Above the Mawddach, Gwynedd 6 miles 400m+ climb

A perfect late winter day along quiet paths in a climb above the Mawddach Estuary. New green shoots everywhere. And a clear sky to show up the stars we never see in the city.

Brighton to Rottingdean 7 miles, flat

Chilly but a wonderful winter light from the sea. A familiar walk, but always worth doing. 4*

North Greenwich to Silvertown circular: 7 miles, largely flat

A very interesting walk, partly monumental, partly grim. It starts at the Millennium Dome, which I had never been close to before, and follows the South Bank of the Thames, past aggregate factories, toward Woolwich (replicating a little of our recent walk) up to the Thames Flood Barrier, now seen from the other side and glistening in the sun.

We then went through the Woolwich foot tunnel, constructed in 1895, and headed back on the other side of the river, through Silvertown, with its sugar refinery, derelict industrial sites, new-build apartment blocks next to the Docklands Light Railway and, ultimately reached London City Airport. The only relief to the long boring stretch here was the bizarre 1.5 mile-long wall separating the road from the factories, which was printed all the way along with an exact photographic image of what was on the other side of the road.

Then we crossed the Royal Victoria Dock by the similarly named extremely high shiny metal footbridge (lift out of order) and got back into Millennium territory with a final treat on the Emirates Air Line cable car (£4 one way, and worth it), back to North Greenwich Station. 5*