Seven great reasons for a walking holiday

One of the great attractions of hill walking

is the fabulous views. From the summit of the

Munro Slioch this walker can see

the fabulous expanse of Loch Maree

For some people the reasons for walking in Scotland's great outdoors are obvious. While for others the discovery of this great activity can come out of the blue. Have a read of a guest blogging spot on my friend's website, FionaOutdoors, to find out how one woman has found hill walking to be her mental and physical salvation

According to a number of reports, hill walking is on the increase. So many more people are finding that the combination of scenery, fitness and relatively low outlays for kit add up to the ideal activity.

If you still need a little convincing, we thought we'd bring you a list of reasons why walking is such a great thing to do.

Price is right: You only really need a pair of walking boots, a waterproof jacket and a backpack. And once you have bought these items they tend to last for many years. After this you can add to your hill walking gear to make your outings more enjoyable. It does make sense to buy reasonably good quality kit at the outset because it will not need to be replaced so often but for less than £200 you should be able to buy the essentials.

Great for your mind and body: Walking outdoors for just half an hour each day has been shown to combat depression. Walking is also a great cardiovascular exercise and is ideal for burning calories and toning muscles. The further and faster you walk, or the more hills you climb, the greater the health benefits will be.

Sociable: Walking, especially on guided walking holidays, is the ideal place for meeting like-minded people. Some walking events, such as walking festivals and walking challenges, have even resulted in love matches - and the occasional marriage! Walking holidays are also ideal for groups of friends or for couples.

Exploration: Walking is bound to take you to new, beautiful and remote places. In Scotland once you start walking you'll become hooked on the desire to see many more places. Some people take up pursuits such as Munro bagging, which then leads them to discover a host of new destinations.

Fabulous views: Walking so often reaps great scenic rewards. It doesn't really matter where you walk, from urban to rural destinations, you are almost always likely to chance on a fantastic view or vista.

Be your own leader: Learning how to guide and navigate yourself on walking trips can be a huge confidence booster. Once you've mastered the fine art of map and compass reading you can become your own master of your walking destiny.

It's green: Walking and walking holidays are environmentally friendly. If you also arrive on public transport or via bike then you will further reduce your impact on the environment.

What are you waiting for?

Summer walking for families

Angus foothills: Perfect for family walking

We've been seeing a lot more families out walking this year – and now that the summer holidays are in full swing in Scotland there have been a lot more enquires about walking adventures and holidays for the family at Glentrek.

Walking is a great activity for all ages and fitness levels because it can be geared to suit everyone. If you have younger children then you will want to keep the walk shorter, on flatter terrain and with lots of things to see and do en route. As children become older then you can plan to extend your walking expeditions and start to take in some of Scotland's glorious hills and mountains.

One question we're often asked is what kit will children need. The answer is that they should have pretty much the same gear as the adults, although if you're walking in summer it is possible to buy clothing and footwear that is less robust, and hopefully cheaper. With children still growing it can be costly to pay out for new clothing every year so it's worth shopping around for lighter weight, summer clothing that should not be as pricey as winter-standard kit.

The most basic summer walking kit for children should include a waterproof jacket, waterproof over-trousers (have these handy in a rucksack in case the weather changes), walking boots or shoes and walking socks. Children can wear their ordinary t-shirts and fleeces and a pair of comfortable trousers, such as tracksuit bottoms or cargo pants.

A small rucksack is a useful addition, but again, this could be one they already own, perhaps used last term at school. For cooler days, pop a woolly hat and gloves into their backpacks, while on hot days you should insist they wear a sunhat.

A couple of good stores for affordable children's kit include Millets and Go Outdoors. For sturdy, comfortable yet budget-friendly walking shoes we've heard great things about Hi-tec children's boots and also Brasher boots.

Hi-tec do a great range of lighter hiking boots for summer wear. Fellow outdoors enthusiast FionaOutdoors wrote a useful review of a pair of children's Hi-tec walking boots.

Meanwhile, Brasher's Chichon GTX boot for children is a great boot. At £50 a pair it's pricier but if you have younger children to pass the boots down to then this would be a good option. Remember, too, that children can wear walking boots for mucking about in during summer play or during the winter when out and about in the snow. This way you get more wear for your money. (We noticed that Go Outdoors have this boot on sale at £45.)

Another option is Regatta. They sell a slightly cheaper range that would be fine for drier, summer walking on trails. This range of footwear offers some pretty colours, too, which is always god for encouraging the girls to pull on their walking boots!

Now there is no excuse for entertaining the children this summer with a few great family walks.

Pic: Regatta Wayright Jnr walking shoe

Glen Doll: The place for great wild walking in Scotland

We've known this for years but now other people are discovering how wonderful the region of Angus in Scotland is for walking. In particular, it's a great place for remote-feeling and wilder walking. In a recent Times article writer Christopher Somerville has compiled 20 top wild walks in the UK and in the list is a fabulous walk in Glen Doll in Angus.

The full walk, which takes in Glen Doll and the Den of Altduthrie, is graded for knowledgeable and fit walkers only. So if you're in doubt about whether to set off to do the 9-mile route why not take a guide with you? Glentrek can assist with organising a guide and accommodation in the area.

The walk is truly fabulous and well worth the effort. Wilderness eye candy comes by way of magnificent mountains, tumbling burns, waterfalls and the chance to spot golden eagles. You'll also hike Jock's Road, which was once a droving and whisky smuggling track, and traverse a stunning high-lvel plateau.

But this is not the only fabulous wild walk in Angus. The award-winning four-day Angus Glens Walking Festival is upon us and will showcase a whole host of great walking in the area. Many walks are fully booked now so why not let Glentrek organise a guided or self-guided walk/walking holiday for you? There's so much to discover in Angus.

Girls are doing it for themselves

It used to be that you would always see women out on the hills trailing their man. Or else they would be a group of male and female walkers with the tiny minority being made up of the fairer sex. But in recent years there's been something of a boomtime in female hikers.

Groups of walkers are now more likely to be evenly split in the male:female ratio, and I frequently see girl-only groups enjoying some of their own time and space in the Angus Glens.

There has been a significant rise in the numbers of enquiries from women looking for female-only guided walks, or else from all-female groups planning to head off for a self-led walk organised by ourselves.

In fact Glentrek is planning a range of women-only walks this year, including a winter walking skills course and a Lairig Ghru guided walk on May 1.

Other adventure holiday and guided walking companies in Scotland have been reporting a similar trend. Among other benefits it seems that women like the less competitive atmosphere, camaraderie, social aspect, chat and generally more relaxed feel of a female-only walk or adventure activity. Indeed, one of the most popular activities for women-only groups is learning about navigation. (How many times, ladies, have you had to give over the map and navigation to a bloke on the hills?!)

It's not that us girls don't like the guys (on many occasions it's great to be in mixed company), it's just that sometimes it's rather nice to get away from some of the bravado and full-speed-ahead-ness of some male groups for a little more contemplation, relaxation and (well, we are renowned for it!) quality chat.

If a few female-only walks and courses also encourage more novice adventure women out into Scotland's great outdoors then all the better. So, let's hear it for the girls doing outdoors adventures for themselves!