Brilliant activity breaks by readers – from Portugal to the Lake District

18.03.2024 - 12:29 / theguardian.com / Lake Garda

Spring in northern Lake Garda is an adventure paradise. I’ve been several times and enjoyed the via ferratas: iron cables fixed to scrambling routes, which require fitness and sense of adventure but not technical mountaineering skills (safety equipment required). The views are amazing and varied, from gorges and ledges to grassy mountaintop finishes and, for the bold, huge vertical ladders – with castles, bastions and shrines along the route. It’s a great area, too, for hiring a bike or picking one of the many apartments that include them, to explore the paths and see the lakes and mountains by pedal power. Bored with all that? There’s also paddleboarding, windsurfing, swimming and river boat trips. All accompanied by brilliant food and gelato.
David Thomas

I’ve enjoyed many perfect activity breaks around beautiful Keswick. Paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing on both Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake are glorious – although you always have to be mindful of the no-boating zones set up to protect breeding birds. Once we have enough of the water we hire mountain bikes and enjoy various trails in Whinlatter Forest. The 16-mile Back o’ Skiddaw route is a real wilderness ride. Hikers are spoilt for choice: my favourites include the nine-mile Coledale Horseshoe and the climb up Blencathra via Sharp Edge to get your pulse racing. The solitude and spectacular scenery make Dock Tarn, a few miles south of Derwentwater, perfect for a wild swim.
Katharine

The Coronallacs Trail offers fantastic hut-to-hut hiking in the Pyrenees. The trail consists of five stages and covers 57 challenging but immensely rewarding miles (92km) passing remote mountain lakes and stunning vistas, reaching a high point of 2,900 metres above sea level. The route links all four of Andorra’s staffed mountain refuges, which provide accommodation and food, allowing you to pack light. At 14 miles the fourth stage is the longest and the hardest, ending in a refuge on Andorra’s highest mountain, Coma Pedrosa. Packages offering four nights’ half-board accommodation at the huts can be found for about £180pp (€219.72) at stadesport.com.
Jasper

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La Gomera in the Canary Islands is hikers’ heaven. There’s thrilling mountain scenery, superb waymarked trails, mild weather all year round and everywhere is so pristine and peaceful, without too many people. At times it’s like walking on a winding path through an ornamental garden, with unusual plants at your feet but with spectacular mountain views all around. The island