I’ve done solo hikes in Europe for 15 years, these are the best for a long weekend

Over 15 years, I have walked more than 1,000 miles on some truly stunning European trails. I have gasped at the turquoise water and towering rock faces of one of France’s finest gorges. I have shivered as one of Europe’s most vertiginous cable cars whisks you up to the Carpathian Mountains’ second-highest summit. I have rowed a boat between islands on Scandinavia’s most epic archipelago treks. The common denominator: these experiences can all be had on solo hikes over a long weekend. From dense forests to craggy coastline and ridgetop rambles, these are my tips for trails to try requiring no more than four days of walking. Powescourt Waterfall in Wicklow Mountains National Park (Photo: Chris Hill/Getty) Wicklow Way, Ireland Start/Finish Marlay Park, Dublin/ GlendaloughDistance/time 36 miles (59km)/three days Ireland’s original long-distance hike, the 79-mile (127km) Wicklow Way packs in the contrasts in its romp across the shimmering greenery of the Wicklow Mountains south from Dublin to the village of Clonegal. This section, starting on the capital’s edge and running along the range to the entrancing Glendalough valley and its 6th-century monastic settlement, is traditionally divided into three stages, overnighting at Knockree and Roundwood. Views back over Dublin from the forested hills above set the bar high for some stunning sights along the way. These include Ireland’s highest cascade, Powerscourt Waterfall, tumbling 121 metres through wooded hillside, and lovely Lough Tay, squeezed by its mountain surrounds, on day two. The trailside Wicklow Way Lodge provides doubles in the woodsy hills above Roundwood from €160, wicklowwaylodge.com; take a flight to Dublin, from where it’s a 30-minute drive to the start of the trail. Terrain Forest, hills, riverside, mountain, lakes, uneven sections, some climbs Shorts Blanc-Martel Trail, Gorges du Verdon, France Start/Finish Chalet de la Maline/Point SublimeDistance/time 9.25 miles (15km)/ one day This precipitous gorge derives its name – verdon, or green – from the hue of the river flowing along its bottom. Flanked by limestone cliffs hundreds of metres tall, it has several hiking trails along its 16km extent. But the classic is the one that gets down as close to the dazzlingly green river as possible and traverses the gorge’s full length. You’ll navigate metal ladders at certain points and rock-cut tunnels at others, and come down beside small shingle river beaches from which river caves can be glimpsed. It is a trail that really gives you a feel for the gorge’s gobsmacking grandeur, gradients and geological features. Devote most of the day – including time to simply gaze from the variety of wonderful viewpoints – to completing the one-way trail to Point Sublime, where most people park their cars before getting the shuttle to start the hike at Chalet de la Maline. Hotel le Panoramic has simple doubles, a spa and an outdoor pool 10km southwest of Point Sublime, from €152, hotelverdon.com; fly to Nice Côte d’Azur, then a two-hour 15 minute drive. Terrain Gorge, uneven sections, steep climbs A pedestrian suspended bridge on the Europaweg in Randa (Photo: PHOTOVF/Valentin Flauraud) Abridged Matterhorn Circuit, Switzerland Start/finish Randa train station/ZermattDistance/time 28 miles (45km)/four days The 4,478m-high almost-perfect pyramid of the Matterhorn is the focal point on this abridged version of the complete 10-day mountain circular. Much Better Adventures crafts this into an action-packed four-day tour. The route gets impressive mighty quickly with the ascent from Randa to the lodgings at Europahütte, perched at 2,220m and graced with panoramic Alpine views. The Alps’ longest pedestrian suspension bridge and a stint on the Europaweg – a spectacular, sheer-sided balcony trail – are day two highlights. Day three passes along the Five Lakes Trail, where the water often reflects the Matterhorn. Days three and four, meanwhile, involve stupendous Matterhorn views framed by glaciers and slopes that are carpeted May-September in edelweiss and other wildflowers. The tour, designed to be solo friendly, costs from £1,087pp and includes accommodation on the first three nights, muchbetteradventures.com; fly to Bern, from where it’s a two-hour 20 minute train ride to Randa. Terrain Mountains, forest, uneven sections, steep climbs Accessibility Amarmino, Denmark Start/Finish DR Byen metro station/ Dragør FortDistance/time 15 miles (25km)/one or two days This route follows most of the Amarminoen trail. The original starts from the Ørestad neighbourhood in Copenhagen and passes through Vestamager, part of a nature reserve that offers a habitat to fallow deer, wading birds, and grazing cows and sheep, en route to the coastal townof Dragør. Its accessible alternative takes three detours at Havneslusen (a waterfront park), Kongelunden (a forest) and Dragør Sydstrand (an area south of Dragør harbour). As it could take several hours to complete the full route, you may wish to stick to a shorter there-and-back section, from either Copenhagen or Ørestad. AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen in Ørestad has doubles from around £110. Acessible rooms available, marriott.com; the hotel is a five-minute taxi ride from DR Byen metro station and 10 