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Bill Bryson called it ‘a perfect little city’ and Condé Nast’s Traveller magazine readers voted it the ‘Best city in the UK’ – now Durham warmly awaits your visit to receive another seal of approval.

A captivating city with winding cobbled streets and a prominent peninsula crowned with the dramatic Cathedral and Castle World Heritage Site – one of the most stunning city panoramas in Europe. Durham is a pleasure to explore and one of the finest cultural and historic destinations in the UK.

The quintessential old English university city, Durham has a wonderful timeless quality with rowing on the Wear and relaxing riverside walks, and yet buzzes with a vibrant contemporary culture with superb cafés, artisan workshops, boutiques, galleries and museums.

There’s plenty to see and do; watch the world go by in one of the city centre cafés, shop for gourmet treats, locally produced food or original crafts in an array of shops and markets. Enjoy a moment of reflection in the awe-inspiring Cathedral, find city-centre calm at Crook Hall and Gardens or explore the treasures of Durham University’s Oriental Museum.

Days in Durham are a hard act to follow, but we like to think our evenings are also up to the mark. Spellbinding theatre to side-splitting comedy, intimate restaurants to chic café-bars, action films to art house cinema – Durham City has entertainment galore.

The Durham Dales is made up of Teesdale and Weardale and is a peaceful, rich and varied landscape of moors and hills, valleys and meandering rivers. Dotted with picturesque villages and market towns, the Durham Dales is also home to the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Spend time in Stanhope, the green and tranquil market town at the heart of the Durham Dales and home to the Durham Dales Centre, where you will find an award-winning tea room plus a number of craft shops. Whilst in Stanhope, hop aboard the Weardale Railway. The railway was originally built in 1847 by the Stockton and Darlington Railway to transport limestone, but now transports visitors on scenic trips along the line to Wolsingham.

Visit High House Chapel, the world’s oldest Methodist Chapel still in continuous weekly use, and the Weardale Museum – a small independent folk museum where visitors can discover what life was like in Weardale in the 19th Century.

Take the pleasant woodland walk to High Force, the highest unbroken fall of water in England, where the River Tees spectacularly drops 21 metres - an awe-inspiring sight! Another remarkable sight is The Bowes Museum with its wonderful history and outstanding treasures, located in the delightful market town of Barnard Castle.

The peace and tranquillity of Eggleston Hall Gardens, with its nursery specialising in rare and unusual plants, is a great place to take a moment to enjoy the beauty of nature with over 4 acres of gardens.

One of England’s most impressive Medieval castles, Raby Castle was built in the 14th Century and is surrounded by beautiful walled gardens and extensive parkland which is home to herds of fallow and roe deer.

Hamsterley Forest is a fantastic adventure playground of woodland with walks, cycle routes and horse riding trails open to all. Visitors can hire bikes in the forest and tackle a range of rides to suit all abilities.

Killhope, the North of England Lead Mining Museum, is the most complete lead mining site in Great Britain and features a huge working water wheel. Visitors can experience the life and work of lead mining families and put on hard hats to descend into the mine to take a tour underground - an unforgettable experience!

Heritage Coast

Explore the colourful and dramatic landscape of Durham’s Heritage Coast with its beaches, rugged cliffs and imposing headlands. A truly stunning location, the Heritage Coast is recognised internationally for its rare plants and wildlife.

Follow the coastal path that runs along much of the coast leading you through a colourful mosaic of grasslands, wildflowers, flora and fauna, through areas of natural, historical and geological interest. Enjoy spectacular views along the coastline and out across the sea as the North Sea air blows away the cobwebs.

The limestone grasslands of the cliff tops are one of the UK’s most protected habitats and home to unique and varied wildlife.

Inland from the coast are hidden denes containing remnants of ancient yew and ash woodland. The largest is the picturesque Castle Eden Dene, a National Nature Reserve with 550 acres of natural woodland and 12 miles of footpaths. A peaceful and tranquil place, it is home to over 450 species of plants and wild flowers, many of which are typical of ancient woodlands that date back to pre-medieval times.

Seaham is a lively harbour town on Durham’s Heritage Coast and is home to one of the oldest churches in the country and an award-winning spa hotel.

 Beamish, the world famous open air museum tells the story of the people of north east England in the 19^th and arly 20^th centuries. It features houses and cottages, a school and newspaper office, a pub and sweet shop and a colliery village, where you can go down the mine…and there’s a tramline service to get you about.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Gateshead are world renowned for their bridges across the river.  The Tyne Bridge is reminiscent of Sydney Harbour Bridge; the Swing Bridge pivots in the middle to let ships pass; the High Level Bridge is for road and rail; the Millennium Bridge opens like an eyelid to let vessels pass; the King Edward VII Bridge takes the railway across the Tyne and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is a fascinating sight after dark with its light show.

