If we had to choose our “special place”, Andy and I would always choose Exmoor National Park. It’s a place we often escape to. Straddling the Somerset/Devon border, Exmoor’s coastline is littered with

We arrive at the top of High Cup Nick in the North Pennines. “It’s like the world starts just over there,” comments my friend Mark. He’s pointing down the U-shaped chasm of High Cup Gill, beyond whose

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE’S Hambleden Valley is one of England’s true hidden gems. Bypassed by through traffic, it is a lovely spot to explore on foot or bicycle if you keep to the path beside the Hamble Brook.

■ Distance: 10 miles/16km ■ Time: 4¼ hours ■ ...

■ Distance: 5¾ miles/9.4km ■ Time: 4 hours ■ ...

Drive into Lavenham High Street and you instantly feel you have stumbled onto the set of a period drama. Lining the main street, half-timbered facades in Mediterranean and pastel colours give this Suf