Far from the madding crowd: my personal pilgrimage on the quiet paths of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset

My mother wrote about the meandering trails from the novelist’s cottage, through countryside loaded with literary references – now I’m following in her footsteps

Giants, saints and dragons on the Llŷn peninsula in north Wales

Three walks along the Wales Coast Path offer a fascinating insight into the legends, culture and industry that shaped this stunning outpost

Pembrokeshire’s wild north by train, bus and bike

Overshadowed by St Davids and Tenby, the Welsh seaside town of Fishguard makes a great off-season base for coastal and country exploration

How I learned to navigate in the Welsh mountains

Learning to read a map and use a compass turns disorientation into discovery in the Eryri national park

A winter’s trail: seasonal UK walks from Somerset to Scotland

The stark landscapes of mid-winter are the best time for enjoying the elements on these routes. Our writers tell us the personal stories behind their favourite hikes

The gentle magic of walking in Somerset’s Mendip Hills

John Harris and family revisit the first halfway serious hill-walk they made in a landscape that’s more comforting than challenging – just what they’re looking for at this time of year

Deserted beaches, wild rivers and seaside chill: four days walking in NSW’s largest coastal park

The Yuraygir coastal walk in northern NSW offers 65km of beachy bliss broken up by tiny towns with food and shelter – ideal for hardcore hikers and ragtag families alike

‘At the top it’s a different world, crisp and pure’: readers’ favourite winter walks

From golden Cornish sands to a Highland trail with beavers, our tipsters choose atmospheric walks to blow away the cobwebs

Look out for the stars of Bethlehem … in south Wales

Rain isn’t the only thing that’s biblical in these parts … We explore a holy land of walks, pubs and crystal-clear night skies in Carmarthenshire

10 places to see in the winter solstice in the UK and Ireland (that aren’t Stonehenge)

The longest night/shortest day is celebrated at the famous prehistoric site, but there are many other atmospheric locations to welcome the returning of the light on 21 December

Six lines, six walks: we explore London’s Overground reboot on foot

The capital’s Overground routes have been rebranded to reflect the distinct flavours of neighbourhoods they cross – as these station to station strolls reveal

Winter Skye: the snow, wind and rain made our trip to Scotland a euphoric experience

Winter on the Scottish isle is a thrill for our writer, a reminder that the ‘bad’ elements can be as exhilarating and restorative as sunshine

The road from Wigan: a walk along Greater Manchester’s new 200-mile green trail

The GM Ringway is an extraordinary new circular route that takes in industrial heritage, countryside, towpaths and hills. Here’s how one 10-mile section shapes up …

Very cheap and incredibly cheerful: we hired an entire hostel in Wales

In winter, the YHA hires out whole hostels for exclusive use by large groups of family and friends – and they are in some of the loveliest parts of the UK

Roaming in the gloaming on Sweden’s new island-hopping trail

Stockholm’s archipelago is a joy in summer but harder to get around at other times as ferries reduce their services. But that could change with the launch of a new trail linking 21 islands