The thrill of the outdoors

If your idea of unwinding is to raise your heartbeat, pump adrenaline around your system and make your palms sweat then you need to make a beeline to the Highlands, where you can indulge in every kind of adventure sport and have a truly exhilarating weekend. Most activities can be found just minutes away from Inverness, the capital of the Highlands and one of Europe's fastest growing cities. Inverness - which has long been a crossroads for trade and travel due to its good sea, road and rail links - nestles on the edge of the Moray Firth, surrounded by the barren grandeur of the Monadhliath mountains, the gentle peaks of Glen Affric and the verdant Great Glen, with the brilliant blue of Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal nearby. You will find the adrenaline pumping just looking at the breathtaking landscape.

If you want to get in touch with the history of the place (or perhaps have seen too many reruns of Highlander), then you need to be on horseback, and the Highland Riding Centre caters for the beginner and experienced. Their treks and trails will take you into the stunning countryside, you can go off-road and canter across hillsides and into woodland and take your horse to drink at the River Calder. Alternatively you can get your horse from Cougie, near Cannich, where the trails will take you into the unspoilt landscape of the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.

If exploring the area on horseback is just a little too sedate, then hire a mountain bike. Mountain Bike Hire and Tours in Inverness will kit you out and then you are free to cover as many miles as you have the muscle power for, and you can challenge yourself to the circuit of Loch Ness. If you want to exercise your mind as well as your thighs, try the guided biking trips offered by Natural High Guiding, where experienced guides with impressive local knowledge will take you on day trips around Glen Affric, Torridon or Kintail.

If you are still not going fast enough then there is nothing for it but to take to the skies. The Highland Flying School based at Inverness airport offers a trial flight in a Tomahawk, which will take you high above the fishing villages and grazing deer and enable you to get a proper overview of the area.

Now you've worked out how to get about, you need to get down to the important business of having fun. Boots 'N' Paddles is an outdoor activity company based near Inverness that offers the familiar activities of open canoeing, archery, climbing, abseiling and gorge walking. They also give you the opportunity to experience canyoning and weaseling. Canyoning involves putting on a wetsuit and literally hurling yourself down a canyon, jumping into deep pools, sliding down smooth rocks that have formed natural water slides and abseiling through waterfalls until you get to the bottom. Weaseling is slightly less wet, but no less exhilarating. Wriggling scrambling and squirming like a weasel, you enter an underground labyrinth of tunnels, voids and tight spaces under a jumble of vast boulders that have lain undisturbed since the ice age. Unlike caving you frequently get the chance to pop up into daylight before going on to the next chamber.

If this all sounds like too much contact with nature, you could always hire a quad bike or go-cart from Bogbain Adventure and Heritage Farm and release your inner child.

And you don't have to travel as far North as Inverness to exercise your Celtic courage. Stirling, just an hour from both Glasgow and Edinburgh is an ideal base for some Scottish sailing. The Millennium Link has recently restored the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals, linking them together with the Falkirk Wheel - the world's first rotating boatlift. This means that you can travel on the waterways coast to coast from one side of Scotland to the other. There is also fantastic sailing in the waters of the Firth of Clyde with plenty of sheltered bays and sea lochs for dinghy sailing.

C-N-Do Scotland, based in Stirling, boast more than 20 years experience of providing walking activities throughout the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park area, helping visitors to discover the spectacular landscapes, the hidden wildlife, the history and heritage that makes the National Park so special. They also offer cycling and mountain biking (including tours and hire), mountaineering, navigation courses and scrambling.

The most famous expanse of water in the area is Loch Lomond, which is renowned as one of the finest watersport venues in Scotland. Feel the rush of wind against your face as you race along on water skis or attempt to balance on a windsurf.

Whether you take the high road or the low road, you will find plenty of invigorating activities in Scotland that will leave you feeling refreshed and revitalised.

For more information, please visit the Inverness and Stirling areas of the  website.