minutes from Copenhagen airport. Terrain Mostly flat, pathed paths and roads, some gravel paths and dirt tracks Views on the Stockholm Archipelago Trail (Photo: Roger Borgelid) Nåttarö Island Circular, Stockholm Archipelago Trail, Sweden Start/Finish Nåttarö harbourDistance/time 6 miles (9.8km)/one day Explore the white-gold beaches, vivid blue sea and boulder-strewn forest of Nåttarö, one of the easiest-to-access islands in the vast Stockholm Archipelago, and you will wonder why you ever fixated on Greece or Croatia for your European island escapes. There are 30,000-odd isles and islets in this peaceful island chain guarding the sea approach to the Swedish capital, but only 22 feature on the 270km Stockholm Archipelago Trail. It takes in marked paths around the coasts of islands that are all linked by regular ferries June-September (and in some cases by less-frequent ferries the rest of the year). Nåttarö has regular ferry services year-round and its scenery is a poster for the archipelago as a whole. Setting aside time for swims off the sandy beaches, one day is plenty for a circuit. Consider combining it with other nearby islands on the trail: Rånö offers gentle forest and sandy beaches while Utö has a mix of easy and more challenging sections through wild forest and around rocky coves. Nåttarö has a variety of basic but superbly-located two-person cabins from 1,595 SEK (£123), available June-September, nattaro.se; fly to Stockholm, followed by a one hour 15 minute drive to Nynäshamn, plus a 30-minute ferry ride. Terrain Forest, island clifftops, beaches, uneven sections Pinhão-Casal de Loivos-Sabrosa-Pinhão, Douro Valley, Portugal Start/Finish PinhãoDistance/time 15 miles (24km)/three days If ambling through picturesque vineyard-lined countryside tops your walking wishlist, nowhere is more charming than Douro Valley, the pretty production centre for port wine. This is the world’s first demarcated wine region, and a Unesco World Heritage Site. Walking tours typically use heart-of-the-valley riverside town Pinhão as a start point, including Portugal Nature Trails’ trip. A shorter version of the adventure company’s seven-day hike, the three-day self-guided tour begins with a climb to Casal de Loivos viewpoint – arguably the Douro’s best. Expect a landscape of steep hillsides striped with vines and dotted by white-walled, terracotta-roofed houses, towering above the Douro and Pinhão rivers. From here, you transfer to Sabrosa, supposed birthplace of explorer Ferdinand Magellan, for a 15km second-day hike promising more of the same back to Pinhão, breaking up the stroll with wine tastings at vineyards along the route. Portugal Nature Trails operate this self-guided tour from Porto, travelling to Pinhão by train and including stylish accommodation at Casal de Loivos and in Pinhão, from €630pp, portugalnaturetrails.com; fly to Porto, then it’s a one-hour 45 minute drive or a 2.5-hour train ride to Pinhão Terrain Vineyards, river valleys, some climbs The peaks of the Geislergruppe, Parco Naturale Puez Odle (Photo: Mara Brandl/Getty) Adolf Munkel Trail, Italy Start/Finish Zanser AlmDistance/time 5.6 miles (9km)/half-day You could not conceive of a finer half-day round-trip walk in Europe than this dashing Dolomites tramp. Munkel, a German mountaineer, created the route in 1905, striving to make a walking trail that would captivate with its beauty. Some resplendent pine forest, with the sentinel-like peaks of the Puez-Geisler Nature Park bursting out of it, sets the tone. The halfway highlight is where the trees fall back like a stage curtain at Geisler Alm, a sweeping Alpine meadow backed by the fang-like Geisler mountains. There are magical spots to eat, drink and socialise on the circuit too, like Rifugio delle Odle at Geisler Alm. Oberkantiolhof, 5km below Zanser Alm, is a farm with stylishly rustic rooms and suites plus Geisler mountains views, with doubles from €180, oberkantiolhof.it; fly to Bolzano, then it’s a one-hour 15 minute drive. Terrain Forests, Alpine meadows, some steep climbs The National Park High Tatra in Slovakia (Photo: leonid_tit/Getty) Tatranská Magistrala, Slovakia Start/Finish Štrbské pleso/Biela VodaDistance/time 24 miles (38.75km)/two days The forest-enfolded mountain lake of Štrbské pleso kicks off a popular high-level leg-stretch along the Tatranská Magistrala, the long-distance hike through Slovakia’s lofty High Tatras. Tackle the route between June and October, ticking off all its major highlights, including mountain-ramparted lake Popradské pleso, the cable car to Slovakia’s second-highest summit from Skalnaté pleso and the chain descent to turquoise tarn Zelené pleso. While in the shadow of the Carpathians’ highest peaks – many topping 2,500 metres – the trail allows reasonably fit hikers to take in the range without any hair-raising moments. The chaty – overnight huts on the route’s mountainsides where hikers exchange tales over beer and dumplings – are great for meeting fellow adventurers. Continue on the Žltá trasa track after Chata pri zelenom plese to reach the bus stop at Biela voda. Hansel-and-Gretel-like mountain hut Zamkovského chata, near the halfway point, has two-bed rooms from €50, zamka.sk; fly to Poprad, from where it is a one-hour 15 minute drive to the start of the trail. Terrain Mountain, forest, uneven sections, steep climbs