News

A new exhibition has just opened at the Design Museum in London, celebrating bicycles and the people who ride them. We hear it's absolutely tip top! The Guardian, Time Out and The Times all gave it brilliant reviews.

The exhibition celebrates the diversity of contemporary cycling in Britain from every day commuting to Olympic level competition and looks at where design and innovation may take the riders of the future.

Highlights of the exhibition include Sir Chris Hoy's track bike from the 2012 Olympics, a number of record-breaking Bradley Wiggin's bikes, the earliest prototype Brompton in existence and a workshop that profiles a number of independent British bike producers, so you can see what goes into the making of a proper British bicycle... No wonder it's been referred to by one reviewer as 'bicycle porn'!

There's also a film of high-profile bike lovers sharing their hopes and dreams for cycling in the future including Norman Foster and Paul Smith. Be sure to check out the atrium of the museum, where you'll find the specially-commissioned Ben Wilson bicycle sculpture, the 1.5 gallery for cycling films, and the website for dates of cycling related talks and events happening in conjunction with the exhibition.

Here at The Carter Company, we recently celebrated our best year ever with a team trip to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, the luxury hotel which is home to Raymond Blanc's Michelin-starred restaurant in Oxfordshire. Many of our customers stay here for a night or two on their luxury cycling holidays and walking tours; or sometimes they choose to spend an additional night here at the beginning or end of a tour if they are in the area. It has a fabulous reputation for food, a small selection of individually designed rooms, and a rather splendid garden. We were well aware of the existence of the garden, but we didn't realise quite how special it was. It was certainly a good thing we arrived early enough to explore it fully, and we would strongly recommend anyone else visiting to do the same.

The orchard, beautifully maintained and evidently pruned by a serious expert, was dripping with deliciously ripe apples ready for picking. The organic kitchen garden, which supplies the restaurant and cookery school, was bursting with a colourful array of remarkable vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. The nasturtium crop in particular was quite spectacular (and they tasted pretty good too!) The greenhouses contained some very unusual-looking squash and pumpkin specimens, as well as numerous chilli plants and other less-recognisable potted chaps... and the 'mushroom valley' is a must-see - especially if there's a gardener nearby, who can explain the quite amazing story of how they cultivate all the fungi they use for cooking in the kitchens.

The real jewel in the crown for us though, and completely unexpected, was the Japanese tea garden. Inspired by a trip to Japan, it was Raymond himself who commissioned a local architect to design a little tea house - with an English thatched-roof twist - for the space. Having visited many gardens in Japan ourselves, it really captures that same sense of serenity and contemplative calm that Japanese gardens seem to emanate.

The gorgeous English water garden is the last gem to discover on your way to the restaurant, framed by golden and red autumnal leaves, and with a rather cute old stone stairway in the far corner, leading you up to the main building.

It goes without saying that the food was fab and the rooms we looked at really impressed us, as always. If you're thinking of doing a cycling holiday or a walking trip in the Cotswolds or Oxford next year, we strongly suggest booking in a night at Le Manoir - it won't disappoint!

Wendy, our brilliant and ever-adventurous founder, recently walked the entire length of the Dales Way. When she returned from the trip, she was positively bouncing off the walls about it. So naturally we needed to write a blog post about it, and share Wendy's pearls of wisdom for anyone thinking of doing a walking holiday along the Dales Way. If you'd like some help planning a trip there, please do get in touch with us.

Here are Wendy's top picks from walking along the Dales Way:

• The unspoilt gorgeous countryside, with sheep-clad hills and the occasional lonely farmhouse dotted here and there. There's barely a modern development along the whole length of the 81 mile walk, from Ilkley all the way to Windermere in the Lake District.

• Mile upon mile of beautifully maintained stone walls defining fields, ownership boundaries and the big views; sometimes serving other uses too... we'll leave you to discover those for yourself(!)

• The village of Dent, a picturesque cobbled village known for its mad knitters in times past and home to current day craftsmen too. Visit the shop on the green, 'Sofie’s Wild Woollens'. Here you can buy garments with hand-felted buttons

• The tea shops! Of course we love tea here at The Carter Company, so it would be amiss of us not to mention these. Standouts were Betty's in Ilkley, the Three Hares in Sedbergh and The Artisan Bakery in the Mill Yard in Staveley, with its award winning Treacle Bread. Delicious.

• Characterful pubs with great atmosphere and food. Favourites were The Dalesman Inn in Sedbergh; the Craven Arms in Appletreewick, which is still lit by gas lamps with divine views across the Wharf valley; and the Red Lion in Burnsall, adjacent to the stunning river bridge there.

If all this has whet your appetite, head over to our Facebook page to check out the full album of photos. Toodle pip!

We recently headed to Bath on a recce mission, scouting out routes, hotels, and of course hidden gems, for some new cycling and walking holidays which we plan to launch next year.

