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Great views of the Lake District mountains, a wonderful valley after first climb and a lesser walked route, so no busy crowds.
When you drive up to a fairy tale style chateau and staff line up to greet you with wine and hor d'oeuvres, you know you're somewhere special. A truly individual and luxury inn, with fabulous food at the adjacent Elderberry House, and some amazing local wines - we were recommended a wonderful local Zinfandel at a very reasonable price which I still dream about! Beautiful touches like homemade cakes in your room and handwritten goodnight notes add to a magical experience. You might not feel you want to leave once you're there, but if you must, Yosemite is really close by, as are some great local vineyards to rival Napa and Sonoma.
Less than an hour by bus or car from Cagliari and Sardinia's celebrated coastline, the Monti dei Setti Fratelli show a completely different side to this beautiful Mediterranean island.
Lush, forested slopes laced with a network of footpaths afford stunning views over scenes straight out of rainforest documentaries. There are walks and hikes for all abilities, and ample shade prevents the threat of heat exhaustion. A refreshing break from sunbathing.
Monti dei Setti Fratelli National Park, between Cagliari and Muravera in south-eastern Sardinia.
Big Bend national park was a real eye opener, pretty far from the beaten track and despite its beauty, relatively unknown. Real John Wayne country with a single access road through a wide rift valley. Smoking volcanoes to your left, mountain lions in the distance, cowboy cacti all along the way. Stunningly beautiful, remote and there on the Mexican border near the bottom of the 'bend' is a real oddity... the small town of Lajitas. This is not the place you'd expect to find a town where the mayor is an elected goat (apparently the other candidate was so unpopular they jokingly elected a goat in his place) and the President plays golf at an exclusive, lush green private club.
Loads to do including Kayaking, horse riding, exploring, climbing, camping... an amazing experience that you'll never forget, I'd recommend to anyone and everyone.
I am surprised that there are only three tips on the Peak District. The Peak District has a huge amount to offer ranging from walking, shopping, general sight seeing to caving, climbing and abseiling. The scenery is superb and very varied. There is lots of information about the area on the internet. It is well worth a visit.
A really warm welcome in a well preserved, attractive and unspoilt village inn with a roaring fire, good selection of beers including an excellent Black Sheep, and filling meals at fair prices. Good anytime, but well earned bliss if youve just staggered round the three Yorkshire Peaks in under the twelve hours allowed for the 26 mile romp. The worrying tale at the bar is that the fastest fell runner came in at two hours 20 something minutes, but you should feel good just if you made it.
By the bridge in Horton in Ribbledale, and close enough to the station to get you there and back, and on the Pennine Way
It's Canada's most beautiful journey: drive from Vancouver through the Rocky Mountains (the most spectacular mountain/driving experience) to Calgary, and stop off at the Icefields, Sulphur Mountain and Peyto Lake to soak in all the glories of the Canuck wilderness. There will most likely be bear and definitely deer and elk spottings too, which the kids will like.
Easter aside, another great time to be in Calgary is July, when the Stampede features six massive rodeo events and chuckwagon races. How can you refuse real cowboys in chaps, deep-fried Twinkies with Coke and generally calorific Western fun? Calgary is reknowned for not only its oil industry but the best beef in Canada, so steak all round.
Go to America. Then bear north.
If you want to stay in the UK this summer I recommend a trip to Llangadog in Carmarthenshire, South Wales.
Llangadog is situated in the heart of the Towy Valley, half way between Llandeilo and Llandovery. Llangadog is on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park and is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills with stunning views towards the Black Mountain.
The Last Gallery has been open in the village for the last two years and hosts exhibition of contemporary art from March through to December (www.thelast.co.uk).
Also in the village there are several pub/restaurants/hotels including The Red Lion (www.redlioncoachinginn.co.uk) and The Goose and Cuckoo which serve great food, drink and are very welcoming.
There’s lots to see and do in the area including The Towy River, a favourite with fishermen from all over the UK; Llangadog Common where you can spot Reds Kites and just up the road The Red Kite Feeding Station www.redkiteswales.co.uk/. There is also a spectacular drive along the A4069 from Llangadog to Brynamen passing over The Black Mountain.
The Yosemite Bug is a holiday resort for backpackers as well as people wanting a bit more luxury. You can stay there for as long as you want. They have a variety of accommodation including tents, cabins and dormitories. I stayed in the dorms on a 2.5 day package. The beds are much bigger than you normal hostel style beds and the everything is very clean.
