Sail: Around the Isle of Wight
Journey time: From eight hours to two days
A circumnavigation is a thrill and a challenge to the sailor, and gives him or her a nice sense of achievement and completion. If you don't have the yacht, the time, the money or the inclination to circumnavigate the globe, there's always the Isle of Wight. It's easy to find the way (you leave the island to the left or the right, depending on which way round you're going, and when it looks exactly the same as it did when you started, then you've finished). The Solent is a less hostile place than the Southern Ocean - there are no icebergs, for a start - though do watch out for fearsome tidal streams around the Needles, and the aggressive red ferries that ply between Cowes and Southampton. Newton River is a lovely place to park for the night, except at the weekend in the height of summer, when it's full of braying yachties. And if you end up in Bembridge (don't attempt to get in at low tide: you won't succeed, I promise), try the Baywatch Cafe. You won't find The Hoff there, or Pammy, sadly. But the mussels are spectacular.
If you don't own a yacht, or you're not a qualified sailor, it's not the end of the world. Or even the end of the Isle of Wight. Get a bunch of people together and charter a boat with a skipper. Buy yourself a sou'wester. Or better still, a bottle of rum...
Sam Wollaston
• To charter a yacht, try solentyachtcharter.com or boat-charters.uk.com/yacht_charter.shtml
Freewheel: From Bristol to Bath
Journey time: One day
Little did I know when the Bristol and Bath railway path opened in 1984 that it would mark the birth of the National Cycle Network, which today covers 12,000 miles across Britain. The route will always be my favourite - and not just from the wonderful memories I have of building it with a small army of volunteers.
This peaceful path draws the countryside into the heart of the city and is the most popular traffic-free route on the network. Even the inner-city sections bloom with wild flowers in the spring, and there are terrific views of the south Cotswolds all year round.
Sculptures, including an upside-down fish, and the Roman-soldier drinking fountain, will amuse children, as will a quarter-mile tunnel and the Avon Valley steam railway.
Cyclists can pedal the entire 16-mile stretch in either direction and take the train back or, for shorter journeys, the Bitton railway station teashop and riverside pubs at Saltford make good turnaround points.
But you might want to experience the sheer joy of this path soon, because Bristol city council plans to use part of it for a bus link, which would restrict the space for walkers and cyclists alike.
John Grimshaw (founder of sustainable transport charity Sustrans)
• Maps can be ordered from sustrans.org.uk. For bike hire, try bristolcycles.co.uk or Blackboy Hill Cycles, 0117 973 1420. In Bath, stay at Bloomfield House (01225 420105; ecobloomfield.com
Climb: The Cairngorms
Journey time: One week
The Cairngorms are high, sprawling, dome-shaped mountains with bare summits and sweeping views and great valleys that cut through the plateau to reveal cliffs and slopes and lochs of remarkable beauty. There's nothing quite like these mountains anywhere else in Britain - and for four glorious days one August, with a friend, I walked on a great curving journey across all the high summits of these hills. We carried enormous packs; we camped by the streams; we touched 23 mountaintops; we saw hundreds of deer, birds of prey, tiny flowers, clouds of midges, and barely another person. And we relished the special sensation of being alone with the stars on some of the highest and remotest ground in the country.
We started on the western edge, walking along the hills that face Glen Feshie; we crossed the southern outlying hills and curved around to tackle the four highest summits, which ring the great pass of the Lairig Ghru, then ended triumphantly on the summit of Cairngorm itself, emerging from silence into a throng of people. The contrast was dramatic. It was a tough journey, but it took us into the wild heart of the mountains. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Chris Smith (former culture secretary, president of the Ramblers' Association)
• For general walking information, go to ramblers.org.uk. For ideas on all levels of walks, try walking.visitscotland.com/walks/cairngorms
Barge: The river Churnet
Journey time: Four days
Don't be put off narrowboating by its lack of glitz, or even by that dread term "chemical toilet". I've been on four barging weekends and they have all been brilliant fun. Enforced relaxation might seem an odd idea, but slowness is what it's all about. You watch the tops of hedges and fields go smoothly and surreally by, you nod and smile at other bargers, you lie on top of the boat - and your blood pressure drops to a pleasant state of near-catatonia.
Some embrace the geekiness of piloting the barge: the challenge, say, of turning the boat at a tight "winding hole". But what I like best is the canal-side pubs. Imagine the scene. You are doing nothing and feeling super-relaxed, and then what? You have a few drinks sitting in a pub garden and feel happier still.
The Caldon Canal near Stoke - where we found ourselves most recently - is one of the most picturesque in the country. Don't fret when, on leaving Stoke, you find that the journey starts amid bleak suburbia. Soon enough things get bucolic and you find yourself gliding down the narrowest of waterways with willows overhanging one bank and swathes of Himalayan balsam on the other.
There's plenty for those wanting a hit of industrial nostalgia: the aqueduct at Hazelhurst, the steam train at Cheddleton, the marvellous cracked wooden paddles and winding mechanisms of every lock gate (yes, locks do feature a lot on a barge trip). But if that all gets too much, and you're even fed up with doing nothing, moor the boat at a remote spot, turn up the stereo, and dance on the towpath.
Merope Mills
•For canal boat hire, contact Drifters Waterway Holidays (0845 762 6252; drifters.co.uk). Find great ideas for enjoying the waterways at waterscape.com
Ride: The West Highland line to Skye
Journey time: One week
Before the whistle, the rush for the perfect seat. It must be by a table (to spread out on) and forward-facing (so you won't feel sick); it has to be one of the back two carriages (if you're travelling all the way to Mallaig) and on the left-hand side (which, according to the station hand at Glasgow, offers the best view). And by a window, of course.
For me, it was seat 28 of the penultimate carriage of the West Highland line that made the journey a memorable one. The Iron Road to the Isles, as it is nicknamed, is one of the most beautiful train journeys in Britain. Connecting Glasgow and the west coast of Scotland, it takes in fir-tree forests, lochs and moors with deer that kick up their heels and bolt when the chug of the train interrupts their peace.
It is a national treasure so picturesque it has starred in both a Harry Potter film and Trainspotting. (The remote station at Corrour moor is where the clean-cut Tommy tries to take his loser friends for a walk. "Doesn'ae make you proud to be Scottish?" he asks, before Ewan McGregor delivers his famous "It's shite being Scottish" rant.)
Once at Mallaig, the fishing port that signals the end of the line, you're just a short ferry trip from Skye. Die-hard train travellers can leave via the Kyle line, which takes you from the Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness, and rivals the West Highland line for beauty.
Merope Mills
• For the West Highland line, contact First ScotRail (08457 550033; firstgroup.com/scotrail). Stay at Hotel Eilean Iarmain (01471 833332; eileaniarmain.co.uk); eat at the Three Chimneys (01470 511258; threechimneys.co.uk), both on Skye.
