The long (very) hot days of summer are giving way to cooler conditions – perfect for taking a stroll along the dazzling white chalk cliffs at Beachy Head in Sussex or the colourful iron and alum-stained outcrops of Yorkshire’s coastline.Explore the winding estuaries of Essex or the Cumbrian coast, climb to Uley Bury’s Iron Age hillfort for a mindblowing prospect of the Vale of Severn, or travel out to the white sands and lonely shores of Iona in Scotland’s remote Hebrides.Here are 15 super, late-summer walks.LOGAN ROCK, CORNWALL The first route on your walking list should be this stretch of the South West Coast Path, which bypasses the Minack TheatreFrom Treen you cross fields, then take the South West Coast Path to reach the Logan Rock on its headland, a massive rocking stone on a narrow point of balance.Just inland of Porthcurno beach, the Museum Of Global Communications tells how the tiny village became the world’s largest cable station. Beyond the Minack Theatre in the cliffs lies Porthchapel Beach and St Levan’s Well, a spring among granite boulders. From here it’s field paths via Rospletha and Trendrennen Farm back to Treen.Distance: Four miles; cliff and field paths.Starting point: Village car park, Treen, TR19 6LG.Perfect pub: The Logan Rock Inn in Treen is ideal for a post hike pint (theloganrockinn.co.uk).HENGISTBURY HEAD, DORSET Enjoy the view from Warren Hill of the footpath through Hengistbury Head beachThe promontory of Hengistbury Head forms the southerly jaw of Christchurch Harbour. Cross the dunes and the brackeny heath to Warren Hill, highest point of the Head, with wonderful views to the Isle of Wight, Old Harry Rock, Hurst Castle and the Purbeck downs.Then descend steps to the long sandy snout of Mudeford Spit. The most expensive beach huts in the UK line the sandbank – north of £200,000 a pop, if you’re feeling flush.Distance: Four miles; easy.Starting point: Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre car park, Southbourne, Bournemouth, BH6 4EW.Perfect pub: Haven House Inn on Mudeford Quay is a fine old smugglers’ tavern (havenhouseinn.uk).EAST DEAN, EAST SUSSEX Belle Tout lighthouse and Beachy Head are the main attractions on this routeEast Dean in the South Downs National Park is a perfectly maintained flint-built village.A southward path takes you through fields to climb steeply to Belle Tout lighthouse. Splendid views of sheer white cliffs to the east and west accompany you over Beachy Head, Britain’s highest chalk cliff at 530ft.A flowery undercliff path leads into Eastbourne, where you can stroll along the prom-prom-prom before catching the homeward Bus 12 (13 on Sundays).Distance: Six miles; short, steep climb to Belle Tout lighthouse; well-marked paths.Starting point: East Dean village car park, BN20 0DL (this is the best approximate postcode).Perfect pub: The Tiger Inn in East Dean has roaring fires and good ales (beachyhead.org.uk).PENSHURST, KENT Penshurst Place, with its orange rooftops and stone walls, kicks off this next walkPenshurst Place is a glorious mishmash of building styles from nearly seven centuries of existence, a fantasy of towers, turrets, gables and arches.From the weatherboarded and tile-hung Kent village you walk a circuit via Salman’s Farm, Russell’s wood, Yew Tree Wood and Slider’s Barn, through gorgeous, carefully maintained, well-wooded countryside.Distance: Five and a half miles; field paths and lanes.Starting point: Penshurst Place parking field, Penshurst, TN11 8DG.Perfect pub: The old-fashioned, timber-beamed The Leicester Arms regularly wins pub awards (theleicesterarmspenshurst.co.uk).ULEY AND NYMPSFIELD, COTSWOLDS The countryside is expansive when walking through Uley Bury, GloucestershireFrom Uley churchyard, you rise steeply up a grassy hill to the Iron Age hillfort of Uley Bury, Gloucestershire, then it’s a trek through the summer woods along the Cotswold Way.Crossing to the village of Nympsfield, you plunge down through the trees of Dingle Wood to find the secret valley of Owlpen with its Tudor manor house of beautiful silvery stone.After that you walk back along Fiery Lane to Uley and the welcoming Old Crown.Distance: