Summer's here, so it's time to embrace the inevitable monsoon. You may end up with wet pants and not much of a view, but walking in the rain can still be fun, says Fliss Freeborn.

A year or three ago, the very sight of a threatening cloud - either on a weather app, or looming over the high moorland - would cause me to have a meteorologically triggered toddler tantrum. Oh no, I would absolutely not be getting wet. Instead, I'd stomp off to the nearest cafe to scowl over a flat white, while my friends ploughed on through bog, snow, wind and hail. I justified my avoidance behaviour by continuously, if not tediously, referring back to one eventful weekend I'd had on Dartmoor, aged 14, when I did the 10 Tors Challenge. It was the most miserable two days of my life, due to a biblical, non-stop deluge of rain and wind, which lasted the entire 48 hours of the gruelling event. That, I'd concluded afterwards, was all the rain I could ever possibly want for a lifetime. 

Then I moved to Scotland and quickly found that if I didn't carpe that diem, I'd be spending far more than my student budget would allow on flat whites. Gradually, I began to actually tolerate - nay - enjoy the odd rainy day out on the hill. It turns out, there are various good incentives to go for a walk in the rain. And when you actually get out there, nine times out of 10, it's genuinely quite alright. Here are five solid reasons why I now embrace the liquid sunshine. 

1. It's something to bloody do 

You've booked a week off to go walking in a lovely, unspoiled place. Clearly though, the weather has made a pact with the local museum to increase admission numbers. The smirr, mizzle and rain - call it what you will - is taunting you from the window. "HAHA!" It leers, "you came all this way and look at you! Wafting around tourist attractions like a bad smell while I ruin your plans to explore the hills, day in, day out."

Don't let the rain win. Wrap yourself defiantly in waterproofs, dig out your plastic map case and stick two fingers up to the 114% humidity you find yourself wading though. Seriously, if only for a couple of hours, it's something to do. You don't have to plan a 25 mile hike over bog and heather each day, but doing something a few mornings in a row that'll get the pulse up, the waterproof trousers chafing and the dog absolutely filthy is better than going to the Hook Wurthington Museum of Toy Tractor Collections for the third time in a row. Streuth.   

2. It's actually quite fun

OK, so the best way to make walking in the rain fun is to book a pub lunch or dinner for afterwards. That's always going to work wonders. But actually, bog-trotting in itself can be fun too. You might not see wonderful expansive vistas, but you might see frogs! Lots of frogs! You'll be able traipse up and down relatively busy routes in almost complete solitude, and listen to the deafening sound of silence (and the nearby A-road). Rain is also an excellent excuse to bring a steaming thermos of hot chocolate with you, and chew through as many jelly babies as your molars will stand. You can also laugh at how silly you're being by going for a walk in such awful weather, and cheerfully shout "cracking day for it!" every six minutes at anyone who'll listen. 

3. No one else will be around so you can say and do what you like

Not seeing another soul is a perk of going out when the weather's misbehaving. Should the mood take you, you can swear all you like, do silly things naked on the top of each cairn or even sacrifice a goat to the Norse weather gods. No one will mind because they're not there. Joking aside, it's often a magical experience to have no one else around you on the hills. You'll be able to enjoy a different type of serene beauty which is almost timeless; everything shrouded in mist and fog, just as it would have been hundreds and thousands of years ago. 

Plus, if the goat sacrifice went well and the weather lifts, everyone else will still be at the Hook Wurthington Toy Tractor Museum. That means you can enjoy a rare glimpse of sunshine and expansive vistas, all to yourself.

4. You'll actually get a sense of achievement 

Look, I know you can book a pub lunch and turn up on time, bone dry and fresh as a linen-wrapped daisy - but where's the fun in that? Getting to the pub looking like you've been catapulted through a hedge forwards, backwards, sideways and then had a bucket of pond water thrown over you for good measure is much better. This way, you'll enjoy a complimentary side dish of success, possibly drizzled with some smugness for good measure - because you've achieved something that all those dry, unsweaty people haven't. While they have spent the morning tutting at BBC Breakfast, you have conquered stiles, mud, downpours, and at least one broken gaiter strap. We all know who the real winners are here.

This sense of achievement; this soothing, tired glow, will continue all day, even hours after you've got in the shower and warmed up. Plus everyone knows that hunger makes the best seasoning, and you'll enjoy that pub lunch more than any pub lunch you've ever enjoyed before.

5. Taking your time

You're allowed to bimble in the rain if you want, because simply being out there will give you a great sense of achievement. I am very much a bimbler, so perhaps this is truly why I like walking in the rain. There's no pressure to get much 'done' mileage wise, and everything tastes delicious even after an hour of being a bit wet.

Advice? Make sure you've got the right kit

If you're serious about going for a walk or two in the rain, you might want to upgrade from wearing a £15.99 Trespass crisp packet to a decently-cut waterproof jacket with a more substantial feel, and some measure of breathability.

Having good kit makes it all a little more bearable, and there's loads of stuff online to be had for a bargain. The aim is to only to put up with your face, and possibly your hands, getting wet. If you're soaked to the core after a few hours, it's time to rethink your clothing system altogether. That said, my (very) Scottish significant other is happy to be soaked to the core, because he swears by going topless in the rain. "Skin is more breathable," he says, knowledgeably, nipples hard as diamonds in the breeze. 

One thing I do highly recommend for real, proper deluges are good, substantial waterproof trousers. They keep the wind off too, and I'm always a degree or two happier once I've pulled mine on over my boots. And if you're heavily bespectacled like me, it makes the world of difference in the rain to wear contact lenses, rather than grappling with wiping your glasses clean every 15 seconds. Not that you'll be seeing much anyway. 

I'm not sure about this forecast. Seems a bit...grim? 

When I talk about going for a walk in the rain, I mean anything on the scale from mist and drizzle, through to that sort of heavy, large-droplet rain which is a bit unpleasant if there's a gust or two of wind behind it. Often in the UK, the weather is indecisive: there are breaks and patches in the cloud cover, sometimes even the odd burst of sunshine coming through that thick grey blanket overhead. If you know what you're doing with a map and compass, and you have more Gore-Tex than you can shake a hairy stick at, these sorts of precipitous conditions are absolutely fine for a good stomp. 

However, going for a walk in a force 8 where the rain comes in horizontal rods, thrown into sharp relief by flashes of lightning, is just plain dim. Wind is definitely a big danger factor; I have always found it more unpleasant to walk in high winds than trudge through stagnant rain. A mixture of the two in large quantities can be really vile, so use your own personal judgement. If you, as an experienced hillwalker, are in doubt about how safe conditions are, that's probably a sign its a good day for tiddlywinks. 

One of the things about going for a walk in the rain is that the higher tops are often smothered in cloud. Navigation in thick fog is often challenging, but really, there's no need to go up high in rainy or showery conditions, especially if you can't see hee-haw. A simple trog through a forest, or by lowland rivers and fields, can be just as nice, and a lot safer, than seeking higher ground.

A wise person once said that rain always looks worse from out of a window, and while I agree, the other side of the same coin is this: windows always look better from the rain. In other words, to really enjoy being inside, you have to venture outside first. Choose the right day, the right mates, the right time, and you'll be laughing over heather and bracken through the rain - and don't let anyone think for a moment that they'll have a better time in a cafe seething over a flat white on their own.