News

Welcome back to part 2 of our round-up of new cycling holidays and walking tours for 2015. We hope you are as titillated as we are by these exciting new trips in some brand new locations, as well as some specially designed itineraries in some of our most popular destinations. So without further ado, here we go:

1. Lake Constance cycling holiday

Cycling around Lake Constance offers the unique opportunity to tick off no less than three countries in a single trip: the lake borders Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It's one of the most popular cycling routes in Europe, and it's not difficult to see why! Stunning landscapes, pretty lakeside villages, vineyards galore, mountaintop vistas, historical UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and even a Zeppelin museum await. This is a fantastic choice for families as the cycling is very easy going and the terrain is particularly flat. To find out more, check out the details of this glorious cycling holiday here.

2. Cycling and walking tour of The Cotswolds

We've combined some of our favourite cycling and walking routes in the Cotswolds, our most popular destination, to create this special trip. Choosing to travel by bike AND on foot means you get the chance to see a unique and authentic side to a region where the crowds of tourists are increasingly difficult to avoid. But don't panic: we carefully design all our routes along the quiet backroads and little-used paths known only to the locals, so you can discover the hidden gems of the area. Read more about this lovely cycling and walking trip over on the holiday summary page.

3. Thames Path from source to London walking holiday

Whilst we've offered walking holidays along chunks of the Thames Path in the past, this year for the first time we are offering the chance to walk the entire route from the river's source in the Cotswolds to London. The result is a fantastic 13 night self-guided walking tour through an amazing array of differing landscapes. From wild pasture meadows to the densely wooded Chiltern slopes, the riverside route threads its way through sleepy rural villages and through the heart of bustling historic towns such as Oxford, Henley and Marlow. There's also the chance to take in landmarks such as Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Greenwich and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew en route. It's not to be missed!

Stay tuned for Part 3 - more tours to be announced soon!

We're excited to announce a number of new UK cycling holidays, European bike tours and some walking holidays for the 2015 season. We'll be announcing these in two separate blog posts (there are just so many!), so check out the first batch below and let us know what you think!

1. Walk the Ceredigion Coast and visit the newly opened Cardigan Castle

Cardigan Castle is scheduled to reopen again in spring 2015, following a £11m restoration project. Dating back to the 12th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair until the Cadwgan Building Preservation Trust, founded by four local residents, campaigned for 14 years to save the site. Work began on the building in 2013, which is regarded as the first stone castle built by the Welsh princes and was once the stronghold of Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of the medieval kingdom of Deheubarth. To commemorate the reopening, we are delighted to announce a new walking tour along the beautiful Ceredigion Coast, which begins in Cardigan and finishes in Aberaeron. We recommend adding on an extra night in Cardigan at the start of the tour so you have plenty of time to take in the castle in all its glory.

2. Celebrate the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ we have designed a special 2 night trip that features the key places in and around Oxford city that inspired Lewis Carroll’s imaginative tale. Explore Christchurch College, where Carroll taught and met the Dean Henry Liddell, whose youngest daughter was of course, Alice, the inspiration for his stories. Cycle along the stretch of river where Carroll took Alice and her sisters on a boat trip in 1862 and told them the first, improvised version of what later became ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’. Visit the Museum of Oxford and see a fob watch of the type worn by the White Rabbit, which belonged to Carroll. Enjoy a bike ride through the idyllic Port Meadow section of the Isis to find the well in the hamlet of Binsey, which provided the inspiration for the treacle well in Alice’s adventures. If you have time, we recommend squeezing in a mad hatter's afternoon tea too, which we can arrange on request! Please contact us for more info and to book this special tour.

3. Immerse yourself in van Gogh's Provence

2015 marks the 125th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh. Get to know the landscapes that inspired him with our two new tours in Provence. We have a cycling holiday, 'Provence and the wild Camargue' and a walking holiday 'Potter through Provence' for you to choose from. Both are gentle in distance and pace, giving you to the time to slow down and soak up your surroundings. Although the Camargue area of France is very flat, Provence does have the occasional hill or two, so we do offer electric bikes on this tour, which you can request if you wish. Provence is home to some stunning luxury boutique guesthouses and very upmarket rural retreats, so the accommodation on both these tours is sure to delight. Plus there's the local wine to get your teeth stuck into. So what are you waiting for... book today!

