Full Description
You don't need to be ultra-fit or highly experienced in the outdoors to enjoy outdoor guru Patrick Kinsella's selection of 30 activities across Britain. 'A sense of adventure and an explorer's heartbeat' is all that's required, he says, and he should know, having spent two decades walking, running, riding, paddleboarding, swimming, canoeing, kayaking... and more besides, in all corners of the country.
Bradt's Caving, Canyoning, Coasteering... is both an atlas of adventure and book of secrets, enticing readers out of their comfort zone to explore the often-unseen elements and quieter corners of Britain, where the wild experiences live. Some of the activities described take place on the very edges of large urban centres, easily accessible for anyone, yet even many locals don't know about them. Others happen in far-flung corners of the country - places people may never have considered exploring.
'This title will take you on a highly adventurous tour of Britain's extraordinary cliffs, caves, canyons, coasts, forests, fells, beaches, Munros, moors and tors, via a range of outdoor pursuits - many of which were conceived and pioneered on this island' says Kinsella. 'It's all about wild time spent in wonderful places, from the mysterious depths of the labyrinthine limestone underworld beneath the Mendip Hills to the top of ice-clad arêtes and snow-dusted peaks of monstrous Munros in the Scottish Highlands, via seascapes and sub-aquatic environment in Devon and Cornwall, tumbling streams and ghylls in the Lake District, and cascade-concealed caverns in the waterfall-soaked world of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) in Wales. It's not for the faint of heart, but there are escapades here to excite everyone.'
Whether you're an experienced outdoor type or someone who's new to the outdoors but seeking guidance on where to go and what to do, a wildlife and fresh-air enthusiast or an armchair traveller, a lone adventurer or family with young children, Caving, Canyoning, Coasteering... is brimful of ideas. And if the adrenaline gets too much, you'll even find advice on the sedate Japanese art of forest bathing.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS BOOK
KIT & CABOODLE
GOOD CONDUCT IN THE OUTDOORS
1 Cornish pilot gig rowing
Saltash & the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall; Lyme Regis, Dorset
2 Freediving
Porthkerris, Cornwall
3 Surfski paddling
South Hams, Devon; Lake Bala/Llyn Tegid, Wales; Windermere, Cumbria; Loch Awe, Scotland
4 Dartmoor letterboxing
Dartmoor, Devon
5 Sport climbing
Portland, Dorset
6 Tree climbing
Appley Park, Ryde, Isle of Wight
7 Sand yachting
Romney Sands & Greatstone-on-Sea, Kent
8 Caving & potholing
The Mendip Hills, Somerset
9 Scuba diving with seals
Lundy Island, north Devon
10 Canicross
Leigh Woods, Bristol, north Somerset
11 Sailing
Swansea, Wales; north London
12 Forest bathing - Shinrin-Yoku
Pound Wood Nature Reserve, Thundersley, Essex
13 River surfing
The River Severn, Gloucestershire
14 Mountainboarding
Maisemore, near Gloucester, Gloucestershire
15 Canyoning & gorge scrambling
Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales; the Lake District National Park, Cumbria
16 Coasteering
Pembrokeshire Coast, Wales
17 Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP
Norfolk Broads, Norfolk & Suffolk; Jurassic Coast, Devon
18 Scrambling
The Glyderau, Eryri/Snowdonia, north Wales
19 Bouldering
The Plantation, Stanage Edge, the Peak District, Derbyshire/South Yorkshire
20 Bikepacking
Dartmoor, Devon; the Ridgeway, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire; the Peak District; the Yorkshire Dales
21 Ghyll scrambling
Eskdale, the Lake District
22 Fell running
Langdale Fells, the Lake District
23 Via ferrata
Honister Slate Mine, Keswick, the Lake District
24 Swimrun & swimhike
Buttermere & Crummock Water, the Lake District
25 Wingsurfing, wingfoiling & kitesurfing
Beadnell Bay, Northumberland; Troon, south Ayrshire, Scotland
26 Fastpacking
The West Highland Way, Scotland
27 Snorkelling
Oban, Scotland
28 Boatpacking - canoe & kayak camping
River Dart, Devon; the Great Glen, Scotland
29 Snowholing & winter Munro bagging
Cairngorms National Park, the Scottish Highlands
30 Whitewater rafting & packrafting
River Findhorn, Moray, northeast Scotland
EPILOGUE
INDEX