The Centre for Life science village reveals amazing secrets of life and the Discovery Museum shows just why the Geordies – as the local people are known – are so proud of their home city.  The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is one of the biggest art galleries of its kind in the world.  It also offers a spectacular view across this life-loving city. 

 Out of town, marvel at the wonders of Alnwick Garden – the Grand Cascade and stunning gardens that challenge the grandeur of the castle.

Taylors Croft Cottage is an exclusive, spacious wing of an 18th century hall which sleeps two people and contains everything you need for a romantic holiday in one of the most beautiful valleys in Britain with nothing but the sheep and cows to disturb you!

Enjoy a warm Yorkshire welcome with a break in Saltmarshe, a beautiful riverside hamlet in East Yorkshire. The holiday cottages are surrounded by the natural beauty of farm and parkland, with fascinating market towns and places of interest nearby to occupy the visitor.

Orchard Cottage and River Cottage can both sleep up to six people and dogs are welcome at Orchard Cottage.

   We can thank the poet William Wordsworth for putting the Lake District ‘on the map’.  In 1835 he wrote A Guide to the Lakes and suggested the region should become “a sort of national property”.

   And he wrote Daffodils!

   The area now has nearly 20 million visitors a year.  Its 30-mile radius encompasses glacier-etched, tree-clad valleys, inspiring and challenging ridges and peaks and deep, forbidding, yet hauntingly beautiful lakes.

   Ullswater is generally considered the finest of the lakes – each to his own! – while Scafell Pike is certainly the loftiest peak – at 3,210 feet the highest mountain in England.

   Windermere Lake Cruises allow you to leave the boat at landings to explore Ambleside, Wray Castle, Brockdale and the National Park Visitors’ Centre, Bowness, Ferry Landing, Fell Foot Ferry and Lakeside.

   Grasmere is a stunning village, with views to match.  Here is Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth penned his greatest, and Rydal Mount, the Wordsworth family home.  It’s also famous for its gingerbread.

   Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, where his Georgian birthplace can be visited before a tour and tasting at Jennings Brewery.

   Beatrix Potter was another champion of the Lake District.  She wrote and illustrated many of her books at Hill Top, a farmhouse at Near Sawney.  The queues of visitors prove the enduring love of Peter Rabbit and the rest of Potter’s characters.  Peter ‘comes to life’ at The World of Beatrix Potter, at Bowness, while at Hawkshead, at the Beatrix Potter Gallery, you can see her original book illustrations.

  Keswick, overlooking magical Derwentwater, has been popular with tourists since the coming of the railways in Victorian times.  The fascinating Pencil Museum tells the story of graphite mining in the area.

   On your way to Penrith look in on Long Meg and her Daughters – 66 Bronze Age standing stones.  Penrith’s 14^th century castle was built to defend the town from Scottish raiders.  More peaceful times are reflected by the magnificent house and grounds of Hutton-in-the-Forest.

   Levens Hall, near Kendal, is a fine Elizabethan mansion, which boasts amazingly complex topiary – some of it more than 300 years old.

   The Museum of Lakeland Life, at Abbot Hall, Kendal, has demonstrations of local arts, crafts and trades alongside the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology.

   Carlisle – the capital of Cumbria – also had problems with the Scots… and the Danes…and the Normans, who built its castle.  It was also an outpost of Hadrian’s Wall. The restored Birdoswald Fort was an important military and civilian settlement.  It’s on the longest remaining continuous stretch of this World Heritage Site. There are interactive displays at the visitors’ centre; the area has amazing views and is a wild life haven.

   The Settle-Carlisle Line offers one of England’s most scenic railway journeys – its 21 viaducts, 14 tunnels and 325 bridges take the track over the most rugged terrain and offers breathtaking views.

   Another railway to enjoy is the narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale heritage line.  It was opened in 1875 to carry iron ore to the coast.

   And if you’re planning walking in the Lakes don’t forget your world-renowned energy booster – Kendal mint cake. 

  Whilst visiting the Lake District stay in one of the following cottages:  Dower House, Broughton in Furness; Tranthwaite Hall Cottages, Windermere; Greenacres Cottage, Grange over Sands; Beech Grove and Copper View at Coniston

East Anglia – the land of the Angles; the ‘bulge’ between the Thames Estuary and The Wash.

Its northern and eastern flanks are vast shingle banks, sand dunes, cliffs and fine beaches. These front salt marsh, mud flats and reed beds. All are home to many miles of heritage coast and some of the finest nature reserves in Britain, including Scolt Head Island, Blakeney Point, Titchwell, Minsmere and Orford Ness and the Essex rivers.

