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Hello and welcome to the second installment of our new blog series, where we profile the brilliant people who act as 'hosts' on Carter Company cycling and walking holidays across the Uk and Europe. It's the host's job to look after you from the very moment you arrive to the moment you leave, from briefing your route at the start of your trip to answering any questions you might have on the tour, as well as leading any guided days of walking or cycling that might be included in the itinerary. Our hosts are really our superstars and we want to champion them more. They are also full of interesting stories and the kind of people who like adventures, so we hope you enjoy getting to know them a little better through these interviews...

Today we meet Ian (pictured above). Ian is the host and guide on many of our walking holidays in the Lake District. As the Lakes can be challenging to navigate in poor conditions, we always ask Ian to step in as a guide for any high level ascents. He's a very experienced fell walker and has just about every qualification in mountaineering guidance you can get. He is also a Blue Badge guide, which means he has a fascinating amount local knowledge that he can share with you on your walk.

Iona: Ian, hello! Can you tell us a little about your role as a host in the Lake District? How did you end up becoming a Carter Company walking holiday host and guide?

Ian: Much of my working life has focused on introducing people to new challenges. Whether it be the skills and the confidence to climb a rock face or to head down white water rapids in a canoe or to take off on a 7 day sailing adventure, they all require the support and encouragement of your companions who are sharing the experience with you. A shared experience in the outdoors invariably brings out the best in us. Guiding is just another way of introducing groups to the outdoors whilst sharing the knowledge I have accrued over the years.

Iona: What's your favourite thing about being a host in Lakeland?

Ian: Meeting new people from all parts of the world who for differing reasons have made their way to The Lake District. I would like to think that the time we spend together is the highlight of their holiday. No matter what the weather brings there is always somewhere that can surprise and provide that memorable moment.

Iona: Everyone has their favourite spots in the Lake District. Some are more crowded than others (!). In fact, getting away from the crowds is one of the big challenges for visitors during peak season. Can you recommend anywhere quiet in high season?

Ian: There is a valley south of the town of Keswick which is a busy tourist centre, called Borrowdale. I just love the way that even on a busy day you can get away from the crowds as there are so many paths to choose from. A walk can be so easily combined with a boat trip on Derwent Water which adds to the overall experience of the day. If you know where to look you can find a cave which was once the home of Millican Dalton a self-styled “professor of adventure” in the early 20th century who offered “hair raising escapes”. He lived in this cave for the summer each year, it’s a marvellous spot only a few minutes from a well-trodden path yet most people pass by unaware of the nearby cave.

Iona: Do you have any advice for our readers who are thinking of visiting the Lakes?

Ian: Come in the spring when there is still snow on the hills but in the valleys the wild flowers are blooming and there is a sense of optimism in the air.

Iona: And finally, if you could go walking or cycling anywhere else in the world, where would you choose and why?

Ian: It has to be Nepal, the people are so happy and friendly and you will always be meeting the locals on the paths, in much of this mountainous country there are simply no roads so the paths are their main thoroughfares. The mornings are just superb when the air is crystal clear with a touch of frost and the mountains appear to “float above” almost unworldly. Memories that stay with you for the rest of your life.

Here at The Carter Company, one of our favourite things to do is scout out hotels. We're a picky bunch when it comes to choosing accommodation for our tours, and our search criteria are very specific. First of all, the hotel has to be in a great location - and by that we mean it's possible to walk out of the front door into the local town/city without having to work up too much of a sweat. Secondly, the place has to have character: we don't go in for Hilton-style homogenous modern monoliths, even if they are billed as 'luxury'. Thirdly (and most importantly) the hotel has to stand for real quality - in its rooms, its food and its service. So without further ado, here are our top 5 Cotswold hotels:

1. Foxhill Manor in Broadway is the newest addition to the list of hotels in the area and already in our top 5. A private manor-house hotel with genuinely personal service, it offers lovely views down to the village of Broadway. The building is classic Cotswolds - a gorgeous Grade-II listed Arts and Crafts country home, which has been modernised in excellent taste. The Sunday Times even named it their Hotel of the Year 2015.

2. Lords of The Manor in Upper Slaughter was recently named ‘Country House Hotel of the Year’ by Good Hotel Guide. Located in the utterly picturesque Upper Slaughter, it’s also not far from the popular Cotswold towns such of Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold. Boasting the only Michelin starred hotel restaurant in Gloucestershire and lovely gardens, it’s an all round delight.

3. Barnsley House in Bibury. Everyone knows Bibury for its famous Weavers’ Cottages - supposedly the most photographed site in the Cotswolds - but it is also a stone's throw from Barnsley House, situated in Barnsley village. This hotel is seriously luxury, but in a characterful way (the absolute opposite of anonymous international hotel chains). It has a well reputed spa, a private cinema, fab staff and even a kitchen garden, where they grow their own produce to serve in the restaurant.

4. Whatley Manor in Malmesbury - which amusingly appears on old maps as ‘Twatley Manor’ (!) - has a big reputation for food, with two restaurants and two bars. The food, by Michelin two-starred chef Martin Burge, is described as classical French with a modern twist. The interior feels like an English country home, and of course they have the requisite resplendent gardens and private cinema.

