Plan an unforgettable escape with our guide to the best holidays for walking, wildlife, heritage and more, by Dixe Wills
1 Peak District Hills and dales
Visit England’s Peak District National Park and you’ll have a full 555 square miles of hills, dales, rivers and streams, rugged gritstone escarpments, dramatic limestone gorges, windswept plateaux, picturesque towns, hardy little villages and uninhabited moorland to roam about in.
At 636m, the region’s highest point is Kinder Scout in Derbyshire, scene of the famous mass trespass of 1932, which helped bring about greater public access to the countryside. If you like a hike, you can cross Kinder Scout and head out over the Peak District on the Pennine Way, the UK’s first ever long-distance footpath. The area really is a walker’s must-visit, with numerous other trails such as the Peak Way Walk and Peak District Boundary Walk inviting visitors to pull on their boots and try out a section or two. There are paths for wheelchair-users, buggy-pushers and cyclists too, including the High Peak, Monsal, Tissington and Longdendale trails, all of which are on disused railway lines.
And after all that, a cup of tea and something sweet would definitely be in order. Make for Bakewell and you can sample an authentic Bakewell pudding (be careful not to call it a tart).
The YHA has a host of hostels in the park – most with a mixture of dorms and private rooms – making them an excellent means of exploring the area. They occupy an intriguing range of buildings too, from the grand 17th-century manor house of Hartington Hall to the former Cooperative Stores in Youlgreave.
• peakdistrict.gov.uk
• yha.org.uk
2 Isle of Mull Birds and other wildlife
Sadly, when it comes to the natural world, the UK is horribly depleted. However, the Isle of Mull, the second largest of the Inner Hebridean islands, does at least represent an outpost for wildlife. The island consists of 300 square miles of moorland and mountains with a crinkly 300-mile coastline.
Birds that call Mull home include the kittiwake, fulmar, short-eared owl, black guillemot and eider duck. The white-tailed eagle – the UK’s largest bird of prey – was reintroduced to Mull in 2005 and there are now more than 20 pairs on the island. It’s joined by other raptors, such as the golden eagle and hen harrier. Around the coast yo
