The Carter Company

London needs little introduction, except that we hope with our suggestions for exploring the city you will find authentic London and discover what makes this great city tick.

The Cotswolds are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with mellow wolds or hills intersected by gurgling rivers. This gives a tapestry of picture postcard villages, honey coloured stone cottages and sheep clad slopes dusted with beech woods. Cycling the leafy back lanes and staying in characterful Chipping Campden and Burford, you will experience rural England at its very best. And with your final night in historic Oxford at the gateway to the Cotswolds, what more could you ask of England? This tour is quintessential by name and nature.

Then step from your overnight accommodation onto a river boat and follow the Thames as it threads its way serenely through the history of England. Monarchs built their palaces and planted their gardens along the banks of the river at Kew, Richmond, Hampton Court and Windsor. This tour explores all these royal gems and many other hidden treasures along a route that is unbelievably rural and yet very close to the metropolis of London.

Your cycling begins at Richmond where you disembark. Take in the royal parks where monarchs once hunted, the tranquil Thames river path with its rural backwaters and weirs, historic towns, ancient waterside inns and the houses and vistas of the rich and famous. By pass the traffic and enjoy the sights and smells of quintessential England. A royally astonishing adventure!

Tucked into the peaceful landscape are pretty villages and charming estuaries where maritime history abounds. And just off the coast lies the delightfully English Isle of Wight.

Using awesome gravel tracks through the forest and disused railway lines, much of this tour is free of traffic and leaves plenty of time to explore. Discover: forest life and villages at Burley, Brockenhurst and Beaulieu with its fine estate and Motor Museum, maritime delights at Buckler’s Hard and Lymington, the Isle of Wight experience and the charms of Yarmouth where your ferry arrives. You'll be very tempted to return!

Add a touch of Roman influence - at Cirencester and relaxing two night stays in the heart of both Burford and Bibury - and you know you've hit a winner.

Follow the Thames meadows out of Oxford and ride tiny lanes and gentle bridleways along the Windrush and Coln valleys. Enjoy an 18th century working wool mill, tiny farm shops and babbling brooks. These are the valleys of delight.

Quaint and pretty villages, the unspoilt Chiltern Hills, the charming meadows of the Upper Thames and the historic Thames side towns of Oxford and Henley are all part of this rural idyll. On this tour you will enjoy all these and discover a great deal more. The only question is: where will you choose to stop along the way to quench your thirst? Will you follow your nose or take our hand picked recommendations?

Among these, the Outer Hebrides are some of the most remote which gives them their special character. With astonishingly beautiful white sandy beaches and isolated dwellings, the islands of Barra and the Uists reveal their crofting legacy and a flat terrain for cyclists. Linked by a string of ferries, the tour includes the inner Hebridean island of Skye and its notable hills which you will soar across with your driver guide for the day before returning to civilisation in Fort William aboard a steam train along one of Britain's most scenic stretches of railway.

You might think that, alas, this is not the place for gentle cycling. But thankfully with the canny use of cycle paths on disused railway lines and a plethora of ferry hops there are almost no hills. We are thrilled with the itinerary we have designed and its close historical links with the infamous Bonnie Prince Charlie, its blend of castles, local crafts, fishing culture and seafood and its unsurpassed landscapes.

We have chosen delightful and characterful small hotels and cosy inns for the classic trip and outstanding boutique luxury hotels on the mainland for the luxury tour. We guarantee you will be blown away - in the nicest sense!

But on this tour you will discover it offers so much more. From the chalk downs to the coast, medieval towns to trendy seaside spots, vineyards to art galleries and castles to gardens your route leads you through all the wonderful variety of this unhurried region and includes a stay in stunning Leeds Castle.

Cycling along valleys, beside the sea, atop the downs and across ancient marshland, there's bundles to explore with characterful overnight stops brimming with local colour. We are great fans of this locale and so we can't recommend it enough!

The Trossach hills provide a fabulous backdrop to your route, which leads you through stunning wooded glens and beside quiet lochs to the highland town of Pitlochry. Float along the serenely beautiful Loch Katrine aboard a steam boat and ride along the water's edge of many a loch, where little breaks the silence. Pedal along the dramatic Glen Ogle Viaduct using a former railway line with views to die for. Forests alternate with sheep clad slopes, castles and distilleries where you can stop for a 'wee dram' with isolated hamlets and classic Scottish towns. Feasts for real foodies await too; not only is this area of Scotland known for its beauty, landscape, and wildlife, but more recently its cuisine has come to the fore.

Your cycling adventure ends in Pitlochry; from here you ride the train to Edinburgh and explore this vibrant capital with an overnight stay in the heart of the city.

Smell the sea air, taste the cream teas, see the green hills, touch the gentle way of life and almost hear the sound of trains as you ride along the disused railway tracks. Both days on this 2 night break allow as little or as much cycling as you fancy - perfect for any age and any ability.

Designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Chilterns are lightly populated and not so well known but home to The Carter Company. The hills are the backdrop to chalk streams, beech woods, scattered villages, more wildlife than you can dream about and small farms with a patchwork of cattle and arable fields. Dotted around are historic gems from the chateau and museum of the Rothschild family to the locks and canals of waterways and the imaginations of local author Roald Dahl. Add in local food highlights and you have plenty to enjoy each day.

The carefully chosen routes use cycle paths, bridleways and canal towpaths most of the time giving you a traffic free ride through nature and peace of mind. Distances are short giving an unhurried meander through wilderness countryside designed to refresh and inspire the whole family.