Outdoors

Scotland has wonderful beaches and there are many great riding stables.

Almost 200 runners will set off from Fort William in the Scottish Highlands for the extreme Cape Wrath Ultra Race 2018.

The very best of Scotland can only be reached after you leave the hustle and bustle of the nation’s cities.

Last September, the artist Ross Ryan set sail from Crinan aboard Sgarbh, a 40-foot wooden fishing boat dating from 1947. His plan was to make a 60-day solo voyage around the Hebrides using the boat as his floating studio, and the results of his adventure are now on display at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh. In his introduction to the exhibition catalogue, Ryan says that the idea of going sailing in the stormy months of autumn conjured up romantic images of “nursing the stove as the wind played tunes in the rigging” but that the reality was “somewhat less cosy.” That’s putting it mildly. Last autumn turned out to be even windier than usual on the west coast (anyone remember Hurricane Ophelia?) and Ryan says he often found himself “holed up in small guts waiting to be allowed to continue north.”

If you find yourself putting off the gym because the weather is too nice, this one’s for you.

Whether you're planning a romantic trip for two, a family excursion or a group holiday with a difference - we’ve put together a list of fantastic places to stay here in Scotland.

At the end of last month the much-discussed Wavegarden Scotland project received planning consent from the City of Edinburgh Council, delighting surfers from Coldingham to Thurso. The idea of a perfect surfing wave breaking in a former quarry in Ratho sounds so far-fetched, however, that when I catch up with 36-year-old Andy Hadden, co-founder of Tartan Leisure Ltd, the company which is developing the site, I still feel I have to ask him: is this really happening?

About eight years ago I was at Colorado’s historic Winter Park ski resort, which first welcomed skiers in the ‘make turns not war’ season of 1939-40, getting shown around the place by a young snowboard instructor with a view to writing about it for the travel pages of this newspaper. I can’t remember the instructor’s name, but I do remember that he was a big fan of moguls (just as well for him, as Winter Park is famous for its mogul runs) and I also remember that he was very keen that I should sample some of these “bump runs,” as the Americans call them, even though they are about my least favourite thing to do on a snowboard. To be fair to my guide he did his best to help me out, giving me a very thorough bump-boarding tutorial, but in the end his frustration evidently got the better of him and he told me I was snowboarding like his dad. Ouch.

Why not do something a little different this summer and try one of these unusual but exciting activities?

This view of Glen Docherty on the North Coast 500 publicity poster is stunning - but it’s not actually on the route.

Summer is most definitely in the air in Edinburgh, with lighter mornings and evenings meaning there’s no better time to dust down your bike and consider a trip into the great outdoors, writes Claire Connachan.

Though there are thousands of superb walks in Scotland, some are a step above the rest.

We’ve compiled a list of twenty-five great Scottish walks to get stuck into this National Walking Month.

Hillwalkers have been urged to treat long-lying snow patches on mountains with caution as the May bank holiday approaches.

Scotland is home to some stunning mountains - but can you name them under pressure?

Four of Scotland’s five winter resorts have now shut down as this year’s ski season comes to a close, with many describing it as one of the best the country has had in years.