CORNWALL
It might be a bit chillier than Bondi, but if you want to learn to surf in Britain, the best place to do it is the string of beaches around Newquay (pictured right), on the north coast of Cornwall, which receive some of the UK’s most reliable swells. Fistral is the prima donna of the town’s surfing beaches, and there are lots more, including Lusty Glaze, Watergate Bay, Mawgan Porth, Crantock and Holywell Bay. Don’t even think about trying it without a wetsuit.
* Newquay has good bus, train and air connections. Numerous surf schools offer lessons for novices, as well as skills and tuning sessions for more established surfers (visitcornwall.com). The Escape Surf School in Newquay offers half-day (two-hour) lessons (£35; escapesurfschool.co.uk).
MID-WALES
How do we love the Brecon Beacons? Let us count the ways… Whether it’s the gold-green moorlands, illuminated by a sudden shaft of light between scudding clouds, the startling screech of a red kite as you crest a fin-shaped peak, or finding a cosy, timber-beamed pub with local ales on tap at the end of that drizzle-soaked walk, there’s no denying the stark allure of this 520-square-mile national park. Hikers, climbers, kayakers, cavers, cyclists, stargazers and lovers of solitude will all be in their element here. The best way to explore the park’s sheer-sided heights and heather-clad mountains, which bear the scars of glacial erosion, is to get out and stride. If you don’t have time for the 99-mile Beacons Way, opt for a day hike. One option is the 10-mile horseshoe ridge trail, ticking off the four peaks of Corn Du, Pen y Fan (the highest at 886m), Cribyn and Fan y Big. Return by night for the telescopetwitching magic of glimpsing the Milky Way in the unpolluted skies of this Dark Sky Reserve.