Food is served three times a day at the Bug Bar which does very lovely and more importantly fresh food for a great price. The Bug offers guided tours of Yosemite which can be as easy or demanding as you want them to be. All staff live in the park and know everything you ever wanted to know about the geology, people and animals in this amazing place.
After a day of hiking you can relax in the resorts Spa which has a Jacuzzi and Sauna and offers massages and reiki.
I spent 2.5 days there an thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish I could have stayed longer. The atmosphere is very chilled and relaxed and the people who work there are friendly and helpful. Yosemite is an awesome place for hikers, climbers and people who just want to get away from it all.
The Bug is great because it is very informal but the service is great and it doesn't have the 'touristy' feel some of the bigger hotel chains have in the Yosemite Valley like Curry Village.
www.yosemitebug.com/
YARTS is a bus which caters for hikers wanting to get in and out of the park. It stops about 100 meters for the resorts' entrance: www.yarts.com/
Both Greyhound and AMTRAK Services go to Yosemite as well.
For stunning landscapes of the grandest scale, endless horizons and cobalt skies with racing white clouds, head south through Patagonia on Ruta 40. Cross the vast pampas and steppe staying at occasional welcoming and good value estancias serving succulent Patagonian lamb asado style, and corn free beef, washed down with fine local wine. In the north there are beautiful lakes rivers and forests, even hillsides covered in primeval monkey puzzles, whilst down south are huge creaking glaciers, and vast milky blue lakes. And always just to the west are the snowcapped peaks of the Andes cordillera and its huge icefields. Tread in the footprints of dinosaurs, spot flamingos and condors, hike, boat, ride, fish or climb, and keep heading south to the parks mountains and sea channels of the end of the world and the land of fires.
From Jujuy in the North to the Magellan Straits where it joins Ruta 3 to Ushuaia. El Chalten, and El Calafate in the centre are great bases to explore from, but its the open road thats best.
It's a hostel for hiker and climbers near Soto de Sajambre in the Picos de Europa. You can only get there by foot - it's about an hour from the nearest village. Right in the heart of the Picos de Europa National Park with has some of the most stunning views of the surrounding mountains. It's set beside some mountain pastures and in between centuries old beech and oak woodland. The facilities are simple - shared dormitories and probably best to take your own food but definitely worth it as the views are out of this world.
For the location: maps.google.com/?q=43.166046,-5.005045
For the views: www.mallorcaweb.net/estebanmk/SantaCastilla/SantaCastilla002.jpg
The Valley is a private working estate which grants access to all walkers and limited access for cars. It provides easy access to the Cheviot and surrounding peaks. You can easily reach the border fence with Scotland. There is lots of wildlife, from the feral goats, red deer and fox, through to a large variety of birds. There are also ancient hill forts from the Bronze Age to explore. Peace and tranquility are there for free.
Access is really only possible by car.There is no public transport to this remote valley.Car parking is available at the bottom of the Valley.
College Valley Estate, Hethpool Mill,Wooler, NE71 6DW.
Tel: 01668 281 611
www.college-valley.co.uk
www.northumbria-byways.com/viewitem.aspx?id=131
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The best scheduled scenic train journey in Yorkshire, and probably England, is the Settle-Carlisle route over the massive but elegant Ribble Viaduct. Setting off from Leeds, the gritty mill towns unfold as the hills rise up, a prelude to the drama of Yorkshires Three Peaks and the panoramic views that motorists, and even walkers, never get. Ingleborough, Pen-y-ghent and finally the very flanks of Great Whernside fill the windows, making an assault on one of them almost irresistable followed by a yorkshire pint at a village pub, perhaps the welcoming Crown at Horton.
Ribblehead, Northern rail on the Leeds Carlisle line, Horton-in-Ribblesdale or Ribblehead for a walk
Uluru is undoubtedly a priority on every travellers list when they visit Australia. Although spectacular in its own way Uluru's beauty is eclipsed by nearby King's Canyon in the Watarrka national park. This ancient canyon created by a pre-historic inland sea allows breathtaking views over the Watarrka national park. The scenery is much more varied than at Uluru and the red domes against the azure sky are a visual treat. The walk around the rim of the canyon takes three hours - but is pleasant with lots of variation in incline and scenery. Halfway through the walk you come across the garden of eden which is a permanent waterhole. It's safe to swim here and the experience of swimming in this waterhole surrounded by sheer red cliffs with the sky above is amazing. Sunrise is the best time to visit the canyon when temperatures are bearable and the flies are few in number. Take plenty of water, sun screen and insect repellent. Nearby Kings Canyon Resort offers accomodation and there is a camp site nearby as well.
