Looking at the newspapers over the weekend I noticed a photo of a 350ft rope bridge that has been set up on Fleetwith Pike in the Lake District. This bridge is 2,500ft above the valley floor, so is not for the faint hearted. However, it got me thinking, what other extreme ways are out there of enjoying the great outdoors. Here are a few I have found. How many would you want to experience?

Volcano Boarding: I kid you not! For those snow boarders who don’t enjoy cold and wet conditions, then there is now a warmer alternative. After hiking up the volcano you come down using the barren ash slopes and a specially built board which is a little more sled-like than you would normally see. And if this wasn’t enough the advice is that this is best enjoyed on volcanoes that are more active.

Peakbagging: For those of us who like ticking goals off a list, we aim to complete every Wainwright or all Munros. However the peakbaggers go a stage further by putting as many mountain peaks ‘into the bag’ as they can. They even try and “bag” multiple peaks in a single day, or attempt to scale peaks in a record time.

Canopy camping: We know that gorillas do it, even chimpanzees do it, and now you too can experience sleeping up in the trees. Several tour operators now offer this experience, but at least you do get a specially made hammock to sleep in and meals are sent up to you, so you don’t have to build your own nest and forage for food. Maybe that’s the next stage for this particular experience

Waymarking: We have all now heard of geocaching, however this goes a stage further by pinpointing, by the use of latitude and longitude coordinates, and describing locations for both natural and man-made sites for others to find. These have now been created all over the world and include everything from balanced rocks, meteorite impact sites and even outdoor mazes.

Coasterring: Originating in the UK, this is a way to experience the seaside in a whole new way. Forget a walk along the beach with ice-cream in hand. This involves donning a wetsuit and getting up close and personal with the coastline, scrambling from rock to rock, diving in to the water and manoeuvring into sea-coves or isolated coves. It is proving increasing popular around the world among those seeking to explore their own country’s rugged coastlines.

So if you want to broaden your horizon, you might want to choose one of these to enjoy on your next trip outdoors. Me, I think I will stick with hiking, so now I’m off to put my baselayer and other gear so I go out and just walk.