Tripping back to the wild frontier

After 20 years, Howard Marks returns to the borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where armed police escort tourists, and meets a people with no laws, no prisons and no word for goodbye because they never leave

High school: mountaineering in Chamonix

Jonathan Trigell learns the basics of climbing mountains in a week on a high altitude summer break

10 top UK coastal holidays

It's not all knotted handkerchiefs and deckchairs on Britain's coastline – Blue Flag beaches and hip hotels abound

20 top rural escapes in the UK

Remoteness in Britain may be under threat but it hasn't disappeared, says Robert Macfarlane. In fact, it can be surprisingly close at hand

10 top UK adventure holidays

From a coast-to-coast cycle ride to paddling down the Severn – 10 ideas to get the heart racing and blood pumping

Top 10 pony trekking holidays around the world

From long hacks for pony-pros and BYO horse holidays to saddle-friendly treks for beginners, Samantha Warwick rounds up the best holidays on horseback

Highland hiking in Spain

Walkers visiting the Costa Dorada in Catalonia can now book group day hikes

Tough at the top

Prince Charles called the old visitors' centre on the peak of Snowdon 'the highest slum in Wales' - and now its eco-friendly replacement is proving just as controversial. Jill Tunstall reports

The mild bunch

A holiday on a working cattle ranch offered Sarfraz Manzoor the chance to live out his cowboy fantasies. But first he had to learn how to get on a horse...

Way to go on Turkey’s coast

A walking holiday with local guides and stays in village houses gives Rhiannon Batten a new perspective on the ancient Lycian Way