Summer Challenge:which one will you tick off?
This is your summer of adventure, wonder, and exploring the beautiful wild corners of the UK. I have gathered ten challenges to ignite your adventurous spirit and two bonus ones for luck – think polar bears, castles and getting off the beaten track!
My adventures this summer include:
- Secret sauna and a dip in a wild pond✅
- Hiking Up Black Down, South Downs ✅
- Visited Divers Cove, Surrey, with my swim buddies Lynette and Peyton ✅
- Visited The SHAC, Surrey, with my fellow adventurer Genny Brown (better known as the Antarctic Aruban)✅
- Kayaking with my husband
- Double dipped with my Jersey Crew – swam at Arundel Lido and Littlehampton Beach ✅
- Dancing on the Beach in Brighton to good old House Music ✅ with more to come!
- Visiting a Super Car event with my boys
- Going back to The SHAC, Surrey, with my mum and sister.
- Going Paddleboarding with my Boys
- Booked tickets for the Frontier Sapiens Film Festival, Brighton with my boys
All links are correct on the publication date. Please note that links can change quickly.
Summer Challenge 1: Climb a Hill or Mountain
Get Hiking: From gentle hikes to epic climbs, the UK is full of peaks and viewpoints for every ability.
Pick a mountain, hill, or high viewpoint and hike to the summit. It might be tough going, but the views are worth it, especially at sunrise or sunset.
Inspiration:
- Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), Wales
- Box Hill, Surrey
- Salisbury Cathedral Tower, Wiltshire
- Golden Cap, Dorset – the highest point on the South Coast
Fun Fact: Golden Cap stands at 191 metres, the highest point along the entire South Coast of England.
Summer Challenge 2: Watch the Sunrise
Set your alarm early and bring breakfast to a hilltop or beach to watch the day begin.
Find sunrise times in your area
Where to go:
Fun Fact: The earliest UK summer sunrises can be as early as 4:30am in northern Scotland.
Summer Challenge 3: Blossom Spotting at the National Trust
Add a splash of pink to your summer by visiting a garden in full bloom and see how many types of flowers you can spot.
Find a National Trust garden near you
Top picks:
- Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
- Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Kent
- Powis Castle, Wales
- Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire
- Benthall Hall, Shropshire
Fun Fact: Hydrangeas, often seen in pink and blue, change colour depending on the soil’s acidity!
Summer Challenge 4: Travel by Train
Leave the car at home and hop on the train. Let the scenery roll by and discover somewhere new.
Ideas to get you started:
- Chester Zoo (via Chester Station + Zoo Bus)
- Windsor Castle (10 min walk from Windsor & Eton Riverside)
- Lake Windermere (from Windermere Station)
- Loch Lomond & The Trossachs (via Balloch Station)
- Overnight sleeper to Cornwall – GWR Night Riviera
- Spot a Polar on your way to Norwich
Fun Fact: You can fall asleep in London and wake up in Penzance — with the sea just minutes away.
Summer Challenge 5: Send a Postcard
Take a photo, write a message, and surprise someone with a good old-fashioned postcard.
- Design your own postcard with Moonpig
- Send one from Land’s End
- Or from John O’Groats
- Postcards to Peaks
- Try Letters from Afar — receive a letter from Timbuktu!
Fun Fact: Royal Mail delivers to the UK’s most remote island postboxes, including Fair Isle and Lundy.
Summer Challenge 6: Try Paddleboarding
Give stand-up paddle boarding a go — guaranteed laughs, wobbles, splashes, and maybe a new hobby.
- Courses and sessions near you
- Discover SUP Clubs across the UK
- Always check weather and tides before you paddle
Fun Fact: The UK has over 100 paddleboard clubs
Summer Challenge 7: Explore a Market
Wander a local market and discover crafts, books, foodie delights, and music you didn’t expect.
Great markets to explore:
- Borough Market, London (beware: can get very busy at peak times)
- Stockbridge Market, Edinburgh
- St George’s Market, Belfast
- Hay-on-Wye, Wales
- Columbia Road Flower Market, London
Fun Fact: Hay-on-Wye is the world’s first “book town” — with more bookshops per person than anywhere else!
Summer Challenge 8: Visit a Pub with a View
I love a pub garden and always order fish and chips if we are staying for dinner!
Top 5 pubs with a vibe:
- The Magic Garden, Battersea
- The Old Neptune, Whitstable
- The Watering Hole, Perranporth
- White Swan, Twickenham
- The Bell at Skenfrith, Wales
Fun Fact: The Watering Hole is the only pub on a UK beach — literally! The title of London’s oldest pub is hotly debated, but The Prospect of Whitby in Wapping is often cited as the frontrunner, with a history dating back to 1520. It’s London’s oldest riverside pub, we used to come here as kids with my Dad! This is what you would call a proper pub!!
Summer Challenge 9: Get Off the Beaten Track
Step away from the crowds and discover wild beauty, hidden history, and nature at its best.
- Top 10 Castles – English Heritage
- Nature Reserves – RSPB
- National Trust’s Best Coastal Walks
- UK National Parks
Also don’t miss:
The King Charles III England Coast Path — a 2,700-mile National Trail set to be the world’s longest continuous coastal walk, linking communities all around the English coastline. Due to complete in 2026.
Fun Fact: The UK has over 2,100 designated nature reserves and nearly 800 protected coastal sites!
Summer Challenge 10: Visit a Beach
No summer is complete without sand, salt air, and the sound of seagulls.
Check this year’s Blue Flag Award Beaches for the UK’s cleanest and safest coastlines.
Top 5 Blue Flag beaches in 2024:
- Blackpool Sands, Devon
- Trearddur Bay, Anglesey
- West Wittering, Sussex
- Swanage Central, Dorset
- Tynemouth Longsands, Northumberland
Fun Fact: Over 200 UK beaches have won Blue Flag or Seaside Awards in 2024
Bonus Adventures
1. Go to an Outdoor Cinema
- Cinestock – Sussex & beyond
- Adventure Film Nights – Frontier Sapiens – Pink Nicky’s Adventures is sponsoring the Brighton, Frontier Sapiens Film Night – come and say hello on Saturday, September 6th
2. Book a Wild Camping Weekend
Blog Contributors this week:
Big Adventure hugs to: Peyton Vellaa, Lynette S, Genevieve Brown, Jossy Lass, Stu Skinner, The SHAC -The Surrey Hills Adventure Company, Divers Cove and Postcards to Peaks. Thank you, Frankie Softley, for this week’s header photo – taken in the Isle of Skye
Need Inspiration: Check out last week’s What’s Hot in July