgia, this is the spot to pour one out for one of rock music’s greatest.

8. Refuel At Peloton Bike Shop

You’ve probably found your favourite cycle café back home. Probably makes a mean cuppa. Probably serves carrot cake by the 90° wedge. Probably has a team of super-cool staff all too ready to help you out with your chain woes and puncture problems. But it’s not Peloton on Jefferson Street. Peloton will definitely make you one of the best mugs of local coffee you’ll ever taste. It’ll definitely have you panicking over which post-ride Washington craft beer to choose. And it’ll definitely have you wishing your local cycle café did tacos, thanks to its epic $3 Mexican bites (only served on Thursdays). Oh, and if you need some local route advice, these are your guys.

7. Spend Your Shopping Dollars At Filson

Does your fridge really need another magnet? Can your keys honestly handle another keyring? C’mon, let’s get you a souvenir that you won’t lose interest in after five minutes, and that will last forever. No, really, forever. As Seattle-born clothing brands go, they don’t get much better than 120-year-old Filson, whose factory and flagship store is in the shadow of the Seahawks’ stadium in the industrial SoDo district. It’s a bit of a faff to get there, sure, but once your Uber driver finds it, you’re met with the hardiest and outright best adventure gear any outdoorsman could wish for. Make full use of the free twice-weekly tours, and then drop some serious dollar on Filson pieces like the rugged twill duffle, moleskin Seattle shirt and tin cruiser, safe in the knowledge that it’s coming with a lifetime guarantee. A good ten thousand times better than an airport-bought snow globe and a giant Toblerone, for sure.

6. Go In Deep On Seattle With An Underground Tour

We didn’t know that Seattle is essentially a city built on top of a city, but here we are, recommending you a tour that explores the secret subterranean storefronts and sidewalks that became entombed when the city simply built on top of itself after the Great Fire of 1889. Weird huh? Bill Speidel and his world-famous Underground Tour will unlock this heavy dose of tell-all-your-friends bizarre.

5. Fill Your Instagram At Space Needle

Here’s where you’re bagging that all-important Seattle cityscape photo that’ll rake in the biiig Insta-likes. Climb the 520ft (158.5m) for the best view in town, overlooking not just the skyline made famous by the Frasier intro but also Mt Rainier to the south, the spectacular Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic range to the west, and snap away without dropping your phone over the edge. Which is a real, stomach-twisting possibility. Believe us.

4. Explore The Local Nectar On A Road Dogs Tour

With such a plentiful array of craft beers being brewed in Seattle (probably owing to the fact that Washington’s Yakima Valley provides 75% of the total hops the US uses in its beer-making) it might be, no, it is absolutely necessary to get a helping hand in navigating them. And that help comes in the tall, long-haired shape of Lester of Road Dog Tours and his van. Give him three hours of your time and he’ll give you a trip around three of the city’s greatest breweries, including the very brilliant and tiny Outlander Brewery, which has seemingly moved into a residential home, gutted it and turned it into an endearingly ramshackle booze paradise. Oh, and if you find yourself in the city in the first week of October, then allow us to feel very jealous. You’re there right when the tiny window of fresh hop beer season is open – filling the schooners of the brave and the boozy.

3. Say Hi To Free Willy’s Family While Orca Watching

When we jumped aboard the swift Chillkat of family-run Puget Sound Express and left for the calm waters of Port Edmundson, there’s no doubt that we lucked out to find what felt like endless numbers of killer whales, bobbing out of the water, hunting and spotting us on the boat. The ocean gods were kind that day, granting us some up-close-and-personal time with J Pod, the wild whales used in the filming of Free Willy, as well as Mega, the huge alpha male responsible for two-thirds of the killer whale population in Puget Sound. Get yourself out there too, and cross your fingers for a morning as fruitful as ours. After all, the cap’n guarantees a sighting of these majestic beasts.

2. Make Some Noise At MoPop

It’s unlikely, but if there is an award for Hippest Museum In The World, then surely it can be found on the mantelpiece of the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop). Boy oh boy, are the exhibits cool. You can bet we left with about 40 photos of Kurt Cobain’s guitar in the Guitar Gallery, Jimi Hendrix’s jackets holed up in the Hendrix Aboard curation, and Beaker, Kermit, and Bert and Ernie hanging out in the nostalgia-riddled Jim Henson exhibition. But the very best bit? Above even all of that? The Sound Lab offers loads of soundproof rooms to just walk into, grab an instrument and make an incredible, almighty racket. Why can’t all museums be like this?

1. Eat Your Way Around Pike Place Market

Photograph: Alabastro Photography

You’ve not done Seattle unless you’ve paid a visit to Pike Place Market, one of the oldest public farmers’ markets in the entire USA at the ripe old age of 110. And to make sure you do it properly, Mark from Savor Seattle is your guy – larger than life, with all the historical chat and the right contacts to fill you up on samples of donuts, coffee, chocolates, tea, sandwiches and more. Meet him as early as your sleepy eyes will allow to let him guide you around before the inevitable biblical queues form.

Our must-hits? Seattle is best known for seafood, so if you can endure the longest line of the entire market (or can stomach it for breakfast), then slurp up the world-famous chowder at Pike Place Chowder. Or opt for the Anthony Bourdain-approved Dungeness Crab Benedict at Seatown Seabar and Rotisserie, which you’ll eat up whilst overlooking Elliot Bay. But with 15% of the population coming from southeast Asia, Seattle’s a hotbed of spicy Asian food too. Get involved in it at the hidden-away Country Dough, with one of the dreamy Sourdough Chicken Flatbreads. But whatever you do, don’t leave without high-fiving the singing fishmongers of Pike Place Fish Co – if you can grab them between their famous hurling of giant salmon to one another.

