Outdoors activities for all the family around Ullapool

Her dad is on ground level. Me - her loving mother - is at the top looking down. Unflappable outdoor activities instructor, Ken Keith, is beside me, attached to a safety rope.

Two minutes later, my daughter is on terra firma. All is well with the world. "Do you want to try again?" I ask.

"OK."

Mia scampers back up the path to the top, where Ken pats her on the back, gives her a smile and sets her back off down the cliff, abseiling for all she's worth.

If, like me and my husband, you are constantly yelling at your kids - we also have a son, Ciaran, aged 12 who is surgically attached to his iPod/PS3 - to get off-screen, and get active, then this is the holiday for you.

We've come to Achmellvich, 40 miles north of Ullapool, with Ken, a member of Dundonnell Mountain Rescue and driving force behind Highland Adventures, which offers novices and experienced adventurers alike the opportunity to go wild.

Ken and his wife Teresa moved from Edinburgh three years ago, and Ken runs his guiding company from their home north of Ullapool. Highland Adventures, offers rock climbing, abseiling, wild camping and hill walking.

Although he has a wealth of experience, Ken insists often his clients are just looking for a bit of support. He explains: "I had a single mum ask me recently if I'd go out on the hills with her and her son. She felt she knew a fair bit about navigation but needed a bit of confidence. Equally, I go out with groups of experienced walkers who are looking to tackle one of the trickier Munros, such as An Teallach."

A lover of the outdoors and hillwalking for as long as he can remember, Ken 'bagged' his first Munro, Beinn Dearg, near Ullapool, when he was 14 and his last, Sgurr a Mhadaidh in Skye in 2006.

He spent all his free time in the Highlands before they moved from the central belt to Strathcanaird, seven miles north of Ullapool, and the change from working in financial services to running a business specialising in adventure was a big one.

The family were familiar with Assynt before moving there as Ken has owned a holiday home with his sister at Achmellvich for several years. The location for many a happy holiday, the Keith siblings' retreat faces onto the distinctive sea cliffs, stunning white sands and green-blue sea where we start our own family adventure.

Before Ciaran and Mia came along, my husband David and I spent our weekends hill-walking in Scotland and beyond. David manages to escape for the odd weekend, but my hillwalking activity has been severely curtailed in the last decade.

In my teens and twenties, I was fairly gung-ho. I tried all sorts of things; abseiling, sea kayaking, trekking in Nepal; even (to the amazement of my kids) bungee jumping. Now, the most extreme thing I do of a weekend is dog-walking at the local nature reserve.

When we sat down with Ken to plan our two days, he asked what sort of things the children had done and what we wanted to do. It emerged we were all itching for an adventure, although with only two days, we'd miss out on the joys of bouldering, which is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope.

We opted for a mix and match package of abseiling, rock climbing and hillwalking.

The next morning, our drive to Achmelvich, near Lochinver, is stunning, with the Minch on one side and the distinctive peaks of Cul Mor, Cul Beag and Stac Polaidh jagging up into the distance under a clear blue sky.

When we arrive, Ken takes half an hour to set up his safety rope system and the kids run about exploring the beach.

David goes first - a little gingerly, followed by Ciaran and then Mia. Mia's brief hiccup comes at a point in the cliff at which the angle changes - we're all a bit wrong-footed by it first time round - but it doesn't mar the sense of exhilaration.

I surprise myself by remembering, despite a lapse of three decades or so, how to abseil. What's more, I loved doing it so much, I had another two attempts. Once you give yourself up to the rope and go against what your head is telling your body not to do, it feels like you are flying. After a packed lunch at Ken's house up the hill, we set out for the red sandstone sea cliffs of Reiff via The Wee Mad Road, which takes you south on a coastal route from Lochinver to Achiltibuie.

David almost crashes the car several times as the views along this twisty, turny single-track road are the stuff of a mountain man's dreams. The giant bulk of Suilven, one of the most recognisable hills in Scotland, looms over this road and Ken and David trade hill-walking tall tales while the kids roll their eyes.

Our afternoon activity - building on the morning's abseiling - is rock-climbing.

Reiff, a small clachan with a few houses, is set at western end of the Coigach Peninsula, with views out to sea and fine red sandstone seacliffs a ten-minute walk from the car park.

