12 articles
National parks, wild places and adventure travel: where to go, when, and what to know before you leave.
A destination is more than a pretty photograph. What makes a good week outdoors often comes down to less photogenic details: a train that stops near the start of the walk, a mountain hut that needed booking, a season when the path is actually passable. This section is about those details, to help you choose where to go and plan the trip without unpleasant surprises.
You will find introductions to national parks and other protected areas, with their rules: where you may sleep, and what you can do there with a dog, a drone or a stove. Practical guides explain how mountain huts, bothies and cabins work, which ones need booking and what is expected of guests. Others help you reach paths by train or bus, travel further afield independently or with a tour operator, and keep your footprint light wherever you go. Wildlife-watching trips have their pages too, with what sets a responsible operator apart.
Choosing a destination also means choosing a season. We explain what difference a spring or an autumn trip makes, when to book, what transport and accommodation really cost, and what paperwork to sort out before travelling abroad. Any prices we quote are dated and sourced. The common mistakes feature prominently: the hut that was full because nobody booked, the mountain pass still closed in spring, the trip that lands in the middle of the local school holidays. Not forgetting the park where wild camping is banned on the very spot where you planned to pitch.
Our method is the same everywhere: information checked against official sources such as park authorities, tourist boards and transport operators, rules quoted from the official texts with the date we checked them, and figures explained. A travel story is always told by the person who made the journey. The section is for anyone planning their first nature trip, and for seasoned travellers looking for somewhere new, in the UK, in Ireland or much further afield.
DestinationsRoute
The highest point on La Gomera stands at just 1,487 m, yet planning takes more than a map: overnight stays are banned in the national park, the GR 132 round the island measures 114 or 127 km depending on the source, and in August 2025 the path network was closed for a time. Here are the walks, the journey from Tenerife and the rules that really apply.
Nolwenn Bastide··10 min
Plan the GR 70 from Le Puy to Alès: adjustable stages, lodging, season, car-free access and the return, with the limits of the published figures.
Joséphine Garand··13 min
Wild camping is nearly banned in Iceland. Here is what the nature conservation law really allows for tents, campervans and driving.
Alex Aubert··9 min
The West Highland Way is 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William. Official stage distances, camping permits, midges, bag transfers and how to get there.
Nolwenn Bastide··12 min
Rota Vicentina: 13 stages and 226.5 km (141 miles) on the Fishermen’s Trail, 263 km on the Historical Way. Sand, luggage, buses and the season.
Guillaume Hoarau··17 min
The right to roam in Sweden, Norway and Finland: how long you can camp, when fires are banned, and what applies to fishing and to motorhomes.
Arnaud Couderc··11 min
Since the flash flood of 29 August 2026, Phantom Ranch, the North Kaibab Trail and both river bridges are closed, with no reopening date. What is still open.
Climbing to the summit of Teide takes a named booking on Tenerife ON, day or night: €15 from 9am to 5pm, and 90-minute slots from 6 December 2026.
Arnaud Couderc··15 min
Walking the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites: the 12 stages and their times, when 2027 hut bookings open, half-board prices and how to reach Lago di Braies.
Nolwenn Bastide··9 min
Since 2026, eleven US national parks have charged foreign visitors $100 extra each. Who pays, which pass to choose and where to book a time slot.
Nolwenn Bastide··9 min
Dogs, bivouacking, fires, drones and picking plants: the rules in the core of each French national park, park by park, from the parks’ own websites.
Nolwenn Bastide··10 min
Since 2026, every official trail on Madeira must be booked by 30-minute slot on SIMplifica, at €4.50. How it works, plus seven official walks to try.
Nolwenn Bastide··8 min
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