Coach flew to Seattle with Norwegian. Norwegian flies four times a week direct from London Gatwick to Seattle using new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Economy fares start from £179.90 one way and premium starts from £599.90 one way. norwegian.com/uk

Find out more about things to do in Seattle at seattle-washingtonstateuk.co.uk

Chile is the home of adventure tourism in South America. Not our words, but the words of the World Travel Awards 2017, who bestowed that exact award on the country. Given that South America is a pretty adventurous place all-round, we reckon that’s quite the accomplishment.

It’s an accomplishment founded on the massive variety of climates and landscapes you can find in Chile. There are mountains, rainforests and the driest desert in the world, and that’s just the mainland – there’s even more adventure to be found on Chile’s Pacific islands.

Piqued your interest? Here are ten of the best activities you can do in Chile. We reckon you could plan a cracking 2018 break around a few of these.

Surfing The El Gringo Wave

Not one for beginners, the powerful El Gringo wave – also known as the Chilean Pipeline – has huge swells and shallow reefs. The best location for surfing El Gringo is in Chile’s northernmost city, Arica.

Sandboarding In San Pedro de Atacama

If you prefer to stay dry while “surfing”, then sandboarding in San Pedro de Atacama might be more up your street than El Gringo. The 120m-high dunes provide plenty of thrills (we’re sure you can provide the dramatic spills) and at 2,400m above sea level, you get incredible views, including the lunar landscape of the nearby Valley of the Moon.

Parasailing Over The Dragon Hill In Iquique

Dragon Hill is a huge, 4km-long sand dune in the coastal city of Iquique. There’s no better way to see it than by parasailing over it and the city, landing on the shore.

Mountain Biking In Pan De Azucar National Park

Chile has an almost limitless supply of excellent spots for mountain biking, but this huge coastal nature reserve in the north of the country has some of the very best trails. That’s especially true if you’re a wildlife fan, with Humbolt penguins, guanacos (bit like a llama) and vicunas (also a bit like a llama to be honest) to spot.

Scuba-Diving Off Easter Island

Easter Island is 3,700km off the coast of Chile and undoubtedly one of the coolest places in the world, with the huge Moai – monolithic human statues – found all over the island reason enough to visit. You can see one of those statues under water, along with over a hundred species of fish, on a diving trip. And you will see them – the lack of pollution in the water around the island means visibility can exceed 35 metres.

Snowcat Skiing In El Arpa

These guided skiing trips use a snowcat – the machine that grooms pistes for skiing – to head for the backcountry, meaning you’ll be almost guaranteed fresh snow. At the summit of the valley in this trip you’ll get an incredible view of Aconcagua, which at 6,961m is the highest mountain outside of Asia. skiarpa.com

Cable-Riding In Cajón Del Maipo

Cajon del Maipo is a gorge in central Chile, near the capital Santiago, that offers fantastic hiking, climbing, rafting and cycling. Or you can get above it all (as much as 25m above it all) with a cable-ride, for the best views of the forest.

White-Water Rafting On The Futaleufu River

The Futaleufu river in the south of the country provides the setting for one of the most scenic white-water rafting trips you can find anywhere on earth, with the turquoise waters running beneath snow-capped mountains and glaciers.

Ski Down A Volcano In Pucón

What did you do on your last holiday? Wander around an old city? Lie on a beach? Sit in an all-inclusive bar and get leathered? They all sound good. But not quite as good as SKIING DOWN A VOLCANO. The Ski Pucón resort has over 20 runs, and the season runs from mid-June to October. Oh, and by the way, the volcano in question is Villarrica, one of the most active in Chile.

Ice-Field Walking In Patagonia

After Antarctica and Greenland, the Patagonian Southern Ice Field is the third-largest ice mass in the world. And who wants to go to Antarctica or Greenland? The ice field stretches over three different national parks and provides the setting for a truly unique trekking experience – you probably even get to wear those tennis racket snow shoes.

Find out more about all these activities at chile.travel

For all their physical demands and opportunities for exhilaration, winter sports can still sometimes be seen as just an excuse to stuff yourself full of fondue and Milka. Now, as people begin planning and booking their ski holidays, if your idea of a superb trip is spending your evening chasing your pals around in a Morphsuit, no one should be trying to talk you out of it, but if you’d prefer to take your slope-riding beyond just what you do in between après-ski sessions, to the “next level” even, there are some excellent options, whatever your current ability.

Laax, Switzerland

If you need an indication of just how world-class Laax is when it comes to the more extreme side of snowboarding (ie busting huge airs off jumps, sending untouched powder flying), then know that Nicolas Muller, legend of the halfpipe and hero of backcountry riding, lives there permanently. This is the spot to be in if you’re looking to go beyond the groomed slopes and up the ante in the park – it’s the leading freestyle resort in the Alps, with four parks of varying difficulty to choose from, as well as an indoor Freestyle Academy (essentially a playground for riders) pumped up with airbags aplenty to break your fall, as well as plenty of tuition and training camp options. All this, plus it’s in the shadow of the longest halfpipe in the world. You’ll want to work your way up to that one. Trust us.

Get there: Fly to Zurich (easyJet can get you there) and jump on the rail connection to Chur, which is a 30-minute taxi from Laax.

St Anton, Austria 

St Anton is well known as a place even seasoned skiers sometimes fear to tread; even if you’re just wanting to get better, there’s nowhere else that will challenge you so much on even its moderate runs. If you’re keen on making the transition to the dreaded black diamond – and do it somewhere you can get a little schnapps to settle your nerves – this is the venue. Off-piste heads are well catered-for, and there’s a plethora of options for you to find a guide who’ll hold your hand, or arrange a helicopter to the nearest hospital.