Here at The Carter Company, we absolutely love tea and cake. It's no secret there's a serious case of sweet tooth going round our office.. and it's not just members of the Carter family who are guilty! Emma, our Office Administrator, is an absolutely stellar baker in her own right. For evidence of her amazing skills, see this blog post which features a photo of the incredible personalised cake she made to celebrate our rebrand as The Carter Company. It's quite a creation.

Wherever we travel, we always keep our ears (and noses) to the ground in search of the local sweet specialities. Our top tip for anyone travelling to a new region is to do a bit of research online first - there's no place quite like the internet to uncover some useful nuggets of information, especially when it comes to niche products - and talk to the locals once you get there. Sometimes you need a bit of help to find the real gems, and no-one knows the area like a longstanding local resident. Of course, it goes without saying that a self-guided, gentle cycling or walking holiday offers the perfect opportunity to sample the local sweet treats, as you can stop whenever and wherever takes your fancy, indulge in a bite or two to eat, hound the proprietor of your chosen establishment for the recipe (to varying degrees of success), and then continue on your route until you work up enough of an appetite again to warrant the next pit-stop. Ideal!

Without further ado, below we share our favourite discoveries for anyone who is similarly inclined to the occasional/hourly sweet treat whilst travelling.

1. Apfel strudel, found on cycling holidays in Austria

An all-time favourite of the late John Carter, loved as a symbol of heartfelt Austrian hospitality as much for its delicious sweet yet sharp flavour, this country takes the simple apple tart to a whole new level.

2. Macaroons, found on cycling holidays in France

Excuse the pun, but for us, macaroons take the biscuit. Cooked right (and yes we have been known to visit several patisseries in one day in a French town just to track down the perfect specimen), they have a lightly crisp shell, a soft chewy inside and a melt-in-your-mouth creamy filling. And they look just gorgeous! Pierre Hermé make our favourite colours and flavours. See our new tour through Provence and the wild Camargue if all this talk has you salivating at the mouth!

3. Tinginiai, found on cycling holidays in Lithuania

Tinginiai, literally meaning “lazy bones”, are half-moon shaped dumplings with a filling of freshly crushed blueberries. An unusual variant on koldūnai (dumplings), which are pretty much the national dish in this part of The Baltics.

4. Mandolato, found on cycling holidays in Greece

Mandolato is black and white nougat, and a local speciality in Corfu. It's a traditional delicacy which combines the gorgeous natural flavours of almonds and honey. We love the soft, chewy variety. Taste it for yourself on our 'Jolly around Corfu' bike tour

5. Castagnaccio, found on cycling holidays in Italy

Castagnaccio is chestnut cake. It's a local speciality in Tuscany, it's typically eaten in the autumn. Try it with ricotta for an authentic touch. It can also locally be known as baldino, ghirighio or pattona, so make sure you take your phrase book with you so you don't miss out on this one, because it's worth it!

We recently returned from a 'reccy' trip in the wonderful Lake District. It's not the first time we've visited - in fact, the Lakes hold a special place in our hearts, full of memories of long summer days filled with friendship, laughter, good food, good wine, and fantastic walks (plus a little rain - it wouldn't be the Lakes without a downpour or two, hoho) Nevertheless, nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you enter Lakeland, having exited off the dreary M6 motorway a few miles back. The landscape creeps up on you, and before you know it, you're surrounded by the lush, dramatic scenery of valleys, mountains and majestic waters. Everything takes on a poetic quality; the light becomes luminous somehow, and the air smells fresher.

Anyway, enough eulogising. Here are our observations of note from the trip:

1. Autumn is an excellent time to visit the Lakes

Of course summertime means you can combine walking with a dip in a lake or the Derwent river, but there is something about the colours in Lakeland during Autumn that is absolutely spectacular and not-to-missed. Otherwordly purples, deep greens, ragged greys, and moody blues... it's all pretty dreamy!

2. What looks like a simple stone wall may in fact be.... a pioneering feat of Cumbrian engineering

Take a anticlockwise stroll along the 'Coffin Trail' (pictured above) and a short while before you reach Rydal Mount, the home of William Wordsworth, you may notice what looks like a simple stone wall to your right, not 20m from the main path. It is in fact part of the Thirlmere Aqueduct, a 95 mile-long network of pipes and tunnels which supplies water to the city of Manchester, built by the Manchester Corporation Water Works. It took a team of 8,000 men eight years to build. A feat of Victorian engineering, it uses only the power of gravity and not a single pump to transport 220 million litres of water a day to the city. In October this year, it celebrated 120 years of service.

