[Auto] Promoted | The new MINI Countryman: scale up your mountain escape

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We’ve been exploring the best supersized staycation spots for family and friends in the new MINI Countryman – whether it’s enjoying the UK’s coasts, forests, and culture, or, in this case, taking in Britain’s biggest mountain adventures.

With room for five, up to 1390 litres of versatile luggage space, and plenty of ways to customise your MINI to make it even more stylish or even more practical, the new family-size MINI Countryman SUV is a real all-rounder. Add in the option of ALL4 all-wheel-drive or an efficient Plug-in Hybrid with 26 miles of low-impact electric range, and you’ve got true go-anywhere ability.
That makes the new MINI Countryman ideal for big mountain days out – helping you tackle steep roads with confidence, while the spacious interior lets you take all you need for scaling new heights, whether climbing, descending or flying by the slopes.
With seating for up to five and a luggage bay that can expand from 450 litres to 1390 litres, there’s more than enough room in the new MINI Countryman for all the gear you need for a hiking expedition with friends or family – and there’s no bigger British mountain-taming exercise than the Three Peaks Challenge.

The Three Peaks Challenge involves scaling the UK’s three tallest peaks: Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (Lake District) and Snowdon (Wales) – a total ascent of 3064m and 23 miles of walking. Usually tackled north to south, it can be done in a gruelling 24 hours or a leisurely three days (but doing all three peaks in a year is not an unreasonable task).

If you fancy easing your way in, there are regional Three Peak Challenges for Yorkshire (Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough), Wales (Snowdon, Cader Idris and Pen y Fan), and Surrey (Box Hill, Holmbury Hill and Leith Hill).

If you fancy something a little less extreme, there are lots of other great family-friendly ways to feel like you’re scaling Britain’s heights. The High Street Mountain climb along Long Stile ridge is a po[CENSORED]r scenic route in the Lake District. Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales offers a variety of routes from Goredale Scar to reach the stunning Limestone pavement on top of its dramatic craggy amphitheatre or, while Mam Tor is a great spot for family hiking in the Peak District.
Fly through the peaks and valleys

With powerful TwinPower Turbo engines and a grippy, fun-to-drive chassis – with the option of confidence-inspiring optional ALL4 all-wheel-drive – the new MINI Countryman is the perfect family car for scaling (or descending) vertiginous mountain roads. But there’s an even more enjoyable way to swoop through the peaks and valleys. We’re talking zip wires.

At 1555m in length, Velocity 2 at ZipWorld in North Wales is the longest (and fastest) zip wire in the UK. With a starting altitude of 500m and an incline of 20 degrees, you and your family or friends reach 60mph in under 10 seconds and up to 100mph as you speed across Penrhyn Quarry. The Eden Project biodomes in Cornwall offer an incredible backdrop as you soar 600m at up to 60mph across the old quarry with Hangloose Adventure, while the 490m-long wire at Adrenalin Quarry in Cornwall lets you fly over a tree-lined lake.

There are plenty of other amazing ways to experience the UK’s mountain ranges from on high. Why not try out a passenger tandem flight in a glider – either enjoying the serene ride, or maybe even taking control yourself?  The North Wales Gliding Club on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, the Black Mountain Gliding Club in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales, the Lakes Gliding Club in the Lake District and the Highland Gliding Club and Cairngorms Gliding Club in the Scottish Highlands are all ideally located to let you savour the best British mountain updrafts, which truly come alive in Autumn and Spring.
Tackle the slopes by ski or board

You may think you need to head to Europe to indulge a passion for skiing, but there are lots of ways to take to the slopes in the UK. The new MINI Countryman is also the ideal car for a ski trip – big or small – thanks to 40:20:40 rear seats that let you put long ski gear through the middle, while still seating two rear passengers in comfort. Plus, with powerful engines and optional ALL4 all-wheel drive that can conquer alpine peaks (and parking aids that help you navigate a crowded snowdome car park in summer), you won’t be held back – whatever the weather.

Obviously, the Scottish Highlands offer your best bet of UK winter snow. With up to 40km of pistes, Glenshee in the Cairngorms is the UK’s biggest resort. The nearby Lecht and Cairngorm resorts provide additional slopes within easy driving distance, while Glencoe and Nevis on Scotland’s west coast are also a great source of winter snow.

If you can’t wait until winter to strap on your skis or board, there are plenty of great indoor snowdomes around the UK – including Snozone at Milton Keynes, Basingstoke and Castleford in Yorkshire, the Tamworth SnowDome in the Midlands, ChillFactore in Manchester, The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, and Snowfactor in Glasgow – all perfect for sampling snow-covered slopes up to 200m in length, even in summer.