Get there: easyJet flies direct to Innsbruck, then you should get a deliciously cheap European train

Steamboat Springs, USA

Yorkshire may crow about its medal tally at London and Rio, but this tiny Colorado village has produced a whopping 88 Winter Olympians over the years, which suggests that its residents know what they’re doing. You can book lessons and courses with Olympic legends – local hero Billy Kidd runs a school – but many will offer free rides down choice slopes with them at regular times during the season. Recommended is joining former world champion Nelson Carmichael on a trip down Nelson’s Run – a trail named after him. Sounds cuddly, but it has more moguls than Hollywood, and has seen twice as many broken dreams.

Get there: Book a direct return flight to and from Denver with British Airways 

RECOMMENDED: Ski Exercises to Get you Ready for the Slopes

Cervinia, Italy

Situated right underneath the mighty Matterhorn, Cervinia’s high altitude means it gets the best and most reliable snow in Italy, and its links with Zermatt in Switzerland mean you’ll have plenty of options. Non Stop offers well-regarded courses for every ability, and are a tad more hardcore than the firms making a living teaching the hungover how to snowplough. While the wide-open runs might not offer the drama of St Anton, this is a perfect place to work on technique in an environment where you’ll be at once challenged and in control.

Get there: British Airways flies direct to Turin

Whistler Blackcomb, Canada

This Canadian winter sport stronghold receives 38.5 feet of snow a year, which puts it near the top globally if you’re looking to take your chances at the beginning or end of the season. It may be a trek to get to, but its location and its Olympic heritage mean the available area is huge, and it offers everything from baby slopes on which to dump the kids to mogul-heavy leg breakers. All Tracks Academy offers solid tuition, and the chance to wind up your affable instructors with unappreciated impressions of their accents when you get your breath back. Ideal for skiers who want to try snowboarding and vice versa.

Get there: Take a direct return flights to and from Vancouver with Air Canada

Méribel, France

Méribel is in the middle of the world’s biggest ski area, the Three Valleys, and offers an unparalleled selection of slopes that cater for all levels. But while the beginners will undoubtedly make the most of Altiport, those who want to improve will head to the likes of Pointe de la Masse and Mont Vallon – and the off-piste options are just as legendary. New Generation Ski School offers a cracking course that will take you there, bring you home alive – and make you feel a much better skier than you were when you arrived.

Get there: Eurostar offers direct trains from London to Moutiers (25 mins from Méribel), or save money by changing trains in Paris

RECOMMENDED: 12 Active Winter Holidays That Aren’t Skiing

Professional Skiing Tips

Want to make huge strides on the slopes? Here are four shortcuts from the people who really know best

Video Yourself

“Skiing or boarding can have you so in the moment, it’s hard to be very aware of what you’re doing. Everybody has a smartphone now, so get someone to video you, or do it yourself – it’s far better to review a whole run, then re-do it, than to just have someone yelling at you.” Pat Sharples, Team GB Park and Pipe Freeski head coach, teambss.org.uk

Get Some Edge

“If you’re an intermediate looking to improve, it’s time to think about edging. Instead of skidding on every turn, work on digging the edges of your skis into the snow so you can be more controlled and efficient. Efficiency should always be the goal.” Dave Ryding, Team GB skier, daverydingski.co.uk

Work On Your Core

“For skiing and snowboarding, the assumption is always that you need to work on your legs, but if you’re pushing yourself, your core is far more valuable. Your legs can help with endurance, but control comes from a stronger core. I’ve found that yoga really helps with this.” Aimee Fuller, Team GB snowboarder, aimeefuller.co.uk

RECOMMENDED: These Core Exercises Will Make You A Better Mountain Biker (Or Skier)

Surround Yourself With Your Superiors

“It’s a good idea to harness your natural competitiveness – if you’re training yourself up, always be in a group where you’re the worst skier. Then you’ll always be upping your game, and if you move up in the ‘rankings’, just switch groups. It’s not what you want if you’re a social skier, though.” Jenny Jones, 2014 slopestyle Olympic bronze winner. Jenny is hosting a workshop for adventurous snowboarders in March 2017, workshopbyjennyjones.com

If you’ve watched any of the great surfing films, Point Break, Point Break 2: Point Breakier or the recent Point Break remake, you will have noticed one thing straight away – none of them is set in London.

That’s because surfing on the Thames is just terrible. The same goes for most UK cities and their rivers. So despite the fact that surfing is a fun, healthy and undeniably cool way to spend your time, most city-dwellers will never take it up on the grounds that it is logistically a bit of a faff.

To counter this point of view, we enlisted Rinse FM DJ and dyed-in-the-wool Londoner Sam Supplier to discuss his love of surfing and show that it’s something that anyone can do. With a bit of travelling. We’ll admit that right off the bat.

How did you get into surfing?

It was from going on holidays as a kid down to Cornwall, to a small town called Porthtowan, and then as I got a little bit older – 13 or 14 years old – to the Gower in Wales, in a place called Rhossili Bay.

Have you been surfing ever since?

When my music career kicked in at the age of 17 or 18 I kind of stopped. I always felt that I was still a surfer but I didn’t really surf very much. Then in the past few years I’ve got back into it massively. In the past it wasn’t as easy to surf in December and January, whereas now the technology in the wetsuits means you can surf all year round.

What sparked you getting back into it?

