OVERVIEW: Our prehistoric ancestors used ridgeway routes to get around the Cotswolds and you can do the same on this exhilarating walk between Blockley and Broadway. There are some marvellous views along the way, especially as you head along the edge of Welshman’s Hedge Wood towards the village of Snowshill, which sits below Shenberrow Hill at the head of a lovely valley south of Broadway. The view from Broadway Hill is even better, with 12 counties visible on a clear day.

OVERVIEW: The River Dove is the most popular of all the Peak District’s rivers. Avoid the crowds at weekends and go early morning when birdsong fills the ash woods and the smell of wild garlic is carried on the breeze. Dovedale’s origins as a one-time tropical reef are apparent in the stepping stones near the start. The blocks have been worn smooth by boots and the fossils polished. Splash a little water over them to see them come alive. The walking here is easy and you're rewarded with rich scenery. Every crack of fissured limestone is crammed with tiny ferns and herb-Robert. Wind-blown seeds of ox-eye daisies grow in vertical, weathered slits. A detour via Lin Dale to the summit of Thorpe Cloud is well worthwhile.

OVERVIEW: This is a record breaker of a walk. The Guinness Book of Records. mentions three of the monuments en route – so clearly the whole area is very important for archaeologists. The earthworks and stone circles at Avebury are described as “Britain’s largest megalithic prehistoric monument”. Silbury Hill is renowned for being the “largest artificial mound in Europe”, while the West Kennett Long Barrow is “England’s longest barrow containing a megalithic chamber”. Add the site of the Sanctuary, a Bronze Age stone circle, plus a stretch of the Ridgeway, one of the most ancient track ways in Britain, and it’s clear to see why this area has been designated a World Heritage Site. This is one walk which can truly be described as “footsteps through history”. Visit it out of season to avoid crowds of visitors.

OVERVIEW: Stretching north from Alwinton to the Scottish Borders, Clennell Street was an important route even before the Romans came to Britain. In medieval times it was a drove road, and later Border reivers used the route to return with their plunder of stolen cattle. In the 17th century the Street was used by smugglers taking illicit whisky and other contraband over the border. All is quiet now, and the ancient route makes a fine walking path across the Cheviot Hills. The village of Alwinton sits in a hollow in the hills where the rivers of Alwin and Coquet meet. One of the oldest and most naturally beautiful villages in Northumberland, it’s above all a shepherds’ village, with a famous sheep show held there every October.

OVERVIEW: This walk passes through beautiful New Forest woodland, as well as pleasant country lanes. The grave of ‘Brusher’ Mills, the famous Victorian snake-catcher, can be found in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church en route. Stop for a while at the Lymington river in Boldre before climbing the hill leading to another church. You may spot wild deer.