1. Climbing

I'm blessed that I live on the edge of the Peak District. The gritstone of the Dark Peak is the finest rock climbing medium in the world and at its best on a cold, sunny day. In winter, most people are "bouldering", climbing short routes above a crash pad without a rope. Stanage Edge has hundreds of routes, bronze moors and a giant sky. Why go anywhere else?

If it's raining, or you want to learn about bouldering, try The Climbing Works (0114 250 9990, climbingworks.com) in nearby Sheffield, the biggest indoor bouldering wall in the world.

· Where to stay: The Peacock in Rowsley (01629 733518, thepeacockatrowsley.com, from £145, inc breakfast).

Ed Douglas

2. Fly-fishing

Many of the happiest days and evenings of my fishing life have been spent beside - or, much better, in - the River Eden near Penrith in Cumbria. This is simply one of the magical corners of England - wide skies, broad fells, sturdy, red-stone villages, sparklingly pure streams and some of the finest fly-fishing for wild brown trout in these islands.

The season opens in April, but I'd wait for the coming of summer. Late May or June is the time, and make sure - preferably after a pint or three of Jennings Bitter in a suitable hostelry - that you're back in the gloaming. The last hour, when the surface is molten gold from the setting sun and the olive flies are hatching and the big trout come on to feed, can test the nerves and make any other fishing seem tame.

· Permits: The estimable Eden Rivers Trust has an offshoot, Go Wild (01768 866788, go-wild.org.uk), that sells day tickets. Where to stay: Crake Trees Manor near Penrith, from £40pp (01931 715205, craketreesmanor.co.uk).

Tom Fort

3. Skiing

Meribel in France is almost the perfect resort for a weekend: it's got more pistes than Franz Klammer could hope to cover in three days, it has that perfect chocolate-box prettiness, it's got a good snow record (an army of snow cannons should the white stuff be unforthcoming) and it has throngs of chalet girls and seasonaires that turn the town into a hotbed of heathen activity as soon as Dick's T Bar opens.

· Inghams (020 8780 4433, inghams.co.uk) flies out Friday mornings, returning either Sunday or Monday evenings. From £435pp, inc B&B, evening meals and flights from Stansted.

Chris Moran, former British snowboard champion

4. Sailing

It's not hard to find your way round the Isle of Wight. You leave the island to your left, or to your right, depending on which way you're going round. And avoid Bramble Bank, and the cruise ships going into Southampton Water. Perhaps it's not the most adventurous of voyages, but it is a circumnavigation of sorts. And it can easily be done in a weekend. There are so many highlights - the Needles; a night at anchor in Newtown river, hell on a July weekend, beautiful in March; and don't miss the mussels at the Baywatch cafe in Bembridge.

· To learn how to sail, contact rya.org.uk. Solent Yacht Charter (02392 602708, solentyachtcharter.com) offers skippered and unskippered charters.

Sam Wollaston

5. Golf

As soon as you enter the Goodwood Estate, the world is a better place. With horse racing, aerodrome, motor circuit and cricket pitch, it's like CenterParcs for the landed gentry - except, these days, we're all welcome. You can zip around the Downs course in buggies with baskets for your champers. You can feast on the lamb, beef and pork taken from the estate's organic farm at the club's 19th hole, The Kennels. You can even wear jeans. Best of all, the estate's just taken ownership of the Goodwood Park Hotel and its Park course, which means from March 1 you get access to both courses and The Kennels.

· The Golf Escape Experience, which includes one night's stay, dinner, breakfast and two rounds of golf on the Park Course, costs from £111pp (01243 775537, thegoodwoodparkhotel.co.uk).

Iestyn George, associate editor of Golf Punk

6. Sea kayaking

The east coast of Anglesey is one of dark history - shipwrecks and smuggling. When other coasts are too exposed to the elements, the area around Moelfre and Red Wharf Bay can often provide a day of sea kayaking stolen from the grasp of winter.

With stunning views of the Snowdonia Mountains, small near-shore islets and limestone cliffs, this coast has it all. Perhaps it is only when an inquisitive grey seal nudges your vessel that you realise that sea kayaking provides a special means of getting intimate with the ever-changing moods of the sea.

· Sea kayaking courses, guided trips and B&B at Rock and Sea Adventures, Llangallo, Anglesey (01248 410877, rockandseadventures.co.uk).

Jim Krawiecki, co-author, with Andy Biggs, of Welsh Sea Kayaking

7. Walk

Arkengarthdale is Yorkshire's most northerly dale, a starkly beautiful landscape of wild fells and brooding moors. Langthwaite lies at the heart of this valley, a cluster of old miners' cottages set around a small square with the traditional Red Lion Inn, which will be familiar from the opening sequences of the TV series All Creatures Great and Small. Great walks radiate in all directions, but the finest is the trek across the rim of Fremington Edge, a towering wall of scree slopes and crags that rise sheer from the flat valley floor high above the confluence of Arkengarthdale and Swaledale.

· The Charles Bathurst Inn, Arkengarthdale (01748 884567, cbinn.co.uk) is renowned for its food and comfortable rooms, from £80, including breakfast.

Mark Reid, author of Walking Weekends: Yorkshire Dales

8. Cycling

Pubs and pedalling go hand in hand, so a fine spot for a rolling saunter are the narrow lanes that lie to the lee of the South Downs, southwest and southeast of Midhurst, twisting and turning through Cocking, Didling, Turkey Island, Quebec, Goose Green and Dumpford. The villages here are well scattered and old. Pubs lie around every twist of the handlebars, but there is no finer place to rest the legs, fill the stomach (try the fat fish pie!), or lay your head down than at the Three Horseshoes in Elsted (01730 825746).

Josie Dew has cycled across six continents. Her latest book, Long Cloud Ride (Sphere, £20), is published on March 8

9. Horse-riding

The most exhilarating riding I have ever done is in Catalonia, in an area known as the Alta Garrotxa. In one weekend, I enjoyed an astonishing variety of landscapes: from flower-filled meadows and oak forests, to river banks and steep mountains. The pace was as varied as the terrain; periods of gentle walking where we admired the spectacular views were interspersed with long gallops which really blew the cobwebs away.

· Inntravel (01653 617906, inntravel.co.uk) offers three nights' half-board with two full days of riding at Can Jou from £295. The centre is 45 minutes' drive from Girona airport.

Victoria Hislop

10. Surfing

Great surf conditions and relatively warm waves can be found in late winter and early spring in the Biarritz region, south-west France.

· Cheap flights from Stansted with Ryanair.com from just over £20 plus taxes; tuition, board hire and accommodation with Surf Solutions (07765 406476, surfsolutions.info) from £250 for three nights.

Alf Alderson, author of Surf UK