What a lovely city it is. Even if you're not into cycling or walking, we highly recommend Bath as a weekend getaway destination. It's such a charming place to stroll around, with lots of independent shops and cafes, bucketloads of history, impressive architecture, fantastic food, and yet an all-pervading sense of calm and serenity.

Here we share our favourite hidden gems and top tips for a good time in the city:

• Eat at The Circus. They serve seasonal, locally sourced, freshly-cooked food with a British bias, all at a very reasonable price. They get extra points from us for having interesting vegetarian dishes (no mushroom risotto in sight) and for filtering their own water rather than selling the bottled stuff. Eco-friendly and tasty! Featured in The Times as one of 20 secret restaurants that foodies love - it's a must.

• Visit the Royal Crescent. An obvious one but it never fails to stop us in our tracks. It's a truly beautiful sight: 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent shape. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a Grade I listed building. Although some changes have been made to the various interiors over the years, the Georgian stone façade remains much as it was when it was first built.

• Shop at Found. A wonderfully independent and original 'concept store', Found sells a mixture of womenswear, menswear, accessories, stationery, homeware and jewellery. We loved browsing their wonderfully curated collection of goods, and the staff are really friendly too.

• Take a day trip to Cheddar Gorge. Sadly parts of the place are over-commercialised (tip: do not be cajoled into paying £11 to go into the caves which includes a "free" (non-negotiable) COSTA coffee and cake) but it is still possible to visit and avoid having a overly touristy experience. We recommend the National Trust route, avoiding the Jacob's Ladder ascent. It's Britain's biggest gorge, with the dramatic cliffs rising to 450ft, so there are some spectacular views to be had.

• And... relax at Bath Spa. If you're into spas, then of course your visit wouldn't be complete without a trip to Thermae Bath Spa on Hot Bath Street. It’s the only place in the UK where you can bathe in naturally heated, mineral-rich water. And you can visit the historic Roman baths, where people were doing the same 2,000 years ago.

In our opinion, the best way to arrive in Bath is on foot via the Cotswold Way, or on a cycling holiday that begins in Oxford, travels through the Cotswolds, and finishes up in this magical city. It's one of our most popular routes!

Cycling holidays offer a rare opportunity for genuine cultural immersion. There's something about the pace of cycling, which allows you to see more than you would than if you were walking, and the routes you take on a bike, such as quaint backroads, quiet country lanes, little-used bridleways and tranquil cycle paths, that allow you to circumvent the tourist masses, engage with the details, and experience for yourself the local culture. Great Britain is famously densely packed with interesting things to see and do and an incredibly rich history to discover, which makes it an ideal destination for those wanting an active holiday with some culture thrown into the mix. We've sought out similar regions and routes in Europe to continue this tradition of culturally immersive cycling holidays. We hope those of you who've tried our walking holidays and bike tours abroad agree!

We'd thought it would be helpful to share what we consider to be our best cultural cycling holidays, as we often get asked this question.

1. Oxford and Thames Royal Palaces

This trip offers the chance to follow the Thames, often described as England's liquid history, and visit the historic capital of London, magnificent royal residences (past and present) at Hampton Court and Windsor Castle, as well as Henley, the home of the world-famous regatta, and of course Oxford, the city of dreaming spire, which is positively beaming with culture.

2. The medieval heart of Spain

Customers always return from this tour telling us how pleasantly surprised they were to discover a different side to Spain, away from the overly populated tourist areas. The tour is around the very centre of Spain, north of Madrid. From the World Heritage city of Segovia, which boasts a Roman aqueduct, and numerous medieval villages, hill top towns and castles, discover the little-known treasures that make Spain such a historic and fascinating place.

3. Lake Constance

This is an unusual cycling holiday in that you visit a total of three countries in a single week, as you pedal the circumference of Lake Constance. There's a huge amount of history and cultural traditions to discover along the way: regal churches and castles, pre-historic stilt houses that rank amongst UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, world-famous arts and opera festivals, and even a museum dedicated to Zeppelin airships!

4. Shakespeare country and the Cotswolds

Discover Shakespeare's birthplace and residences in Stratford-upon-Avon, attend a performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and visit world-famous gardens, Capability Brown follies, medieval market towns, National Trust museums and the birthplace of Winston Churchill, Blenheim Palace. And we haven't even mentioned Oxford yet!

5. A Highland fling

This gentle cycling tour (yes, gentle, in Scotland - it is possible!) offers up the chance to take in a considerable amount of culture and history en route: traditional Scottish whisky distilleries, Culloden battlefield, Cawdor and Brodie castles, world-pioneering eco villages, plus a whole lot of haggis (if you're into it!)

We hope that gives you a taste of our top cultural cycling trips. If there's a specific destination you're looking at, or you have a particular interest, let us know and we will be able to advise you on the perfect trip for you!