Flat out

The UK has around 4,700 miles of navigable waterways. Drifting along these hidden stretches is the perfect way to savour the tranquil joys and crafty spirit of traditional canal boat life

After 150 miles the wonderful London Outer Orbital Path brings you back where you started – but we can’t promise it’ll be the same person who arrives.

The artsy villages and gilded bays of this part of Fife make for one of Scotland’s finest walking adventures. Words: Sarah Gillespie

Our walks this month Ian Battersby 1 ...

It’s the busiest time of year for Britain’s beautiful places. Yet as these locations prove, you can find silence, sensational scenery and space to breathe.

Over the stippled swell of the Firth of Clyde soars a gannet. A pair of long, black-tipped wings catches the late-August light as the bird tilts on the breeze. It’s on fish patrol – curving low then r