Ms. von Rydingsvard's work, he said, has a strength and heroicism that should complement the Barclays Center's muscular architecture, and beckon people emerging from the subway at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.

WSJ: 'Humanity' in Barclays Center's New Sculpture

Further east more dramatic cliffs beckon: the day walk (12km) from Alfriston to Eastbourne rollercoasters over the Seven Sisters, a series of chalk-white, up-down cliffs that would make Dame Vera Lynn burst into song.

BBC: Walking Great Britain��s great coast

Away from the waterfront, the hills of Sausalito beckon via the steep staircase on Excelsior Lane, opposite the little park next to the ferry terminal.

BBC: Hiking and houseboats in Sausalito