From Uluru airport Kings Canyon is a 400 km drive (takes about 3-4 hours as the roads are desserted). The drive is well signposted. Kings Canyon can also be reached from Alice Springs. For accomodation see the resort website - www.kingscanyonresort.com.au
For such an urban country, Japan's many mountain ranges remain unspoilt and relatively unknown other than to numerous enthusiastic and fit Japanese walkers of all ages. The North Alps are as good as the European ones and once away from the busy valley entrance lodges, exhilaratingly empty, and stunningly scenic. A network of dozens of simple traditional mountain huts provide ridge-top overnight accommodation in dormitories which are decidedly cosy for taller people and a welcome evening meal of meat, fresh vegetables, rice, and mizo soup. Enormous bento box lunches see you through the days. With snow on the peaks much of the year, the summer season is quite short but the ridges are covered with alpine flowers, miniature love lies bleeding, stunted birch, pine and rhodedendron woods, and marmots. Autumn colours come early. Numerous trails are signed and there are plenty of routes for a few days to a couple of weeks. The Kamikochi Valley is a good place to start with afew hours walk up to many peaks at around 3000m. Booking accomodation which in summer is necessary will be easier if you speak Japanese or have a friend who does. Water is scarce high up, so treat yourself in a hotel with onsen baths when you descend.
Central North Honshu, a half days drive north of Kanazawa.
www.kamikochi.or.jp/english/
Yosemite Valley may have the famous sites - Half Dome, El Capitan, and of course the waterfalls. But it also has the tourist hordes and the intense heat. It shouldn't be missed but once you've been and seen, head out of the valley and then north-east toward Tuolumne Meadows. About an hour's drive through the spectacular Sierra Nevada scenery, the road skims the shores of Lake Tenaya. Instead of passing it by like the majority of the park's visitors, park your car and get out. The clear mountain air and almost complete absence of sound or other human presence, makes this remote, crystalline lake a supremely tranquil location. I visited in late summer, when the valley was suffocating in 100-degree heat, but Lake Tenaya, at a considerably higher altitude, was pleasantly warm, and it's shallow waters cool but not freezing. Standing waist-deep in its waters, surrounded by white-sand beaches, pine forests and silver mountains, I could not imagine anywhere closer to paradise.
Yosemite National Park, ask at the visitor centre for a map and/or directions.
The Druid Circle is an ancient, historic site in the Snowdonian Mountains. If you are looking for solitude and tranquility and enjoy a brisk hike, this is the place to visit.
Follow the A55 coastal route, past Conwy and turn off at the village of Penmaenmawr. From here the Mountain Road will lead you right up to the foot of the Snowdonian Mountains from where you may follow the footpath to the Druid Circle. There is no vehicular traffic so a good pair of walking boots is adviseable. Also, there are no refreshments or ameneties along the way. The ideal backpack hike.
There is a train station in Penmaenmawr but trains will only stop on request. Be sure to inform the conductor if you wish to stop at Penmaenmawr station. The village offers a cafe, chip shop, Spar and chemist as well as a wonderful beach at the foot of the Snowdonia National Park.
Please visit: www.north-wales-holiday-cottages.co.uk and take a look at Gwelfor House, the perfect place to stay for a short break, week-end or family holiday, situated in the charming village of Penmaenmawr.
Don't try to do all Japan in one trip, but these three places provide a perfect introduction: the cutting-edge modernity of Tokyo, the mystical beauty of Kyoto and the serenity of Hakone National Park, where you can stay in a traditional hot spring inn. The itinerary offered by Inside Japan Tours also includes travel on the Bullet Train.
Fantastic Portuguese National Park (the largest in Portugal). Camping and climbing are great.
The west of America has some of the most awe-inspiring scenery I've ever seen. If time is very limited, fly into Vegas and drive down to the Grand Canyon, north rim, via Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park. Not only will you get a taste of life on the road here, I guarantee you'll be blown away by the landscape. You can find motels or lodges on National Park land for little money ($50 (£25) a night will get you a decent place) and all the crappy diner food you could ever want.
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