No need for blood, sweat or tears here, as the smiles break out on the easier edge of the Southern Uplands ’ Galloway Hills.

■ Distance: 8½ miles/13.6km ■ Time: 4½ hours ...

11.2km / 7 miles / 7 hours Ascent 1177m/3863ft

NEWCASTLE AND MARDU CIRCULAR Level Easy Elevation gain 217m Length 6.1km (1hr 49min) Description This round-the-hill loop trail from Newcastle leads through peaceful rural landscapes and small village

Bealach Fèith nan Laogh is perhaps the most far-flung destination in our UK Climbs series. Just getting to it is a test in itself. Tucked away on the banks of Loch Sunart in the west of Scotland, it r

That wasn’t all that enjoyable really,” mutters Chris Akrigg, peering back up a cascade of 200 vertical metres of boulders towards the barren, rocky summit beyond. That hilltop was Chris’s starting ga