The Carter Company

The route traverses the full range of iconic Scottish landscapes, from epic mountains and lochs to forests and sweeping sand dunes. The reward at the end of each 'not so gentle' day is well worth the effort, with stays in Scotland’s finest hotels on the luxury holiday and in very lovely inns and small hotels on the classic trip.

With so much to see and do along the way, the option of staying two nights in each hotel comes highly recommended. Play on the world-famous golf courses, sample an award-winning 'wee dram' of whisky at a local distillery, take a flight in a sea plane over the Trossachs’ glens, visit historic castles and unspoilt medieval villages, explore the historic and culturally vibrant city of St. Andrews, or spend the day in tranquillity with a spot of fishing on the lochs. Nothing could be grander!

Not so gentle cycling - 4 days of cycling 53 miles (85 km) per day with 3,000 – 3,500 feet of climbing per day. Road cycling, hills aplenty! Most roads are minor; some short sections on busier roads

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!

3 days of cycling 10 - 20 miles (16 - 32 km) per day and 1 day of optional cycling

It may be short and it can be as laid back as the moment requires, but it encapsulates all that is so appealing in this much loved area. Pedal through a string of pretty hamlets and along forgotten leafy lanes. Enjoy the market towns of Stow on Wold and Moreton in Marsh and a farm shop extraordinaire. Discover medieval wall paintings, splash through fords and freewheel along hidden bridleways. And at the end of the day, we are sure you will love the characterful inn we have chosen for your 2 night stay and the excellent food and friendly hospitality it offers.

This break comes with quite a range of route choices and a huge flexibility in distances - from 10 to 40 miles per day, so you can have as relaxed or packed a break as you fancy. Gems on offer include Chipping Campden, the gardens at Hidcote Manor, the Slaughters, honey coloured stone thatched cottages, Bourton on Water, gurgling streams in hidden valleys and the oh so unspoilt market town of Burford.

2 days of cycling 10 - 40 miles (16 - 64 km) per day. 10% traffic free, very low traffic on the rest. Terrain, a few slopes.

All are country houses in beautiful settings with tip top service. All have excellent restaurants and a number have spas. In fact you might want to relax for a day or so and leave your bike idle. Tailoring the itinerary and distances for you, this is the perfect way to enjoy the magic of the Cotswolds. If you like to have a knowledgeable local guide to lead you, we will be delighted to provide one. And if you prefer to have a support vehicle, we are very happy to include one. We have no doubt that we can create a really rather special Cotswolds experience just for you.

The itinerary outlines all the hotels we feel fit into this tailor made tour and the sample price given below is illustrative and includes 5 nights accommodation and breakfast at Estelle Manor Oxford, Foxhill Manor Broadway, Lords of The Manor Upper Slaughter, Cowley Manor and The Pig in the Cotswolds at Bibury, 4 days of self-led cycling of your chosen distance with all biking equipment, route notes or GPS, maps and transfers where required, airport transfer at the start of the tour and return to Oxford at the end of the tour, all luggage transfers, host briefing and entrance to Blenheim Palace and grounds.

The Cotswolds have some hills although we are adept at avoiding as many as possible

This tour can be tailor-made to your requirements.

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!

5 days of cycling 6 - 31 miles (10 - 49 km) per day and 1 optional day of cycling. Almost no hills. Minor roads with little traffic or cycle path.

There is glorious cycling right beside the sea, castles and medieval towns to explore and a rich maritime history of old ports, shipwrecks and smuggling to discover.

You will ride through the many orchards that define this area as 'The Garden of England'. And then there's 'ye olde' Canterbury, full of pilgrim history, packed with museums, famous tales and vibrant with its maze of intriguing side streets.

5 days of cycling 8 - 20 miles (13 - 32 km) per day. Largely flat and traffic-free,

From its quiet source in the Cotswold Hills to the Thames Barrier at Greenwich where river and sea meet, this river of mystery holds many secrets for you to discover and enjoy.

The tranquil river path and the hidden lanes you will ride thread their way through sleepy rural villages and historic towns. Pretty landscapes beckon and royal life abounds as you ride by Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and monarch's gardens. Enjoy the water meadows, old inns, wildlife and the traffic free ride through the heart of London. The Thames source to sea journey is a real classic trodden by many adventurers - come and see what all the fuss is about.

8 days of not so gentle cycling 19 - 34 miles (30 - 54 km) per day. Flat with some slopes on day 6. Very largely traffic free.

Starting in the historic university city of Oxford you visit many of the best loved villages and valleys that have made the Cotswolds so memorable. See Chipping Campden, the Slaughters, Bibury, and Tetbury as you ride through the Windrush and Coln valleys. Stay overnight in Stratford on Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare and if you wish enjoy one of his plays at the theatre. Absorb the Roman influence in Cirencester, the film backdrop of Lacock and the engineering feat of the Kennet and Avon Canal. In just 10 days, this tour encapsulates so many of England's historic landmarks - no mean feat!

8 days of not so gentle cycling 25 - 41 miles (40 - 66 km) per day. Country lanes; up and down rolling hills. 25% traffic-free, with relatively low traffic on the rest

Royalty beckons with palaces at Kew, Richmond, Hampton Court and Windsor whilst the history of England is recorded in the fabric of the waterside defining the Thames as 'liquid history'. Enjoy the water meadows, old inns, wildlife and weirs that lead you on through your adventures.

With wonderful luxury hotels or cosy inns this trip is one of our favourites. The tranquil river path provides the route for much of this trip - we love it because it is flat and traffic free and the itinerary is relaxed. What a great way to discover the sights and smells of quintessential England!

5 days of cycling with two further days of optional cycling 10 - 24 miles (16 - 38 km) per day. Mostly flat with a mix of bike paths, gravel tracks and the occasional road and grass tracks. Almost completely traffic free.

From the sandy shores of the Moray Firth east of Inverness to the dramatic and rocky west coast, south of Fort William, this tour includes a wondrous variety of scenery from historic highland towns to tiny fishing hamlets, mountain ranges to deserted lochs and gorgeous offshore islands and stretches of countryside in between.

Remarkably, this isn't a tough ride with just one day of riding uphill and the remainder with few hills. Yet Ben Nevis is in close up and you brush awesome Glen Coe. Stop at local favourite the Dorres Inn on Loch Ness and pedal the towpath of the Caledonian Canal as you head through the Great Glen. Immerse yourself in history with a visit to Culloden battlefield, the site of the last full-scale battle to take place on British soil. Learn about the local legends at the castles of Cawdor and Brodie, stuffed to the turrets with antique furniture, paintings and ceramics. Ride through pine forests, past sweeping sandy beaches, across estuarine bridges and down a disused railway line hugging the seashore and virtually touching the western isles. Sample a 'wee dram' of local whisky at a traditional Scottish distillery en route and explore a pioneering eco-village at Findhorn. Ferry hop from Fort William and ride the length of the island of Lismore on the last day of your tour en route to Oban. It's all part of the romance of the Highland coast!

7 days of not so gentle cycling 16 to 31 miles (26 to 49 km) with options for further cycling on several days. Bike paths, canal towpath, disused railway line and back lanes. 60% traffic-free with very little traffic on the rest