Scrambling, mountaineering, alpine preparation, call it what you want it's great fun. While scrambling you get to move quickly  and fluidly through the mountains, covering a huge amount of ground, without much of  stop-start often associated with rock climbing.

Whether you're a keen hill walker looking to move into more exciting and exposed terrain or are heading to the Alps and want to fine tune your movement skills, there are fantastic opportunities to do this throughout the UK.

From my home base in North Wales we have access to almost roadside mountaineering terrain, though I often prefer to walk a short distance to more secluded venues away from the masses. The Ogwen valley in particular has a huge number of accessible scrambles, many of which can be linked together in both ascent and descent. The line between hard scrambling and easy rock climbing is often  blurred, and we may choose to add in a climb or two to mix things up a bit.

Some examples of my favourite link-ups in North Wales:

• Little Tryfan Arete, followed by a North Buttress on the East Face of Tryfan (or maybe Grooved Arete if you fancy something a little trickier), then continuing up Dolmen Ridge on Glyder Fach Main Cliff, and descending via Bristly Ridge.

• Idwal Buttress, Into Idwal Staircase, topping into Cwm Cneifion, then up the atmospheric Cneifion Arete. From here you could either head back down, perfect if you are training for the Matterhorn, perhaps tagging Sub Cneifion Rib on the way back to the car, or do a myriad of other routes. The possibilities are endless.

• In the Llanberis Pass, another favourite it to start up Jammed Boulder Gully, and then continue up the Clogwyn y Parson Arete to the top of Crib y Ddysgl. From here we would reverse Crib Goch and descend its stunning North Ridge, back into Cwm Uchaf.

Elsewhere in the UK there are many other great options for scrambling. The Lake District, where I grew up, is another firm favourite. However the best mountain terrain in the UK is undoubtedly in the Scottish highlands. The Cuillin of Skye is the jewel in the crown, offering the only terrain in the UK, which is comparable with the Alps. However things like Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis, Curved Ridge on Buachaille Etive Mor, the Aonach Eagach, and the Liathach Traverse, all take some beating. Perhaps we could have road trip and do them all, en route to Skye! The Cuillin Traverse would be doddle after that!