Surfing in Cornwall
Autumn, with Atlantic swells and waves breaking cleanly, can be the best season to ride the rip curls. It is certainly a good time to learn to surf on Watergate Bay, near Newquay. There is easy availability at The Hotel and its attached Extreme Academy surf school, which also offers kite-surfing and “wave skiing”.

The Hotel and Extreme Academy (01637 860543, www.watergatebay.co.uk) offers four nights’ half board at The Hotel plus three half days of surfing lessons from £275pp. All equipment included.

Autumn skiing in the Alps
If you imagined that Christmas signals the start of the skiing season, remember that there is a handful of high-altitude resorts across the Alps where ski racers train on glaciers in the weeks before the full-scale opening of the resorts. Skiers from intermediate level upwards can hone their downhill skills on the Grande Motte glacier in the Espace Killy, with courses running from October 22.

Snoworks (0870 1225549, www.snoworks.co.uk) has seven nights’ half-board at a three-star hotel in Tignes, five days’ group skiing instruction and transfers from Geneva airport from £580pp. Flights extra.

Dive the Red Sea
The climate is warm and balmy after the searing summer; the sea temperature makes you want to stay in all day (without a wetsuit); the coral and fish are dazzling; and you can get there in five hours. This combination of sheltered reefs, wrecks, clear water, accessibility and first-rate instruction makes the Red Sea the obvious learn-to-dive destination. The resort of El Gouna, north of Hurghada in Egypt, is built on a cluster of lagoon islands and a long sandy beach.

Regaldive (01353 659999, www.regaldive.co.uk) charges £790 for seven nights at El Gouna including flights, B&B at a five-star hotel and a five-day PADI Open Water learn-to-dive course with all equipment, leading to certification.

Riding in South Africa
Gallop along the beaches of the Indian Ocean coast; hack through mountains of the Western Cape, fording rivers and tackling steep ascents; and cross the game-filled plains of remote wildlife reserves. A group tour for experienced riders reveals a different face of the county.

Equine Adventures (0845 1306981, www.equineadventures.co.uk) has a ten-day trip, including flights, guesthouse stays, farmhouse and luxury camps, all meals and eight all-day rides, from £2,035pp.

Triathlon training in Greece
A one-off, week-long training camp for participants in one of the fast-growing activities in the UK. Based at Neilson’s The Retreat beach club at Sivota on the Greek mainland, triathletes of all abilities coordinate their swimming, cycling and running under the guidance of a team of professional competitors, coaches and masseurs. Other land and water sports and spa treatments are available for partners.

Neilson (0870 9099099, www.neilson.com) has seven nights from October 7, including flights, transfers, B&B, lunch and four dinners, plus specialist triathlon coaching, from £545pp.

Tennis in Spain
The Mar Menor lagoon in the Murcia region has one of the driest, sunniest micro-climates in Europe. That is why it was chosen as the site of the vast La Manga Club sports resort, which includes a world-class tennis academy among the golf courses, training facilities for international football and rugby teams, restaurants, Moorish-style villas and hotels.

Group tennis “clinics” are held for all levels, while the keenest competitors take part in courses involving expert coaching, video analysis and tournaments on the 28 clay, hard and artificial grass courts. La Manga is open year round, but the relative cool and blue skies make autumn a superb time for tennis.

Barwell Leisure (020-8786 3000, www.lamanga.com ) offers seven nights in a one-bed self-catering apartment, including flights and ten hours’ group tennis tuition from £517pp.

Canyoning in Scotland
Jumping into rock pools from 50ft ledges, and surging through white water in just a wetsuit is for serious adrenaline junkies only.

Professional instruction is provided, and you need to complete a training session at Inchree Falls canyon, near Vertical Descents’ base in Fort William, before attempting the five-hour descent of the precipitous Allt Nathrach. The autumn colours of the Highlands are a spectacular backdrop.

Vertical Descents (01855 821593, www.verticaldescents.com) charges £200pp for two days in groups of up to ten led by two instructors. Transport and equipment included.

Superjeep driving in Iceland
Get behind the wheel of a hulking “superjeep”, and discover why driving these off-road monsters across moon-like lava fields, over hot, geyser-fed rivers and under thundering waterfalls, is becoming a national obsession in Iceland.

As autumn progresses and the nights become clearer and darker, there are excellent prospects of finishing each high-octane day with viewings of the aurora borealis.

Discover the World (01737 218810, www.discover-the-world.co.uk) offers four nights’ B&B in Reykjavik, transfers and two all-day superjeep trips from £684pp. All prices are based on two people sharing, and are for sample dates until the end of November.

Active sports in numbers

75,000 Number of regular surfers in the UK in 1987
500,000 Number in 2007
214m/ 702ft Deepest “no limits” free dive
5,300m World’s highest ski resort: Chacaltaya, Bolivia
250ft Height of first bungee jump, 1979
700ft Height of bungee jump in Bond film Goldeneye.

Sources: British Surfing Association; Herbert Nitsch, Austria; Oxford Stunt Factory.

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