Sandringham (Norfolk) – the Queen’s Christmas home – features museums and scenic nature trails, along with a tour of this 18^th century country home. Blickling Hall (Norfolk) is one of England’s great Jacobean  houses. Its grounds have an orangery, secret garden and woodland dell. Audley End (Essex) was the largest house in England when it was built in 1614. Robert Adam remodelled much of the interior and Capability Brown landscaped the park.

Walk Constable Country from Flatford to Dedham (Suffolk) along the River Stour and see the inspiration for The Haywain and other John Constable masterpieces.

One of the region’s finest woodland walks is through Epping Forest (Essex) where Henry VIII hunted. He built a lodge, known as Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, which now houses exhibitions.

A punt trip on the River Cam, in Cambridge, gives first-rate views of the university’s architectural gems, including Trinity College and the Bridge of Sighs.

And they’re off! Newmarket (Suffolk) has been the headquarters of British horseracing since James I. Visit the National Horseracing Museum and the National Stud…and go to the races. You can also back your fancy at Fakenham Races (Norfolk).

Board the ‘Ship of the Fens’ and admire the staggeringly beautiful Ely Cathedral (Cambridgeshire). Visible for miles across the Fens, the cathedral was begun in 1083. Marvel at the ceilings, the Octagon and the lantern.

Norwich Cathedral (Norfolk) has the second tallest spire in England, after Salisbury. It soars over Elm Hill and Tombland, some of the best-  preserved medieval streets in the country. Visit the Castle Museum and The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, at the University of East Anglia, on the outskirts of the city.

Let’s go to the seaside. All the fun of the fair can be enjoyed at Great Yarmouth (Norfolk), Clacton-on-Sea and Southend (Essex), which also has the longest pleasure pier in the world.

Erosion has seen Aldeburgh’s (Suffolk) magnificent Moot Hall ‘move’ from well inland to the sea front. The elegant town is home to the international music festival started by the composer, Benjamin Britten, at the converted maltings, at Snape.

Just up the coast, erosion committed Dunwich (Suffolk) to the North Sea. The ancient capital of East Anglia is now a hamlet. The last of the lost city’s 12 churches collapsed into the waves in 1919.

And don’t forget the crabs at Cromer (Norfolk) – claimed to be England’s best – and its end of the pier show.

Base yourself at the following cottages -

Norfolk - Dairy Cottage, Cromer; Garden Cottage, Great Yarmouth; Old Barn, Heacham; Cart Lodge, Holt; Frogs Hall, Dereham; Garden Cottage, Fakenham

Essex - Stable & Dairy Cottage, Great Bardfield; Fisherman’s Lodge, Saffron Walden; Greenlands Barn, Colchester; Spring Hall Cottage, Harwich

Suffolk - The Tavern, Sudbury; Manor Farm Barn, Eye

Cambridge - Old Granary, Ely; Qeensberry Cottage, Newmarket

   It’s one of the world’s most recognisable buildings.  A wonderland of audacious architecture and opulence, Castle Howard is still owned and lived in by the Howard family and is set, appropriately, in the rolling Howardian Hills.  Marvel at Sir John Vanbrugh’s 17^th century vision in the Great Hall, the Long Gallery, the Chapel and the Museum Room.

Set in the valley of the River Rye, which forms natural barriers from the outside world and a dramatic setting, is Rievaulx Abbey.  It’s overlooked by Rievaulx Terrace and Temples, which add another dimension to this 13^th century masterpiece.

Hutton-le-Hole welcomes you to the North York Moors.  It’s an idyllic English village – a large green grazed by sheep and surrounded by houses, shops and the pub.  It’s also home to the much-praised Ryedale Folk Museum, with its reconstructed Romano-British farm buildings.

Rosedale is another fine moorland village.  Named after the priory, it was part of t he flourishing ironstone industry that flourished on the moors along with lime and coal mining.  Agriculture is the main source of income nowadays, making the most of the lush, treed valleys that criss-cross the bleak, yet beautiful heather clad moorland.  The Moors Centre, at Danby, tells the story.

Nothing could stop Victorian engineers laying railways in the most unlikely places.  The North York Moors were no exception.  Its railway originally ran from Pickering to Whitby.  Now, volunteers run a steam service along 18 miles between Pickering and Grosmont, through the scenic heart of the moors.

At the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast, the moors end abruptly at the North Sea and the highest cliffs in England. 

Picturesque Staithes was one of the largest North Sea fishing ports.  Its sheltered harbour is bounded by high cliffs with cottages clinging to their sides.  Just to the west are the Boulby Cliffs, standing almost 700 feet high.

Whitby is both a resort and port and was once a whaling centre.  The harbour is watched over by a statue of the explorer, Captain James Cook, who was apprenticed to a Whitby shipping firm before he went to sea.  The Captain Cook Memorial Museum is based in a house where he lived as a youngster.  The medieval arches of Whitby Abbey stand over the town.  And don’t forget, the vampire Count Dracula was ‘born’ in Whitby…created by Bram Stoker.  Join the brave on Dracula tours or the twice-yearly Gothic Weekend.

