Thirty inspiring outdoor activity guides for your summer adventures

May 30, 2022 1 min read

Berneray West Beach is a three-mile stretch of white sand located on the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.

Photo © Eilidh Carr

If you’re planning to go on a holiday closer to home this year and are looking to explore more of the UK, then be sure to check out the summer guidebooks below. Whether you’re a walker, runner, cyclist, climber or swimmer, these inspiring outdoor activity guides have something for everyone ...

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FOR WALKERS ...

1001 Walking Tips by Paul Besley is a huge collection of small tips to make a real difference to your walking, whether you’re in your local urban area, in a national park, on a long-distance trail or hiking in the mountains in winter Classic Day Walks in England & Wales features a selection of the best hillwalking routes from Vertebrate Publishing's popular series of walking guidebooks Peak Bagging: Wainwrights by Karen and Dan Parker features forty-five routes designed to efficiently link all 214 Wainwright fells Big Trails: Great Britain & Ireland features 25 long-distance trails in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and includes a general overview of the trails, specific technical information, overview mapping, key information and stunning photography Big Trails: Great Britain & Ireland Volume 2 features twenty-five long-distance trails in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and includes a general overview of the trails, specific technical information, overview mapping, key information and stunning photography

FOR RUNNERS ...

FOR CYCLISTS ...

1001 Cycling Tips by Hannah Reynolds is a huge collection of small tips to make a real difference to your cycling, whether you’re into road cycling, mountain biking, have an ebike, gravel bike or commute to work on your bike Traffic-Free Cycle Trails by Nick Cotton contains over 400 cycle routes in Great Britain Bikepacking England by Emma Kingston contains twenty great multi-day off-road cycling adventures across England, including the Peak District, Jurassic Coast, South Downs, Lake District and Dartmoor Pennine Bridleway by Hannah Collingridge is a guidebook to this National Trail taking you from Derbyshire through the Yorkshire Dales to Cumbria, following the Pennine Hills Big Rides: Great Britain & Ireland features twenty-five long-distance cycling trails in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and includes a general overview of the trails, specific technical information, overview mapping, key information and stunning photography

FOR MOUNTAIN BIKERS ...

Great British Gravel Rides by Markus Stitz is a collection of 25 routes – each is a favourite of a passionate gravel cyclist – exploring the very best gravel cycling across England, Wales and Scotland Gravel Rides Scotland by Ed Shoote contains 28 routes, ranging from 31 to 128 kilometres in length, exploring the very best gravel riding that Scotland has to offer Great British Bike Rides by Dave Barter brings together 40 of the best road rides in England, Scotland and Wales, searching out the country's most celebrated routes, toughest climbs and scenic roads Great Britain Mountain Biking is a guide to the best places to ride mountain bikes in England, Scotland and Wales Lake District Mountain Biking – Essential Trails is the fully updated third edition of Vertebrate Publishing's bestselling mountain bike guide to the Lake District National Park

FOR CLIMBERS ...

1001 Climbing Tips by Andy Kirkpatrick is a massive collection, acquired from three decades of climbing obsession, of all those little tips that make a real difference when at the crag, in the mountains, or when you’re planning your next big trip Peak District Gritstone by Graham Hoey is a comprehensive guide to over 2,000 Peak grit trad trad routes graded from Mod to E10 Lake District Bouldering is a comprehensive guide to bouldering in the Lake District National Park Peak District Bouldering features such crags as the Stanage, Burbage and Curbar on the Eastern Edges; Cracliffe, Robin Hood's Stride, Turning Stone Edge and Black Rocks in the southern Peak; and The Roaches, Newstones, Baldstones and Wimberry in the western and northern Peak Churnet Bouldering by Stuart Brooks is a guide to the sandstone bouldering in the lower Churnet valley 

FOR WATER-LOVERS ...

1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips by Calum Maclean is a huge collection of small tips to improve your outdoor swimming, whether you're a novice or experienced wild swimmer The Outdoor Swimming Guide features over 400 great places to swim outside in Great Britain Swimming Wild in the Lake District by Suzanna Cruickshank is an informative and inspiring book for both new and experienced wild swimmers, exploring the larger lakes in the beautiful Lake District National Park Stand-up Paddleboarding in Great Britain by Jo Moseley suggests over thirty incredible places to SUP in England, Scotland and Wales The Beaches of Scotland by Stacey McGowan Holloway is a guide to the stunning beaches around Scotland's coast, featuring information on facilities, access and activities, and presented with custom mapping and stunning photography