Six miles; moderate; short steep climb to Uley Bury.Starting point: Old Crown Inn, Uley, Dursley, GL11 5SN.Perfect pub: The Old Crown Inn offers hearty dishes, plus real ale and cider (oldcrownuley.co.uk).MISTLEY TO HARWICH, ESSEX Check out Dovercourt Beach and the lighthouse in Harwich, EssexMistley is a working port on the estuary of John Constable’s River Stour in Essex. There’s a pair of striking neo-classical towers designed by Robert Adam for a great riverside church, now vanished.The Essex Way follows the river seaward under huge bird-haunted skies to Wrabness. Then you continue on round the long curve of Copperas Bay and across to the south shore path into the breezy, salty old port of Harwich.Distance: Six miles to Wrabness station, 13 miles to Harwich Town station; follow the well-marked Essex Way.Starting point: Mistley station, CO11 1HH.Perfect pub: The Alma Inn in the centre of Harwich is a local institution (almaharwich.co.uk).STIFFKEY TO WELLS, NORTH NORFOLK Multi-coloured beach huts line the shoreline at low tide on the North Norfolk coast at Wells-next-the-SeaStiffkey is one of a string of delightful flint and brick villages along the coast of North Norfolk whose access to the sea has been gradually choked off by the growth of salt marshes on its seaward flank.Birdwatchers are in for a treat (don’t forget your binoculars) strolling along the marsh edge to Wells-next-the-Sea, a lively small town with a long channel that brings boats to the quay from the sea a mile to the north. Return by Coasthopper Bus.Distance: Four miles; easy; follow North Norfolk Coast Path.Starting point: Stiffkey Saltmarshes car park, The Greenway, Stiffkey, NR23 1QE.Perfect pub: In Wells-next-the-Sea, the Globe Inn has a Georgian exterior and warm modern interior (theglobeatwells.co.uk).NEW QUAY TO ABERAERON, WALES Aberaeron is a town in Ceredigion, Wales decorated with colourful propertiesAs you look back from the curve of New Quay Bay, you get a classic view of the old ship-building town spread out along its green hummock of a hill.Walk the sandy strand past the far headland to find the steps that climb to the clifftops. The Wales Coast Path leads through steep pastures and butterfly-haunted woods to the old port of Aberaeron in all its Georgian elegance.Distance: Six and a half miles; moderate; follow the Wales Coast Path.Starting point: Church Road car park, New Quay, Ceredigion, SA45 9PB.Perfect pub: The Harbourmaster Hotel has a superb bar by the harbour’s edge in Aberaeron (harbour-master.com).MILLERS DALE, PEAK DISTRICT Stop to enjoy the scenery at Monsal Dale in Derbyshire, seen from Monsal HeadA magnificent flowery walk on limestone that encapsulates summer in the White Peak. Steeply up out of Millers Dale and on to Lydgate Farm and narrow High Dale – featuring small blue butterflies flickering amid lady’s bedstraw when I went – then to Brushfield.Follow Priestcliffe and Millers Dale up to the old lead mine workings of Priestcliffe Lees nature reserve and its fragrant orchids and silver-washed fritillaries. Continue down into Millers Dale and take the homeward Monsal Trail railway path past ancient volcanic magma and huge old lime kilns.Distance: Five miles; one steep climb on steps; field paths and old railway path.Starting point: Millers Dale car park, Wormhill, Buxton, SK17 8SN.Perfect pub: The cosy Church Inn in the village of Chelmorton, five miles south of Wormhill, is worth the detour (thechurchinn.co.uk).SANDSEND TO STAITHES, NORTH YORKSHIRE Sandsend to Staithes is one of the UK’s best coastal walking routes (Pictured: Runswick Bay)This is one of the best coastal walks in Britain, packed with interest from Sandsend’s enormous crescent of sand to Kettleness where the rugged cliffs are stained with minerals – alum, jet, iron, potash, all extracted in times past. The views are magnificent, with the charming houses of Runswick Bay and Staithes stacked high in clefts in the coast.Distance: Eight miles along the King Charles III England Coast Path with lots of ups and downs.Starting point: Sandsend car park, near Whitby, YO21 3TG.Perfect pub: The menu at the characterful Cod And Lobster