THE EDGES OF BRITAIN

WRICHARD MADDEN

Staycations have never been so popular. As the planet heats, we are all looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprints. Why fly halfway around the globe when we have it all on our doorstep? Due to a happy accident of tectonic plate movement, volcanic activity, and the rise and fall of oceans over billions of years, Britain has some of the most diverse landscapes of any country of a similar size in the world. And nowhere is this diversity more compelling than around its edges.

The coastline of mainland Britain is around 4,000 miles long and almost all of the England Coast Path – a new 2,800-mile continuous

National Trail – will be open in 2020. Highlights include the South West Coast Path, regularly voted “Britain’s Best Walk”, and the Norfolk Coast Path – both of which are famous for their numerous creeks, bays, estuaries, lakes, lagoons, beaches, cliffs, coves and woodland valleys.

Then there are our magical offshore islands. In the south we have the Isles of Scilly with their tropical gardens, remote beaches and other-worldly vibe, the eight contrasting Channel Islands, and the often-overlooked Isle of Wight. In the mystical north, the

Hebrides, the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys have stunning coastlines, white-sand beaches and prehistoric remains such as the Callanish Stones on Lewis and the Neolithic houses of Skara Brae in the Orkneys.

Looking for a coastal road trip? Nowhere beats the Isle of Arran, like a Scotland in miniature, with its castles, mountains, lochs, glens, moorlands, bays and beaches. And for wildlifelovers, the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria – Sir David Attenborough’s favourite UK wildlife site – are home to thousands of seals and puffins and some of the most electrifying seabird colonies in Britain. How to go Wilderness Scotland is offering a sevennight all-inclusive walking tour in the Outer Hebrides from £1,895 (01479 898584; wildernessscotland.com).

Richard Madden is the author of

(National Trust Books).