I was 17, a trainee surveyor earning £5 a week. Faced with a week’s leave without much cash to spend, I decided to try hitchhiking with my mate Gordon. We started at the gates of Liverpool’s Stanley A

“ Parked up at The Little Roadway Farm Campsite at the top of Challacombe Hill, we excitedly made our way across the National Trust car park and then carefully down the old Smugglers Path towards town

We arrive at the top of High Cup Nick in the North Pennines. “It’s like the world starts just over there,” comments my friend Mark. He’s pointing down the U-shaped chasm of High Cup Gill, beyond whose

The North Country Rover ticket offers four days’ travel within an eight-day period and covers the north of England from Halifax up to Newcastle and Carlisle (excluding heritage railways). Available at

White waterfalls, friendly cafés, forest trails, a secret castle and the shifting light on Loch Tay are just some of the reasons to visit the Scottish village of Killin. It is also an easy drive from

St Patrick’s Way winds through the mercurial scenery of Northern Ireland, visiting the places linked to Ireland’s patron saint. Ailsa Sheldon sets out to explore its highlights by foot, bike and canoe