Destination: U.K

Itinerary: Pastoral Pleasures

THREE TO FOUR WEEKS/New Forest to Outer Hebrides

This is a tour to recharge your batteries, replenish your soul and fill your lungs with fresh air. The main route is around 1300 miles, plus another 300 miles if you visit all the islands. Allow three weeks, or a month if you don't rush. Do lots of walking or cycling, and it might be double again.

Britain may be small, and crowded in places, but there are some beautiful national parks and rural areas to enjoy.

First stop, the New Forest for a spot of walking, cycling or horse-riding, or simply relaxing, then to Devon and Cornwall, which tempt with wild moors, grassy hills, and a beautiful coast of cliffs and sandy beaches.

The Cotswolds promise quintessential English countryside, with neat fields, clear rivers and endless pretty villages of honey-coloured stone - all glowing contentedly whenever the sun is out.

Head west again, to Wales, through the rolling hills of the Brecon Beacons, and down to the heavenly sea and sky of Pembrokeshire. Then go north to scale the stunning peaks of Snowdonia with mountains for walkers and steam trains for all the family.

Then it's back to England, through the valleys of the Yorkshire Dales and over the mountains of the Lake District, to Scotland where two new national parks await: the glorious combination of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, and the mountain wilderness of the Cairngorms.

That may be wonder enough, but Britain's pastoral pleasures are crowned by Northwest Scotland, the famous Highlands and Islands, where jewels in the crown include peaks like Ben Nevis and Torridon, while out to sea the lovely islands (take your pick) - Arran, Skye, Mull, Islay, Jura, North Uist, South Uist, Lewis and all - bask in the afternoon sun...