I DJed in Tenerife and just hired a surfboard. I got back into the water and realised what I’d been missing out on. I was absolutely hooked. Hooked!

How do you fit it into your working routine?

Being a DJ my weekends are Mondays and Tuesdays because I work all over Europe on the weekend. I just jump in the car and go and find some waves – there’s an app called Magic Seaweed and it gives you a five-day forecast so you can look where there’s going to be waves anywhere in the world.

Where are the best spots near London?

If you’re really desperate there’s one called Joss Bay just past Margate – you can get there in about an hour and a half – but that’s a not a great spot. I think it’s worth spending a bit more time travelling to get down to the Gower. That’s about a three-hour drive.

So it’s fair to say London isn’t a surfing hotspot?

Actually there is an advantage to being a London surfer. I seem to always get good waves because I’ll travel to where the waves are. If you live in Cornwall and there are no waves you’re not going travel all the way up to Scarborough or wherever.

How do you store surfing equipment in a city flat?

My north London flat is your typical minimalist modern flat, but somehow I’ve managed to store four surfboards in my bedroom. I’ve got two under the bed and two in my wardrobe. All hidden away.

So there are always ways.

Yeah, it can be done! And my airing cupboard is full of wetsuits.

Is that all the gear you need?

Yeah, basically a wetsuit and board, and then I’ve got a couple of big travel bags for the boards. There’s not a great deal you need – apart from the space to keep a couple of surfboards in your house.

What tips have you got for beginner surfers?

Get a lesson straight away, even if it’s just one lesson, to show you the fundamentals. Normally the lessons are around £20-£25 and it’ll be for two hours, including the board and wetsuit. You’ll then find that you enjoy it a lot more, rather than spending time wondering what you’re doing wrong.

The great thing with surfing is that it doesn’t matter how good you are, because you still get the same buzz. Whether it’s the first time you lie down and catch the white-water part of the wave, or the first time you manage to stand up, or the first time you manage to stand up all the way to the beach. When you’ve been doing it as long as I have it’s the biggest wave I get, or a big turn I do on it. You still get the same buzz from it, no matter how good you are. That’s why it’s a fantastic sport.

And to be clear, you can surf in the UK in the winter without freezing?

Yeah, modern wetsuits are fantastic. You can go all year round. In the UK in the winter you’d also wear boots, gloves, a balaclava, but it’s doable. You can still surf for a couple of hours.

Sam Supplier’s new single “Night And Day” is available now on Spotify and has a full release on 8th September

See related 

• The Full-Body Surfing Workout
• Surfer Andrew Cotton On The Wave That Changed Everything For Him

Many people have only one real purpose when they head to Ibiza on holiday and it’s fair to say that purpose is not healthy outdoor pursuits. However, while the clubbing in Ibiza is an unrivalled experience, there is more to the Balearic isle than its nightlife.

Born and raised on Ibiza, Christian and Alan Anadon know as much about the island as anyone. As the first Ibiza-born DJs to head up a residency at an island super club – Hï – and sons of the founder of Café Mambo, they are an established part of the clubbing landscape, while their love of sport means they are well-acquainted with the many outdoor activities Ibiza has to offer.

RECOMMENDED: The Alternative Ibiza Summer Holiday: Sailing In The Balearics

We’re sure you can get plenty of advice on clubbing in Ibiza elsewhere, so we enlisted the Mambo Brothers for their advice over email on the best outdoor activities to try in Ibiza.

Deep Sea Diving

There are so many diving schools in Ibiza where you can pick up a qualification or at least get a brief baptism in the sport. We use Arenal Diving if we are diving along the west coast around San Antonio.

It’s a really relaxing day out at sea and there are some great spots to explore. We love diving at Ses Marmalades, a small island where there’s a huge natural rock archway and the water underneath it is incredible. You can get these amazing contrasts of light and colours – sometimes it looks like you’re literally diving into heaven!

The visibility in Ibiza is excellent. Even other places around the world that are known for diving don’t have the 30-40m visibility you have in Ibiza!

Hiking

There are all kinds of different routes you can do, from coastal walks to inland countryside walks, as well as some more challenging ones where you have to climb rock faces. If you don’t fancy the idea of hiking on your own, there is this company called Walking Ibiza which has organised group walks every week.

We did a 30km walk from the Egg landmark in San Antonio all the way up to San Josep with them, passing by all the major beaches along the west coast, and we got to see the impressive home of the guy that owns Cirque Du Soleil [Guy Laliberté]. We also got up to the highest point on the island – there are really great views up there. It’s a great day out and the perfect excuse for a couple of cold beers afterwards!

Cycling

This is another one of our favourite sporting activities here in Ibiza, especially on mountain bikes. During the winter we get the time to get out and do it more often. Ibiza has a lot of 100- and 200-year-old roads that no-one uses any more but they still get you everywhere.

Taking these old roads and pathways means you’re probably going to bump into some of the amazing little old traditional Ibiza homes that we call fincas – they can be hundreds of years old. You also get to see loads of local goats, chickens and other animals running wild.

The smell of the Ibiza countryside is pretty special. You’ll always get a whiff of the pine trees blended with the local herbs like rosemary and thyme that grow everywhere. If you can’t bring a mountain bike, you can easily rent good ones in San Antonio.

Kayaking

This is a phenomenal way to enjoy ibiza, seeing all the secret hidden coves along the coast where some of the pirates used to hide their stolen treasures! A real favourite is starting from Cala d’Hort and heading out to Es Vedra – the views there are just pure magic and it will definitely keep you fit. Bring your arms!

