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 luxury hotels.

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 tranquility with a spot of fishing on the lochs. Nothing could be grander!

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.

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.

With several days of optional cycling, the itinerary is very relaxed and provides plenty of opportunity for other activities such as walking, fishing, boating and more.

The tour leads through a variety of forests and woods, where you can enjoy some unusually close encounters with animals. Peaceful and traffic free tracks lead to characterful villages and historic small towns that are a delight to explore. The Dorset coastal areas you will visit offer wonderful variety from the charming fishing village and beach at Mudeford to the busy quays where you board two ferries. Enjoy sand spits and beach huts, two piers and beachside and cliff top cycling in Bournemouth. The unspoilt glorious sandy beaches of Studland are part of the route too along with the utterly delightful quay on the river estuary at Wareham and a glimpse of rural Dorset at its best. Add a tank museum or steam trains, a spot of boating or horse riding or simply some time on the beach and it’s quite an escapade!

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.

On this gentle self-guided cycling tour, discover for yourself the details that make this region so beloved by locals and visitors alike. There’s a wonderful variety of scenery, from cultural cities to tiny fishing villages, and gorgeous stretches of countryside in between.

Freewheel along the shores of Loch Ness, stopping as you please en route to catch a glimpse of the elusive Nessie and for a hearty pub lunch at local favourite, The Dores Inn. 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, under a monumental viaduct, and amidst verdant rolling hills dotted with grazing sheep. Of course, any trip wouldn't be complete without sampling a local whisky at a traditional Scottish distillery en route. It’s all part of the magic of a Highland fling!

Put simply, it incorporates everything on offer there - forest life and villages, the Isles of Wight and Purbeck, the coast and beaches of Dorset, the Avon valley, Salisbury and Stonehenge. This staggering array of history, landscapes and mood can all be enjoyed from forest tracks, bike paths, disused railways and a few quiet roads - The Carter Company way.

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.

The graceful contours of Cotswolds lanes and bridleways provide the route for much of this undemanding itinerary whilst the tranquil Oxford Canal leads to Blenheim Palace. Stop and explore Cotswold market towns enroute, thatched inns, and marvellous vistas. Discover the history of Oxford and relax and soak up the atmosphere of Cotswolds country.

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.