Today is St David’s Day and to celebrate the occasion we’ve selected our favourite outdoor…
Winter may have started but it doesn’t mean your outdoor adventures have to stop! With the right gear and some planning, you can still get out and about during colder months. Outdoor experts share their favourite adventures to enjoy in the UK over colder months.
Scaling Cairn Gorm via the Fiacaill Ridge is a proper Scottish mountaineering classic – a ridge that feels wild yet totally achievable with the right guidance. Think airy scrambling, that brilliant sense of exposure, and moments where the mountains open around you in all their winter glory. On a crisp winter’s day, nothing is greater than topping out on Cairn Gorm. It’s winter in Britain at its very best.
Craig Taylor, Co-founder, Great British Adventure Club
A popular winter adventure with myself and guests is the walk from Capel Curig up to Crimpiau, then down into our Cornel Centre in Wales’s Crafnant Valley. It’s a relatively short walk but one that tests your navigation skills. It’s ideal for all ages, in particular young people looking to develop their winter walking. Working in partnership with experienced Mountain Leaders, you pretty quickly get some awesome views of Eryri!
Adam ‘Dexter’ Williams, Chair and Team Leader, Cornel Scout Centre, Scouts Cymru
A great place to visit in winter is Bowhill House in the Scottish Borders, home of the Dukes of Buccleuch for the last several hundred years. The house itself is shut to visitors at this time of year, but the Duchess’s Drive walk is open. Once a carriage route constructed for a former mistress of Bowhill, the path takes you high above the house and grounds, up into the hills. It’s never steep but takes you up steadily. As the path curves round the sides of the hills you get grandstand views of the whole of the Southern Uplands, from Tweeddale to Annan and across to the Cheviots. On a bluebird day in winter, when spindrift blows across the path, there is no better place to be.
Kerri Andrews, Editor of ‘Way Makers: An Anthology of Women’s Writing about Walking’ and Author of ‘Wanderers: A History of Women Walking’
Better regarded in fairer weather, for me the Lake District really shines in winter. The light casts a longer shadow, and the greenery sinks beneath reds and browns, against those moody Atlantic skies. Wild camping is tolerated on the high fells – on a clear night, little for me beats wrapping up in a winter bivvy after a long hike. National Trust campsites remain open year-round. Great Langdale is a personal favourite and has the Old Dungeon Ghyll hillwalkers’ pub within stumbling distance.
Tom Allen, Expeditions and Fieldwork Manager, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)
Sailing Norfolk’s salt marshes is an extraordinary adventure on a winter’s day. You set off from Wells-next-the-Sea and get into the marshes pretty quickly. We enjoyed the fact that you are basically completely alone out there. It’s a nature reserve, so only boats are allowed down the narrow backwaters, and only skilled sailors who know the waters can navigate them.
Charlie Wild, Co-author of Achievable Adventures: A Practical Guide: 52 of the UK’s Most Unforgettable Experiences
Of the many outdoor adventures I have enjoyed, a day on Ben Nevis is always memorable. A standout day for me is the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête, a route where you’ll only need one walking axe and won’t have to do any climbing. The Ben in its full winter coat is truly a sight to behold, and a traverse of the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête allows you to take in every angle of its world class north face. If you manage to time it on a good weather day, you’re in for something special!
Dalton Moore, Outdoor and Adventure Senior Instructor, Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead
As winter’s first frosts arrive, nothing beats stepping into crisp, invigorating air. For me, January means heading north to Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park near Aviemore – a paradise for adventure seekers craving snow and ice. Winter hiking brings challenges like unpredictable weather and shorter daylight, but the rewards are stunning: dramatic mountain vistas, serene woodlands and unforgettable scenery. Beyond the views, winter walking offers peace, solitude, and a boost to body and mind. Aviemore, with its towering peaks and the River Spey, is the perfect base for exploring the Highlands and spotting wildlife.
Brett Waring, Operations Officer, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
My best winter adventure this year has been swimming in Cardigan Bay in west Wales – very chilly but so energising, and further out to sea we saw dolphins leaping in the surf. Magical!
Benedict Dempsey, People and Nature Advisor at WWF-UK
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