Duke Of Edinburgh Award Adventure

25/50km, mainly in Derbyshire

If you participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Award as a youngster this is a chance to relive those adventures as an adult, and if you didn’t it’s an opportunity to enjoy an excellent walk in the Peak District. The organised challenge takes place on 30th September and 1st October, with participants hiking 50km over the two days, or 25km if you only opt for one day. Either way you’ll get a tent and a hot shower in the base camp (which also has a bar). You can also choose to follow a signposted route through the Peak District, or navigate yourself to the checkpoints. If you can’t make this particular Peak District challenge, then head to visitpeakdistrict.com for more info on the walks you can do in the area at any time. dofechallenge.org/adventure

The Ridgeway

140km/87 miles, Wiltshire to Buckinghamshire

Often described as Britain’s oldest road, The Ridgeway has been in use in some form or another since prehistoric times. The 140km (87-mile) route runs from the World Heritage Site of Avebury in Wiltshire, where there are three ancient stone circles, to Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire. Walkers on the Ridgeway are treated to panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and it’s rare that you’ll take more than five steps along the route without stumbling across some kind of historic monument, whether it’s a Stone Age long barrow or an Iron Age fort. nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

39km/24.5 miles, North Yorkshire

If you prefer your three peaks a little closer together than Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, this version of the challenge in the Yorkshire Dales National Park might be more up your street. The 39km (24.5-mile) route in the Pennines summits Pen-y-ghent (694m), Whernside (736m) and Ingleborough (723m) – there are 1,585m of ascent in total – and takes most people around 12 hours to complete. There are several organised dates throughout the year, or you can tackle the challenge as a self-supported group. threepeakschallenge.uk/yorkshire-three-peaks-challenge

Bagging The Munros

Around 1,700 miles, Scotland

A Munro is any mountain in Scotland over 3,000ft (914.4m) high, and Munro-bagging is getting to the top of all 282 of them, including Ben Nevis. Even Sir Hugh Munro, who named them, didn’t manage to ascend them all. People have, though, with the fastest ever time being 39 days and nine hours. The total ascent is thought to be about 412,000ft (125,580m), so it’s one for the committed only. walkhighlands.co.uk/munros

The Capital Ring

75 miles, London

A 15-stage, 75-mile circuit around London, the Capital Ring is one of the most convenient multi-stage walks one can do – there’s a pretty handy transport system in place that makes the whole thing an easy walk on which to hit the “I’m done” button at any given point. It takes in everything from the 2012 Olympic complex to the dinosaurs of Crystal Palace to King Henry VIII’s Mound (the spot in Richmond Park where His Majesty is said to have stood to await the firing of a rocket from the Tower of London indicating the beheading of Anne Boleyn). tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/capital-ring

The Three Peaks Challenge

23 miles plus 10 hours of driving, between Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales)

Climbing the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales within 24 hours seems optimistic, but people do it. Organised events see hikers take on the challenge several times a year, which still takes a certain amount of planning and some designated drivers. Of course, if you feel like a true challenge, there’s always the Three Peaks Three Times Challenge, for which the British Army set the record in 2011 in 69 hours. threepeakschallenge.net

The South West Coast Path

630 miles, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset

Ranked among the best walks in the world by such know-their-onions authorities as Lonely Planet and National Geographic, it covers beaches, bays, rocky cliff tops and parts of Exmoor, enough to make a poet out of the hardest heart. Be warned though, it isn’t a light undertaking – due to rising and falling at every river mouth, the total distance climbed uphill is 35,000m, about four times the height of Mount Everest. southwestcoastpath.org.uk

RECOMMENDED: The 30 Greatest Outdoor Challenges For Men

The Pennine Way

267 miles, mainly in England although briefly nudging into Scotland

The Pennine Way is something of an obstacle course – along its rugged 267-mile (430km) length there are 287 gates, 204 bridges and hundreds of stiles. One guidebook writer was so impressed with the difficulty of the trail that he promised to buy anyone who completed it a beer. This claim ended up costing him at least £15,000. nationaltrail.co.uk/pennineway

London to Brighton

62 miles

A popular route with charity fundraisers, both because the distance equates to a nice round 100km and whichever way you go you end up with plenty of places to grab a pint. The London to Brighton route is frequently done in one go, over a pretty hardcore 20-30 hours, although requires formidable training. If anyone hears you’re doing it and says, “That’s all downhill isn’t it? It’d be much harder coming back up,” you’re allowed to stop being friends with them. london2brightonchallenge.com

Coast To Coast

192 miles, Cumbria to North Yorkshire

Taking you from the Irish Sea at St Bees to the North Sea at Robin Hood’s Bay, the Coast-to-Coast walk was conceived by celebrated fell walker Alfred Wainwright in 1973. It takes you through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, and its 12 stages conveniently fit into a two-week holiday with some breathing room. Alternatively, in 1991 it was run in 39 hours 36 minutes, which is even tiring to type. coast2coast.co.uk

England Coast Path

2,800 miles

While work on the England Coast Path won’t be fully completed until 2020, stages of it are already complete, and when finished it’ll be one of the longest coastal walking paths in the world. And it’ll be exactly what it sounds like – a path following the coastline all the way around England, barring private land and DOD property. nationaltrail.co.uk/england-coast-path

The London Outer Orbital Path (Loop)

150 miles, Outer London

“Loop” is a slight misnomer – you begin at Erith and end at Purfleet, with the Thames between the start point and end point. The route is essentially the on-foot M25 and is split into 24 sections, none of which are particularly taxing, but then the M25 always looks straightforward until you get on it. An extraordinary account of this journey can be found in London Orbital by Iain Sinclair. tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/loop-walk

Walking Holidays Abroad

The walks that walkers dream of. Here are six stunning trails to make the toes swoon.

