The Old Harry Rocks are an outcropping of white cliffs in Studland Bay in Dorset. We walked from Knole Beach all the way out to the rocks and then across to Swanage. The cliffs are spectacular — no guardrails here! Just a sheer drop down to the ocean and rocks below. Old Harry Rocks Looking down over the sheer cliff face Thankfully, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution trains Britain's lifeboat crews off the coast Swanage and Poole, so if worst came to worst they were there in their speedboats to fish us out. Looking across to Swanage

It was a very rainy day when we set out for Hadrian's Wall. We'd originally hoped to time our visit around the weather, but due to the various sicknesses, we only had this one day. Thus, resolute in our quest to see yet another Unesco World Heritage sight (we've done remarkably well here in the UK), we pressed through the grim weather to see one of the most famous stretches of the wall, including Steel Rigg, the Sycamore Gap and Crag Lough. The weather actually cleared for the first hour of the walk, only to come back with a vengeance

This past weekend in Northumberland we got the inverse of our wonderful weather luck in Wales and Northern Ireland. Just as everyone was feeling well enough to tackle the great outdoors again, the fog rolled in off the North Sea. So while it made for some very atmospheric walking, the views didn't amount to much. On Saturday, we visited Low Newton-by-the-Sea and walked across the fields to a nearby beach before retiring to the pub for supper. On Sunday, we walked from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle and back before visiting another pub. Both pubs were just the kind of warm,

With one child somewhat under-the-weather, it was a smaller than usual walking party that headed out to visit Steall Falls, the second-highest waterfall in Britain, in the shadow of Ben Nevis. Looking back down the valley at Ben Nevis Compared to the Hidden Valley, it was a pretty easy path, but there were still enough scrambles to keep things interesting. No ropes? No problem. Looking westward down the valley. The waterfalls drop 120 metres into the wonderfully named "Waters of Nevis" river, which flows out into the Loch a few miles away. The riverbed was an excellent spot for some rock-bashing. Walkers

The Glencoe Valley was the site of a massacre some 330 years ago. Some of the targets of the attack escaped to Coire Gabhail, or the "Hidden Valley," which was, in those days, quite difficult to find. Nowadays, there is a large carpark and a constant stream of walkers heading up a well-marked trail that takes you scrambling up a steep climb, over rivers, and alongside waterfalls. We had a properly Scottish weather experience on the day we tackled the hike — rain, snow, and sunshine all in the space of a few hours. Setting off in the rain and

You can just drive to the Giant's Causeway visitors centre and do the short 1km walk down to see the rock formations. But since the (very helpful) tourist board website recommended approaching the causeway via a coastal walk from Dunseverick, and we've turned into such ardent hikers on this trip, we opted for a ~7km hike instead. We have had so much stunning weather and scenery these last few weeks, that it's almost become a bit ho-hum. This walk was beautiful, with each successive headland revealing another spectacular set of cliffs and bays. But the causeway rock formations are the

Having decided that an ascent of Mt. Snowdon was a bit more than little legs could handle (and possibly the big legs too), we set out on a crisp, clear Saturday for Llyn Idwal, one of the more popular hikes in Snowdonia. We were at the carpark by 8:45, but that proved to be not quite early enough to secure a spot, so our hike began and ended with a bit of a walk along the road from the next closest parking site. That aside, it was a terrific day from start to finish. The views were tremendous, and we

Emboldened by our Bath Skyline hike and our climb up Hay Bluff, we wanted to do some proper hikes while we were in North Wales. On this particular day, the forecast was not so great for the mountains around Snowdonia, but much nicer out in Anglesey along the coast. We found a 7km hike, and set out while it was still raining back in Llanrug. Worryingly, it continued to rain as we drove across Anglesey. But then, like magic, as we arrived at Cemaes Bay, the clouds cleared, and we were rewarded with a glorious sunny day with calm winds.

On one particularly glorious day, we set out to climb Hay Bluff. We did not take the super steep, direct route up the hill, instead opting to make our way more gradually by winding around the back. We met lots of sheep and ponies along the way, and it was such a clear day, we could see for miles. On our way up the hill. Small boys bringing up the rear Looking out over Glasbury from the top of Hay Bluff. The sheep enjoy the view too. An inquisitive pony came over to say hello When we set out we thought we might