Ken's preparation is methodical and covers all bases. So while he is setting up the ropes and billet system, we explore the cliffs, which are well known in climbing circles. This is where the local mountain rescue team, including Ken, come for rock-climbing exercises, so we know we are in the right place, not to mention with the right person, to learn.

The cliffs where he sets up is a point at which two giant swathes of 15m high sandstone meet. The idea is that we are roped up, with harness and, with the rope attached to Ken on the ground, find a way up by rooting out holes for our hands, feet and even elbows, to pull ourselves up.

We all go as high as we feel we can, or feel comfortable with, and then abseil down.

Ciaran and David go for it but stop short of getting to the very top. It's the girls who get their kicks from hauling themselves up these vertiginous cliffs and solving the puzzle of where to put your arms, legs and elbows.

I am amazed when I find myself at the top of the cliff - the only one in the family to scale this height.

Part of the reason for feeling so secure was having Ken on the other end of the rope. As we drive back to our B&B, we all feel a rosy glow. Electronic gadgets have played no part in the day...

That night, over an excellent dinner in Ullapool's The Ceilidh Place, an oasis of fine food, drink and books, we go through the day's events, with Mia and I hatching plans to visit a climbing wall in Glasgow soon.

The port is a hive of cultural activity, too. The Ceilidh Place is renowned for its bookshop and cultural programme while the Loopallu Music Festival in September sees the town's population almost double for the two days of its duration and the Ullapool Guitar Festival in October showcases some of the biggest guitar names. Well-known Scottish landscape artist James Hawkins is based at Rhue and a stop-off at his studio and gallery offers a fascinating insight into a man immersed in the landscape he paints.

The next day, after getting kitted up with packed lunch, multiple layers (it's windy and cold outside albeit with blue skies), waterproofs and hiking boots, we meet Ken and head for nearby Stac Pollaidh.

This distinctive peak is known in the hill-walking fraternity as a small hill with a big reputation. Ken says he never tires of going up it, and both David and I have happy memories of climbing it during a holiday in Ahiltibuie years ago.

It's the perfect hill for the kids and our two-year-old black lab, Archie, who stayed at home with Teresa the previous day as we all agreed rock-climbing wasn't a suitable option for a dog.

There's a good, recently constructed path up to the top of Stac Pollaidh and a steep climb up from the car park gets everyone's heartbeat going.

Even half way up, there are stunning views out over the Coigach peaks southwards and the Assynt hills to the north as well as Beinn Dearg over in Torridon.

Ciaran is up front all the way today with a deliriously happy dog. Mia is feeling the cold, so I help her bring up the rear. Today, it's the turn of the boys to come out on top.

Once we reach the ridge on the north side of the hill, David and Ciaran head for the summit, which is around 300m to the west and involves scrambling over icy rocks. Ken stays with Mia and me and we all try to reign in a lead-less Archie, who can't understand why he's not able to follow the boys.

Both lads appear 15 minutes later looking pleased with themselves and flushed with success. "How was it?", I ask Ciaran.

"Epic!" he replies.

"Scary in parts!" adds David.

The easy walk down takes in yet more epic-ness in the shape of fantastic views. We sit on a tussock and contentedly eat our sandwiches looking out over Loch Lurganinn to Sgorr Tuath and Ben More Coigach.

An hour or so later, we're sitting outside the Summer Isles Hotel in nearby Achiltibuie enjoying the heat of the sun at ground level, feeling pretty pleased with ourselves.

Since Stac Pollaidh can be done in a morning, it leaves us free to explore in the afternoon, so we head to Achnahaird Beach, with its great expanse of white sand and rockpools. That night, we eat in the restaurant of the Ullapool institution locals refer to as the FBI. The Ferry Boat Inn is on the shore road and the food is also excellent here (Ciaran's 'haddock tower thing' is epic, he reports...)

The next day, we head from the hills, home to Glasgow. Tired but happy. I can report there is active life for a family away from iPods, iPads and laptops. And we found it.

Highland Adventures sample family activity packages for a family of four start at £140.

Guided hill walks and wilderness loch fishing start from £50 per person.

See www.highlandadventures.co.uk

For information on local B&Bs, check www.bedandbreakfastullapool.com