in Staithes reflects its name (codandlobster.co.uk).HAWTHORN DENE AND HIVE, COUNTY DURHAM Hawthorn Hive and Hive Point in County Durham should be added to your walking bucket listThe steep valley of Hawthorn Dene cuts down to the sea from the village of Hawthorn in County Durham. The dene is a superb nature reserve. Walk along its narrow pathways in the half-light beneath sycamores and ashes, looking for treecreepers and spotted flycatchers. At the foot of the dene is the beach of Hawthorn Hive, once foul with coal mine waste, now cleaned by the sea.Distance: Three miles; moderate; surfaced pathway around the top; steep steps into the dene.Starting point: Hawthorn Dene Nature Reserve, Hawthorn Village, SR7 8SH.Perfect pub: The Stapylton Steakhouse in Hawthorn is a popular village pub (stapylton-steakhouse.co.uk).AINSDALE TO FORMBY, MERSEYSIDE For sandy dunes, head to the little-known Sefton Coast The Sefton Coast is one of Britain’s ‘great unknowns’ – an enormous run of beautiful sands that span the coasts of Merseyside and Lancashire. Formby also has one of the last remaining refuges for red squirrels.From Ainsdale Station follow Shore Road to Ainsdale Discovery Centre. Continue along the Dune Trail to reach a beach of immense sands. Go south for three miles then turn up Lifeboat Road and Kirklake Road to Formby Station.Distance: Nine and a half miles along dunes, beaches and lanes.Starting point: Ainsdale Station, Southport, PR8 2RF.Perfect pub: The Railway in Formby is close to the station for a drink and some food before returning (emberinns.co.uk).RAVENGLASS, LAKE DISTRICT The Ravenglass miniature steam railway is the main tourist attraction on this walkRavenglass lies at the foot of the western Lake District mountains on the shore of dunes through which the Esk, Mite and Irt rivers snake into the Irish Sea.From the village with its miniature steam railway – known affectionately as La’al Ratty – you head south past the remains of a Roman bath house to the widening estuary of the Esk. Next, you follow the King Charles III England Coast Path back along the shore, with the evocative hoot of the steam engines beckoning you onwards to Ravenglass.Distance: Three and a half miles, easy, but check tides (thebeachguide.co.uk); the beach path is liable to flooding on high tides of seven-plus metres.Starting point: Ravenglass car park, CA18 1SQ.Perfect pub: The Ratty Arms by Ravenglass Station is friendly, with ales and sandwiches (therattyarms.uk).ANSTRUTHER TO CRAIL, FIFE Further afield, try out the route from Anstruther to Crail in Fife, ScotlandDuck into Anstruther’s excellent Scottish Fisheries Museum, then take the grassy shore path (Fife Coastal Path/blue arrows) that passes the farmhouse of Caiplie, just above the shore with its walled garden and shelter trees.Continue past the Coves, a promontory of rock with flowing lines like a melting Dali landscape. Pass the abandoned houses at The Pans before reaching Crail, its white-faced houses with crow-stepped gables beneath grey and red roofs huddled round a tiny harbour.Distance: Four miles; easy.Starting point: Anstruther Harbour, Anstruther, KY10 3AB.Perfect pub: The Shoregate in Crail offers organic beers, local whiskies, plus venison and sea trout dishes (theshoregate.com).IONA, INNER HEBRIDES Meanwhile, in the Inner Hebrides, walkers can enjoy this crowd-free Iona routeOn Iona you can escape the Inner Hebrides crowds by striking out westwards to the creamy sands of Camas Cuil an t-Saimh, then south over bog and heather to Port na Curaich, the ‘harbour of the currach’, where in 563AD the Irish monk St Columba landed his small boat.Back at the Abbey, head for the white sands of the north shore, then up Iona’s ‘mountain’, the rocky pimple of Dun I, for a magnificent overview.Distance: Eight miles; moderate with island roads and hill tracks (some unmarked).Starting point: Isle of Iona jetty, PA76 7SJ.Perfect pub: The inviting Keel Row is a short walk from the ferry jetty (thekeelrowmull.co.uk).Christopher Somerville is the author of more than 40 travel books and two poetry collections. His most recent hiking book is Walking The Bones Of Britain.