There are smuggling stories aplenty at Robin Hood’s Bay, where many of the houses have hideyholes for contraband.  Leave your car in the car park – the cobbled main street is too steep for it.

Although Scarborough was a spa resort as far back as the early 17^th century, the Victorians turned the town’s fortunes round with their passion for bathing.  It was known as the Queen of Watering Places.  Authoress Anne Bronte is buried in St Mary’s Church; the Rotunda is one of Britain’s first purpose-built museums and the Sea Life and Marine Sanctuary is famed for its amazing displays and conservation work.

   Base yourself at one of these cottages: G036; G038; G043 and G194. 

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Set against the spectacular Atlantic coastline, the 17,000 acres of the Hartland Peninsula, North Devon, offer a landscape of wonderful contrasts.  Tucked away in the far north west corner of Devon, this area is a haven of peace and tranquillity, perfect for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.

As you cross the peninsula, high open moorland and ancient woodland give way to coastal waterfalls tumbling from hanging valleys onto rocky shores. These meandering valleys create sheltered micro-climates which support an abundance of wild flowers, insects, birds and animals.

The Hartland Peninsula has twelve miles of spectacular coastline, including part of the South West Coast Path.  The three mile walk from Hartland Quay to Hartland Point, with views across to Lundy Island from Hartland Point is a must do for any visitor.

Other attractions in and around Hartland include a selection of charming villages nestled in green valleys. Visit St Nectan’s Church, nicknamed the Cathedral of North Devon, or enjoy superb gardens at Hartland Abbey and around the restored water mill at Docton Mill Gardens.  There are many secluded beaches, ideal for swimming, surfing and fishing and some stunning waterfalls.  Hartland Quay has a museum with some amazing artefacts and reports of shipwrecks around the local area.  The quay was originally built in the late 16th century but was swept away in 1887 and the museum shows how the quay worked in days gone by and has some salvage from the ships that have gone down on our dramatic coast.

The Cottage, at West Titchberry Farm, Hartland Point, offers self catering accommodation for up to six people.

The Black and White Trail gives visitors a closer look at the beautiful countryside and villages between Leominster and Kington in the north-west of Herefordshire. The trail, as the name suggests, is characterised by the large number of timbered and half-timbered houses in the area some dating from medieval times, others from more recent periods. 

The official Trail is a 40-mile journey around Herefordshire villages including award winning Eardisland, Weobley with an extraordinary variety of medieval buildings, Eardisley with its giant oak tree, Dilwyn with its village green surrounded by cottages and the two market towns of Kington and Leominster.

Each village is a treasure trove of cottages, inns and shops all constructed with timber framing so characteristic of this wood-rich area.   At the centre of each is a fascinating church, as varied as the ancient black and white buildings grouped around them. 

Many of the houses in Herefordshire date from the 16th and 17th century or earlier, when timbers were often left unpainted to weather naturally,while the panels were painted with pigmented lime wash.  The framework was built from green (unseasoned) oak and the panels are in-filled with lath woven strips of wood and plaster. The idea of decorating timber framed houses by painting the beams black and the panels white is a recent one.

Base yourself in Weobley at one of the self catering cottages offered at Mellington House.  The Hayloft has been converted into an attractive apartment that can sleep four.  The Coach House can sleep up to three people.

Tucked away at the foot of thickly wooded hills, you will discover one of Perthshire’s gems - the cathedral town of Dunkeld which has an air or timeless tranquillity.  Resting on the opposite bank of the River Tay is the Victorian village of Birnam. Together, the beautifully restored buildings and rich heritage are an inspiration for lovers of history, the arts and the great outdoors.

The Dunkeld and Birnam area is an excellent centre for walking much of Perthshire, with a well signposted network of local walks from 3, to almost 12 miles long. These are mainly low level walks ranging from gentle riverside strolls, to somewhat more strenuous woodland walks.  In the splendid woodland area of The Hermitage (NTS) you will find one of the tallest trees in Britain. The walk to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s centre at Loch of the Lowes is wonderful at any time of the year.  Walk to the Birnam Oak, a fragment of the ancient forest described in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.

Visit the Birnam Institute, home to the Beatrix Potter Exhibition & Garden. Beatrix Potter drew inspiration for ‘The Tales of Peter Rabbit’ from childhood holidays spent along the banks of The River Tay.

Golden Pond is a Scandinavian style log cabin offering self catering accommodation for up to eight people.  Nestling in 3 acres of countryside in the Atholl Estates, surrounded by breathtaking scenery of lochs and glens it is the perfect location for birdwatchers, hill walkers, fishermen, golfers and cyclists.