The Adventure Show

We take to the rapids and stunning white water of the River Tay, near Aberfeldy. This is the spiritual home of Scottish paddling and the Premier Canoe Slalom is one of the most important races of the season. This year it's also a celebration of our Olympic success as goldmedallists Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott once again show us what it takes to get to the top of this sport. Deziree Wilson tries a new method of exploring the wilds of Wester Ross on foot and by boat, while Cameron McNeish heads up one of Perthshire's iconic hills - Ben Vrackie. And we take to the skies for a sport that's always full of surprises. In hang gliding you never know what the next thermal is going to bring.

We're at the spiritual home of Scottish mountain biking, Fort William, for the 2013 World Cup and there's no shortage of action. First there's the fast and furious 4X, then we'll be heading to the top of Nevis range for the downhill, where the racers plummet 555 metres down one of the longest and toughest courses on the world cup circuit. Also, we're joining some enterprising young filmmakers who've been making a name for themselves in Lochaber and Cameron McNeish explores one of Scotland's finest hills, Garbh Bheinn of Ardgour.

The Adventure Show heads to the north west for a 90-mile cycling event. The Bealach Mor includes the biggest road climb in the UK, with 2,000 feet of ascent in just six miles. In another tough challenge we join one man on his attempt to become the first blind man to climb the Old Man of Hoy in Orkney, and we join Cameron McNeish as he explores the Pentland hills just south of Edinburgh.

In this programme, The Adventure Show is in the imposing landscape of Glencoe, for what must be one of the most dramatic marathon courses anywhere in the UK. The scenery may be inspiring, but this is a tough race with over 1,600 metres of ascent including 500 metres over the aptly named Devil's Staircase. Also, we're looking ahead to winter with one of Britain's best Olympic hopes, snowboarder Ben Kilner. We're joining wilderness expert Chris Townsend, who explains the attraction of the Cairngorm mountains in winter, whilst Cameron McNeish's wild walk links the coastline and hills of Sutherland.

Cameron McNeish celebrates the best of Scotland's history and landscape with a new coast-to-coast walk across the Highlands from Argyll to Easter Ross. This is a journey into a rich and often turbulent past, following in the footsteps of our ancestors, the Celtic priests, Vikings, fugitives, red coat armies, or even those who earned their day-to-day living here, the lead mine workers, deer stalkers, drovers and hydro workers. In the first of two programmes, Cameron walks the first half of this 250-mile route, from Iona, often called the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, to Glen Affric. Taking in Mull's highest mountain, Ben More, he travels through the Morven hills, the atmospheric Sunnart Oakwoods and into the wild and remote landscape of Morar.

Cameron McNeish describes Scotland's wild places as a 'world-class landscape', and he celebrates this with a new trail linking Iona in the west with Tarbat Ness on the north-east coast. Continuing his journey, Cameron walks the final part of this 250-mile route. Starting in Glen Affric, he travels through some of Scotland's best landscape including Glen Strathfarrar, Strathconon and an ascent of Ben Wyvis. The walk finishes at a Pictish site which has been described as Scotland's best-kept secret, an 8th-century monastic settlement in Easter Ross that was one of the most important artistic and manufacturing centres in Europe.

In the middle of winter, with 17 hours of darkness, over 500 competitors head north of Inverness for one of the world's toughest mountain bike races - the Strathpuffer 24. It's the largest ever 'Puffer - an event where competitors push themselves and their bikes to the very limit. And making the most of the night time we join the man they call the 'moonwalker' because he thinks the best time to explore our hills is in the dark. In contrast Cameron McNeish sings their praises during the short daylight winter hours. And we're off to one of the coldest and most extreme places in the world, where some intrepid Scots are blazing a trail.

For over thirty years, Colin Prior has meticulously documented our mountains and wild places. By any standard, he's one of the world's great landscape photographers. Capturing vast sweeping panoramas, his images have been a revelation. We follow him as he starts his biggest challenge - a five-year project to capture the majesty and grandeur of one of the world's most remote landscapes, the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan.

The Adventure Show is in Torridon for the Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon, which starts with a three kilometre open water swim that's followed by over 200 kilometres of biking. The finale is a 42 kilometre run, which includes anascent of one of Scotland's Munros. It's been described as one of the toughest days of your life and for most just finishing is a major achievement. The show also joins 100 hardy paddlers for Britain's most extreme white water kayaking event. Back on dry land, Cameron McNeish heads into the hills to seek out one of the best viewpoints in Wester Ross and we're stepping back to a time when one of the area's finest mountains played a pivotal role in the development of Scottish mountain rescue.