Mountains of the mind

Dan Whitaker discovers that life coaching while hiking Spain's Picos de Europa helps body and soul.

Morning after

Fancy an invigorating walk on Boxing Day to work off the festive excesses? Then why not head for the nearest national park, says Alf Alderson.

On top of the world

Robert Macfarlane's fascinating personal account of the appeal and terrors of high-altitude climbing won him the Guardian First Book award last night. He tells Oliver Burkeman how he fell in love with the mountains.

Seasick

The stomach bug on board the cruise liner Aurora has struck down a quarter of the passengers and caused an international incident. But is the risk that great - and are ships breeding grounds for such outbreaks? Lucy Atkins investigates.