Great Days Out

Built by a paranoid Henry VIII, these two clifftop forts in Falmouth tell a thrilling tale of Tudor tensions

Sail between Pendennis and St Mawes, two castles that have defended Cornwall since Tudor times

Great Day Out: Yarmouth

For an island escape like no other, look to the Isle of Wight. It offers, within its 150 square miles, a huge range of landscapes and habitats, so your break can be as action-packed or relaxing as you like. And nowhere encapsulates that variety like Yarmouth, the town on its north-western coast.

Great Days Out: Bryher, Isles of Scilly

Discover a tiny Cornish island that offers rugged Atlantic coastline, sandy sunspots and sheltered glades full of flowers within its borders, says Anthony Burton.

Day out: Cardigan Bay, Ceredigion

Watch in awe from the deck of an expert-guided boat trip and see one of our most beloved marine mammals leaping, cavorting and racing through the water, says Julie Brominicks

Walk: Hannah’s Meadow, County Durham

Enjoy the sounds, scents and colours of an old-fashioned flower-rich meadow on a leisurely walk in a beautiful North Pennine valley, which celebrates the life of Dales farmer and recluse Hannah Hauxwell

Take a sleeper train to the Scottish Highlands

Let yourself be whisked away on an overnight train journey, waking up in the splendour of the Scottish highlands

Go trout fishing at Sweethope Loughs, Northumberland

Try your hand at fly-fishing for trout – in a cleverly adapted boat designed for wheelchair users

Ride in a hot air balloon over Oxfordshire

Enjoy an uplifting ride through the heavens – with glorious views of the countryside

Top 10 wildlife studies and surveys to get involved with

Learn new skills and help scientists make conservation plans by taking part in a wildife survey; the more people that provide data, the more valuable the research