3. Ambleside has some fantastic restaurants

We strongly recommend anyone visiting the Lakes, as well as making a booking at the Michelin-starred L'enclume and The Samling, to head into Ambleside and sample the numerous foodie havens there, including The Old Stamp House, Lake Road Kitchen and The Fulling Mill. If you're vegetarian, check out Fellini's - where you can choose simply to dine or enjoy a two course meal followed by a screening of the latest arthouse film releases in their studio cinema. Fellini's also has a sister restaurant Zeffirelli's, which is great for a more relaxed bite to eat (we hear the pizza is excellent) and retreat Yewfield, a luxury vegetarian country house hotel.

4. If you want to avoid the crowds, head north or west

Peak season in the Lake District, particularly during the school holidays, can be quite busy, so if you don't know what you're doing, you can end up feeling like you're in Piccadilly Circus. Which is obviously not quite the objective when visiting the Lakes! So if you're heading to the area during peak weeks, we recommend avoiding Windermere and Ambleside and finding somewhere further north or west. Borrowdale valley is particularly nice and fairly quiet, and there are some fantastic walks nearby such as Castle Cragg and Great Gable. Another option is to head to Ullswater, where you can stay at Sharrow Bay - which we think has the best view of a lake of any hotel in the region, big claim!) and do some walking from Patterdale and Glenridding.

5. Everyone should drive over the Kirkstone Pass at dusk

If your nerves can handle it, this is an extraordinary drive along a road that connects Patterdale in the Ullswater valley to Ambleside in the Rothay Valley. At an altitude of 1,489 ft, it's not for the faint hearted, but if you make it up there, we recommend stopping for a breather at the Kirkstone Pass Inn. Perfectly positioned on the summit, it is the third highest pub in England. We loved taking it on at dusk, when the spectres of Red Screes and Stony Cove Pike loom up ahead, as thick and black as midnight on a moonless night. Nimble drivers only need apply - there is even a turning off the pass down a lane signposted as "The Struggle" (!) which only adds to the drama of the whole experience.

Here's a little ode to Ordnance Survey maps. An essential piece - possibly THE most essential piece - of kit for any self-respecting walker or cyclist. We give all our walking and cycling holiday customers one on the first day or their trips, just as a reference to use alongside their detailed written Route Directions. For those who like to follow their nose and take the occasional detour, the maps are invaluable in helping them relocate onto the designated route. Here at The Carter Company however, our fondness for OS maps goes beyond an appreciation of their functional utility and into pure, unabashed sentimentality. It's not just the sound they make when they crumple neatly (or messily, depending on your dexterity with these things, I've never quite got the hang of it!) back into a handy pocket size, or the subtle yet beautifully selected colour palette of the design... although we very much like these qualities.... it's that they represent a world of uncharted territory, a Famous Five style adventure, a treasure trove of natural wonders just waiting to be discovered. Just looking at one makes us want to jump up, tug on our walking boots and head out into the wild.

We're not the only ones who love them. Last month, the BBC ran a feature entitled Why do people love Ordnance Survey maps?, which is a very interesting read.

Having travelled all over the world, we think they are the best maps on earth. They may seem dry on first encounter, but they are absolutely brilliant. Below we share some of our favourite things about OS maps below:

1. It's nerdy but we love how they honour the details: delineating between paths and bridleways, showing where locks are on the canals, marking out which side of rivers the towpaths are on

2. Wendy our Founder and Director has fond/painful memories of O-level geography where she had to calculate the difference in elevation through a cross-section of map using the contour lines. But seriously the contour lines are brilliant - just from a glance you can tell where the terrain is steep!

3. We love the photos they put on the front of each edition. Again, very geeky but we like to play a little game in the office where we have to guess where the photo is taken (Wendy usually gets it right, surprise surprise)

4. They are almost too detailed (!) and what looks like a little lane is actually a private road (not so good if you're trying to use it as a cycling route hoho)

5. The maps marks pubs, which we think is a very friendly nod to thirsty walkers or parched cyclists who are in need of some refreshment. We also like it where they mark little springs, disused railways, old Roman roads.... but we're less sure about why they are still marking telephone boxes (although you never know when your phone battery might run out).

If all this talk of maps has got you salivating to set out on an adventure, then what are you waiting for? Head over to our dedicated UK cycling holidays and UK walking holidays pages and book your OS-accompanied trip today.