GR11 The Pyrenees

The GR network of paths cover 60,000 miles (96,000km) across France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, so choosing just one of the hundred-odd stages isn’t exactly copping out. GR11 is 522 miles (849km) on its own, and is arguably the standout of the lot. It’s almost all in Spain, with the exception of a few miles where it crosses into France. Split into 44 sections, GR11 boasts some of Europe’s most beautiful views.

Nordkalottruta Scandinavia

Strictly one for the summer months, as it lies entirely above the Arctic Circle, this 500-mile (805km) track manages to cross an impressive 15 international borders as it weaves between Norway, Finland and Sweden. It’s a trail of forests, glaciers, striking lakes and beautiful flower-filled valleys, and while the terrain is remote, there are staffed huts along the route as well as the occasional welcoming village.

Appalachian Trail USA

Walk 2,100 miles (3,380km) through 14 states, from Georgia to Maine. It’s predominantly wooded lowlands, yet only 25% of people that set out to travel its entirety are thought to make it. “There is no point in hurrying because you are not actually going anywhere,” wrote Bill Bryson of the trail. “However far or long you plod, you are always in the same place: in the woods.”

The Great Himalaya Trail

The full trail twists through Bhutan, India and Nepal, taking in rice paddies, forests and pastures in the Himalayan foothills – and all while nearly 7,000ft (2,134m) above sea level. “The whole expedition was a phenomenal and very privileged experience,” says former British Army officer Doc McKerr. “My route went through some of the most amazing and difficult landscapes that the world has to offer.”

Hokkaido Nature Trail Japan

The northernmost of Japan’s walking trails (of which there are more than you’d think – they have nine trails of over 1,000 miles each), the Hokkaido Nature Trail is a whopping 2,849 miles (4,585km) of volcanoes, lakes, glaciers and forests. Temperatures in the summer aren’t dissimilar to over here, and if you think walking gets any better than watching an active volcano in a balmy 23°C, come on.

Bibbulman Track Australia

Starting just outside Perth and winding its way 600 miles (966km) to Albany, the Bibbulman Track is like a greatest-hits set of everything Australia has to offer. There are beaches, vineyards, clifftops and forests, and even chances to spot whales and trample grapes. The longest of the nine stages takes 12 days, with no towns on the way, so it’s not one for the wilderness-averse.

We were joking, obviously, when we asked national treasure Bill Bailey if he’d take part in one of the Stand Up To Cancer fundraising ideas and shave off his flowing locks. The hair is obviously integral to the man. But he is taking on a six-day 100-mile walk along the Icknield Way and the Ridgeway… into the prevailing winds. Why? In his words, it’s “mainly to keep my hair out of my mouth and because I look much cooler walking into the wind.” Conjures an image, doesn’t it? Bailey striding through the countryside, magnificent hair fluttering majestically behind him.

We spoke to Bailey about the challenge ahead as well as fundraising tips if you fancy getting involved with the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, which funds clinical research to get new cancer treatments helping people quick-smart.

That’s right, a couple years ago I walked the Ridgeway. It does take a bit of a toll. There’s all sorts of things that you don’t expect. When you’re walking your arms are swinging, your hands swell up, and it’s odd and it’s uncomfortable. Your hips can get strained. Your legs and feet take a bit of a pounding.

But where this is a real challenge is that it’s consecutive days of walking long distances. You really know about it by day two or three.

You may say it’s gentle compared to running, but a distance walk can be pretty tough.

When the going gets tough do you have a way of motivating yourself to keep going? Any go-to songs that you whistle?

Sometimes. I find ’80s metal quite handy. AC/DC particularly. The rhythm and the beat seem to coincide with my stride.

A Thermos of tea. You have to have it. I realised how many great qualities tea has on those long walks. There’s all the electrolytes as well as just the refreshing, revivifying nature of it. There’s no amount of health drinks or energy bars that’ll do the same. It’s the best.

Just white. Strong white tea. And a good sized Thermos as well. 1.2 litres.

This path that I’m walking, the Ridgeway, is one of the great national trails in Britain. It’s the oldest in Europe – 5,000 years old. So there’s a lot of history to it and there’s a lot of wildlife along the trail. And it’s not too hilly.

Some of the trails in the Lakes are fantastic. The Haystacks on Buttermere is a great walk and at the top you get to the Innominate Tarn, this great little lake. It was Alfred Wainwright’s, who wrote all those wonderful guides to walking in the area, favourite spot in the Lakes.

RECOMMENDED: Walking Holidays in the UK

Well that’s tricky, isn’t it. It could be, er, yeah…. It’s almost, it’s er…. There’s no price you could put on that really. That’s my power, my spiritual power.

We are in a very visual age. Posting photographs, I think, is key to this sort of undertaking and social media is very handy for that. You can take a smartphone, take pictures and immediately upload them to social media. It’s helpful because you can then show people how you’re getting on and I think that’s very important to engage people.

To support Bill’s 100-mile Ridgeway walk text BILL5 to 70404 to donate £5, BILL10 to 70404 to donate £10, or visit standuptocancer.org.uk

It’s the birthplace of computers, railways, football leagues, Factory Records and Vimto, and if you’re looking to relocate to a major UK city then Manchester – barmy, energetic, innovative Manchester – might just be the answer to your prayers. Here are nine indisputable reasons why. 

