The Carter Company

To these we have added the gardens we love and know others find inspirational. Collectively they show a wide range of styles and we are sure you will leave horticulturally touched.

We have designed the tour with very short cycling distances so that you will have plenty of time to enjoy the gardens and landscapes not to mention the wonderful Cotswold villages where you are staying. With very few slopes and a thoroughly leisurely itinerary, there's plenty of time for dreaming...

Ride beside the sea, through lush green valleys, touch the edge of Dartmoor National Park and enjoy gorgeous scenery and grand views. Pedal along former railway lines, through tunnels and across breathtaking viaducts and bridges. Enroute you will discover magical villages and cream teas you can't resist. Essentially rural but peppered with characterful towns, we have designed the tour with a leisurely tempo, balancing mileages and slopes to ensure as gentle a cycle each day as possible - that's the way we like to do things. And of course, every night you'll relax in our hand picked guesthouses and hotels.

Much of this route is traffic free as it slices through Devon from the north to the south. It includes the bike paths of the Tarka Trail, the Granite Way and the Plym Valley.

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!

Like the games, the trip has been a resounding success. Starting and finishing in Oxford, it includes the World Heritage sites of Stonehenge, Bath and Blenheim Palace, the iconic River Thames, the well-loved towns of Stratford on Avon and Salisbury and the stunning hills and villages of the Cotswolds and Chilterns.

From the historic university city of Oxford see Chipping Campden, Bibury, and Tetbury as you ride through the Cotswold 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. Take in the outstanding cathedral in Salisbury, the soaring downs of middle England, the Thames with its pretty waterside villages and the undersung Chiltern Hills with their beech woods. This trip is our longest and embraces everything that is England - prepare to be amazed!

The forests, heaths and pasturland of the New Forest provide the back drop for the first few days as you ride to Brockenhurst and on to Beaulieu and Lymington. Here is a wealth of maritime history to explore before you cross to the Isle of Wight and continue the wonderful traffic free pedalling which shapes much of this trip. Back on the mainland, the itinerary leads you along quays and cliffs with sand spit and beach side cycling and a couple of ferry crossings to the loved Isle of Purbeck. Not an island proper, but rather a tucked away chalky coastal corner of Dorset, you can enjoy its unspoilt beaches and inland its woods, rural charms and the small characterful town of Wareham. The trip offers huge variety with time to enjoy other activities such as walking, fishing, boating and horse riding to name a few.

The Trossach hills provide a fabulous backdrop to your route, which leads you through stunning wooded glens and beside quiet lochs. Float along the serenely beautiful Loch Katrine on a steamship and pedal along the water's edge of Lochs Katrine and Lubnaig, where little breaks the silence. Spend two nights in the village of Callander at the heart of the Trossachs and two nights in a peaceful glen location, where feasts for real foodies await. Pedal along the dramatic Glen Ogle Pass using the former Callander & Oban railway line, and over the Glen Ogle viaduct, with views to die for. This area of Scotland is known for its beauty, its landscape, its wildlife, and more recently its cuisine, and the hotels we have chosen won't disappoint either.

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.

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.

As if that were not enough, the ride embraces a rich history. From Cirencester and Bath's Roman heritage, to Oxford's historic university - which dates back to 1167; from the 13th Century village of Lacock, to the grandiose Blenheim Palace and two rural canals - which are extraordinary feats of Victorian engineering. There's also lovely Tetbury and delightful Bradford on Avon to explore. All this is topped off by a really wonderful selection of rather unique hotels and inns you'll be staying in along the way.

And you will be beguiled too as you pedal our Captivating Cornwall tour around the coast from St Ives and Padstow on the north coast to the Lizard peninsula and Eden Project on the south.

The terrain, particularly on the coast, is very steep but our inclusion of E bikes makes this cycling holiday one we are so delighted to offer, enabling you all to enjoy this captivating blend of history, panorama and greenery. Coast by eye watering seafood, over deep estuaries by ferry and along disused railway tracks to a pottery or two. Freewheel past basking seals and sheltered sands to descend into a tin mine, drift through lost and glorious gardens and the film sets of Pilcher, Poldark and Doc Martin, breeze across wild moorland and up twisting village lanes and sail by ancient ports into wonderful vineyards and fascinating art galleries before sinking into a cosy inn at the end of a fabulous day. With stays in 6 coastal retreats from art mecca to fishing harbour and from cliff top to cool foodie hub and stylish waterfront, its not surprising we call it Captivating Cornwall!