1. You Can Mangle Your Liver In Style

Mancs love a drink (and then another drink, and then seven more drinks). When it comes to loveable watering holes the choice is bewildering, so your best bet is to pick an area and then bar-hop until you find your perfect spot. If you’re the glossy, groomed type, head to neon-lit Deansgate; if it's misadventure you’re after, try the edgily eccentric Northern Quarter; and if you’re a craft-beering hipster there's deathly-cool Chorlton, just a short tram jaunt out of the centre.     

2. You Can Dine Like A King, Nightly

Manchester’s dining scene has undergone an astonishing revolution over the past decade, and can now go toe-to-toe with that of any major European city. Whatever your growling stomach yearns for, Manchester has it by the plateful, whether it’s gourmet fried chicken (Yard & Coop), authentic rustic Italian (Salvi’s Cucina), Tokyo-level sushi (Umezushi) or heroically OTT burgers (Almost Famous, pictured). 

3. It’s Gorrrgeous

A vast amount of cash has been spent regenerating Manchester since the turn of the century, and it shows: the centre is a hugely appealing mixture of Manchester's proud industrial past – grand viaducts, winding canals, towering mills – and the stylish glass-and-steel structures of its digital-powered future. If you prefer your sights more on the rural side, you’re surrounded by unspoilt, picture-postcard villages: Disley, Dobcross, Haigh, Broadbottom, Flixton...

4. You’ll Be At The Sartorial Cutting Edge

Mancs tend to take an uncommon pride in their appearance, which is how the city came to be at the forefront of such style movements as punk, hip-hop, acid house and football casualism. With boutique shops offering everything from skater-wear to lux denim, the Northern Quarter is the place for a wardrobe update – and make sure you hit the oft-imitated Oi Polloi, arguably Britain’s best menswear shop. Brace for out-the-door queues if they’ve just got some particularly hyped stock in. 

5. You Can Dive Face-First Into Culture

Manchester has more than its fair share of museums and galleries – including 2015’s Museum Of The Year, the incredible Whitworth Art Gallery – alongside a thriving network of pointedly unique music venues, including local landmarks Night & Day, The Deaf Institute and Band On The Wall. Meanwhile, theatre/cinema/gallery mega-venues HOME and The Lowry are Manchester’s answers to London’s Southbank Centre.

6. You Can Overdose On Your Vinyl Habit

Manchester is the ideal place to watch your vinyl addiction spiral horribly out of control. Your first port of call should be the legendary Piccadilly Records, one of the best independent record shops on the planet (seriously), stocking everything from obscure psych-rock reissues to bleeding-edge electronica. For second-hand crate-digging there’s Vinyl Exchange and Chorlton’s King Bee Records; for Northern soul heads, Beatin’ Rhythm; and for dance fans, Eastern Bloc – the epicentre of Manchester’s late-’80s acid house explosion. 

7. It’s Refreshingly Weird (And Staying That Way)

While many British city centres have become blandly indistinguishable, Manchester continues to proudly wave its freak flag high. Eccentric attractions include the psychedelically shambolic “department store” Afflecks; no less than three full-on tiki bars (Liars Club, Hula Bar, Lola Lo); and the hedonistic Indy Man beer festival, held in Grade II-listed former swimming baths.

8. You Can Actually Afford To Buy A Flippin’ House

If you're currently residing daahn saarf and trapped in perma-renting hell – rent’s too high to save for a house, and houses are too expensive even if you could save – then be assured that, in Manchester at least, owning your own home isn’t the lunatic dream of a deluded madman. At the time of writing, the average house price according to Zooplaq is £176,862, although thanks to everyone cottoning on Manchester’s paradise-like qualities, property prices are now rising even more rapidly than London’s – so do get a shift on. And then...  

9. You Can Feel Revoltingly Smug

Lording it over your fellow man is a terrible thing to do, but let's be honest, it's also massively enjoyable. Once you’ve got yourself a Manchester postcode you can feel sickeningly smug in the knowledge that you reside in officially the best place to live in the UK – being the highest-ranked UK city in the Economist’s Global Liveability Survey for the third year running in 2016. In the words of Manc icon Ian Brown, “The only thing Manchester hasn’t got is a beach”.

We know what you’re thinking. Free holiday? Yeah, right. This is like one of those spammy phone calls you occasionally receive that say you’ve won a free holiday – which you quickly hang up on before they hack your bank account… or something.

Well this is not that. We haven’t rung you up, for one, and for two, this is a legit outdoor gear shop trying to get the great British public interested in making the most of the great British countryside.

GO Outdoors is setting up a pop-up campsite at Risden Farm in Hawkhurst, Kent, and pitching three four-person tents, two six-person tents and one eight-person tent – and inviting you along for a night.

You can reserve a slot on Eventbrite for one of the four nights it’s running, starting on Friday 2nd June and finishing on Monday 5th. Check-in is at midday and you’ll be on your merry way by 10am the next day.

GO Outdoors will provide the tent, chairs and tables, toilets and a shower, and a communal firepit. The rest – sleeping bags, mats, food, etc – is up to you. Still, that’s a pretty good deal and a fine excuse to escape the rat race.

You can, of course, lounge on the grass for the duration, but there are walking trails to explore, cycle trails (for those with bikes, a roof rack and the will) to ride and plenty of trees to hug, plus the organisers are promising to come correct with a rounders set – and when was the last time you played rounders? Secondary school? We bet you’re much better at it now you’re older.

Of course, we recommend you round up your posse and book quickly, since there are only 128 places. Get all the details on the Eventbrite page and fire up WhatsApp.

In This Series

• Discovering A New Side Of California
• California’s Best Active Cities No-One Told You About

There are many ways in which a visit to California will take your breath away. Watching the sun rise from the hills above San Francisco Bay as the morning fog rolls in towards the Golden Gate Bridge is one. Immersing yourself in the buzz of Los Angeles as the sun goes down and the night comes alive is another.

To that list we’d add the rugged landscape of Mammoth Mountain and its surroundings – and it wasn’t just the altitude that caused our breathlessness (although that was definitely part of it).

The heights of the dormant volcano are the perfect vantage point for marvelling at the vast, untamed scenery – it’s simply spectacular.

Nestled at the foot of the 3,350m-high mountain is the small town of Mammoth Lakes (population 8,000), an ideal place from which to try the many outdoor pursuits in the area.

Mammoth Mountain’s well known for its snow sports – the US National Winter Olympics team trains there – but the town is also a relatively undiscovered top summer destination. “People usually come here for a one-night stopover on the way to or from Yosemite, or having spent a few days in Vegas, San Francisco or Los Angeles,” says Kristin Rust of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, “but there are so many reasons to stay longer.”

Coach accepted an invitation to experience the summer scene and flew into LAX before making the five-hour drive north to the eastern edge of Yosemite National Park.

The first day was spent trail walking on the mountain, but mercifully not up it. We hopped on a gondola ride to the summit to find there was still snow around – in August! – although the weather was bright and sunny, and the temperature well within the range of a comfortable UK spring day.

The trek took in local landmarks including the Devil’s Postpile National Monument, a towering formation of hexagonal volcanic rocks reaching skywards, and Rainbow Falls, a dramatic, picturesque waterfall.

Two hours and a little over 10km later – although the high altitude makes it feel like 20km, which is why so many long-distance athletes train here – we called it a day, but our guide waxed lyrical about the numerous hiking trails and how you could see something different every time you visited the National Park.

The next day began with a mountain biking lesson, with tips on braking, changing gears and, perhaps most importantly, how to avoid coming off the tracks by skidding on the volcanic pumice stone and smacking into the pine trees dotted everywhere.

Thankfully, our instructor took us down one of the easiest trials, all of it downhill, so we avoided catastrophe although it still got our pulse racing. With over 130km of track on offer incorporating ramps, jumps and banked turns, there is something here for every level of experience.

RECOMMENDED: Pro MTB Rider Brendan Fairclough On Where To Try Mountain Biking In The UK

Dismounting the bikes, we took a 20-minute drive to the crystal clear blue water of June Lake for a go at stand-up paddleboarding. Being able to stand upright on the board rather than kneel – whether or not you’re humming the theme tune to Hawaii Five-0 – is a skill in itself and maintaining one’s balance on these boards is a great way to strengthen the core muscles.

Despite our complete novice status and unplanned dips in the drink, it was a great way to spend an afternoon after the exertions earlier in the day. Top tip: before struggling out of the water, make sure you’re facing the front of the board.

RECOMMENDED: Stand Up Paddleboarding In London

But Mammoth Mountain isn’t just about adventure and outdoor pursuits. It has its own brewery that offers an award-winning selection of craft beer, and its location presents plenty of opportunity for excursions further afield. Mono Lake (pictured above), with its otherworldly Tufa limestone columns, and the town of Bodie, once a prosperous mining settlement and now a deserted ghost town in active decay, are both within easy reach.

For more help planning a trip, see mammothmountain.com and visitmammoth.com

Coach flew to LAX via Reykjavik with Wow Airlines. Prices start from £139pp one-way. Lodging at The Village, Mammoth Lakes starts at $149 (around £115) a night. Oudoor gear supplied by Rohan. Car rental supplied by Hertz.

Stretching for 42 glorious kilometres and taking in parts of London, Hertfordshire and Essex, the Lee Valley Regional Park is home to almost every active pursuit you can think of, and this summer you have the chance to try your hand at 25 different sports and experiences for free.

The Lee Valley Big 50 is giving away 900 free tickets, ranging from sportier options like week-long memberships of the Athletics Centre to more sedate trips like a tour of the Myddelton House Gardens.

You can enter the ballots for as many different activities as you like until 15th May – then cross your fingers and wait to hear if you’ve won. To help entice you further, here are five ballots in the Lee Valley Big 50 it’s definitely worth entering.

Lee Valley Athletics Centre – Gym Membership

There are five tickets on offer in this ballot, which grants victors a week’s free membership at the state-of-the-art training centre, which includes a cardio fitness area, strength and conditioning suite and indoor and outdoor tracks.

Lee Valley White Water Centre – White Water Raft Adventure

The white-water course in Lee Valley was home to the canoe slalom events at the 2012 Olympics. Team GB won gold and silver in the Men’s C-2 event, providing some fond memories to recall as you fly down the rapids in a raft. Enter this ballot for the chance to win one of 30 tickets.

Lee Valley VeloPark – Outdoor Taster Experience

Whatever your brand of cycling – be it mountain biking, road or BMX – the VeloPark has you covered. You can whizz around the road circuit, tackle tough MTB trails or judder your way over the bumps of the BMX track. There are 100 tickets on offer for this one.

Lee Valley Golf Course

Fifty lucky winners will get the chance to play a round at the Lee Valley Golf Course or, perhaps even more enticingly, the FootGolf course. If you’ve never tried FootGolf then you could say your life has been a waste of time up till now (and we are saying that), so definitely enter this ballot.

Lee Valley VeloPark – VeloStudio Membership

There are 50 two-week memberships available to win here. What better place to tackle a variety of indoor cycling workouts than a studio in the 2012 Olympic VeloPark itself? Motivation should be easy even towards the end of the most savage spinning session – just think back to all the the gold medals Team GB won in the building where you’re pedalling.