5. Le Manoir outside of Oxford. Saving the best ’til last? Very possibly. Raymond Blanc’s hotel (see pic above) is a real triumph and a total treat. We love how all the rooms are individually designed with a different theme - from the French ‘Lace’ to the old-Asian ‘Lemongrass’ and the utterly beautiful restored Dovecote. The gardens are idyllic; wander around and you’ll find giant vegetables growing in a greenhouse and at the very bottoms, an unexpected Japanese water garden complete with a little thatched tea house! Obviously it goes without saying that the gastronomic experience here is second to none. The restaurant has held 2 Michelin stars since opening in 1984.

Last week we were up in Scotland, scouting out routes for a very exciting new cycling holiday we're putting together. With no rain to speak of, we were rewarded on Day 4 with an absolutely stunning parting of the clouds, to reveal a dusky sunset bathed in golden light. It helped that we had just arrived in the most picturesque of settings: Port Appin.

Situated at the end of a long and windy single-track road, so remote that we nearly turned around before reaching the end as we assumed there was nothing down there, Port Appin is a simple little place with a small, independent hotel, a patch of green grass, and a pier from which one can catch a boat. The ferry, which runs several times a day, transports people over Loch Linnhe to the Isle of Lismore. Part of the Southern, Inner Hebrides, it's a wonderful island to visit, and popular amongst those in-the-know, partly because there's a walk along its ridge which offers such spectacular views that it's been named one of the UK's Top 100 Walks.

Even if you don't have time to make the trip across to Lismore, we really couldn't recommend paying a visit to Port Appin enough. The hotel there is a hugely popular cult favourite - The Pierhouse. It's got a real boutique feel to it, very friendly staff, characterful rooms done in great taste, and a fab seafood restaurant. If you happen to be there around tea time, order the house special hot chocolate with marshmallows. You will not regret it!

If all this has whet your appetite to visit Port Appin and the surrounding Scottish Highlands, keep you eyes peeled for more info coming soon on our new cycling holiday. We think the tour has more beautiful scenery than any of our other cycling holidays.... and that's really saying something!

Day 3 of our 'Thames Path from Henley to London' walking holiday is a Carter Company team favourite. Towards the end of the day, walkers along our route are rewarded with stunning views of Cliveden over the Thames. If you're not familiar with Cliveden and its unique place in British history and national political scandals, read on..!

Cliveden is an Italianate mansion, set in expansive grounds, on the border of the home counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire border. Situated atop an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hills - a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - it's a stone's throw from the charming riverside town of Maidenhead, which also features on this Thames walking holiday route. It has a spectacular setting, as you can see from the picture above, with grounds sloping right down to the banks of the river. Cliveden estate has been home to an earl, three countesses, two dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor, as well as Stanford University in the 70s. Today it is a 5 star country house hotel.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Cliveden was home to Nancy Astor, a socialite and key figure in the 'Cliveden set', who were a group of political intellectuals. It was during the 1960s however, when Cliveden really gained its reputation as a political hot potato. The key events of the notorious Profumo Affair took place here. The scandal eventually brought down the ruling Conservative government in 1964. Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old model, and John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's government, first met at the bathing pond at Cliveden in 1961. What followed was a brief but illicit sexual relationship which Profumo denied in an official statement to the House of Commons in 1963. He was forced to admit he had lied just a few week's later and resigned from the government. Prime minister Harold Macmillan was completely destabilised by the revelations, and he resigned as PM due to 'health reasons' later that year. The Conservative Party was badly hit by the scandal, especially because Keeler was linked to the Soviet naval attaché Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, thereby creating a potential national security risk. The following year, the Conservative Party lost the general election to the Labour party - an defeat blamed in part on the Profumo Affair. Scandal indeed!

If you can, book afternoon tea here (reservations in advance absolutely necessary, it's famously good) for a truly memorable pit stop on our 'Thames path from Henley to London' or 'Thames path from source to London' walking holidays.

We're launching a new series over here on our blog, profiling the brilliant people who act as local hosts for The Carter Company. The host's role is to welcome customers at the start of their trip, make sure their bikes are a comfortable fit, brief the route and provide an emergency call-out service in the case of wheel punctures or other unexpected mishaps! Our hosts are very important to us, as they're really the face of The Carter Company for everyone who takes a walking or cycling holiday with us. They do a fantastic job, and they're wonderfully interesting people, so we hope you enjoy these interviews as much as we enjoyed conducting them!

First up is Ian (pictured above). Ian is the host for all our cycling holidays in Devon & Cornwall, plus the one walking holiday we offer in Devon.

Iona: Ian, hello! Thanks for agreeing to feature on our blog. I want to start by asking you about your role as a host in Devon & Cornwall. Can you share your story with us, and what led you to become a host?

Ian: I became a host when Wendy (The Carter Company's founder) sent out an email to the cycle clubs in my local area, asking if anyone was interested in the role. I responded, Wendy and I had a chat on the phone, and the rest is history! I have cycled all the routes used on the cycling holidays for Devon & Cornwall, and in many cases actually written the route directions. I have been hosting for 7 years in total, and I really enjoy spending time with the customers before they set off, running through the route directions and maps with them, and sharing my recommendations for places of interest on their journey.

Iona: What's your favourite thing about hosting cyclists and walkers in your area?

Ian: I am really passionate about the area I live in and am also an active cyclist who enjoys cycling/walking all year round. I am very happy to share my knowledge (e.g. hidden gems on the route, the terrain, even local weather quirks!) with customers. The Tarka Trail, which features on many of the cycling holidays, is within a mile from my home so I use it all year round. My wife and I also enjoy walking the South West Coastal path, which is over 600 miles long. We have completed Minehead to Lands End in many stages over the years and have started the Southern part towards Poole. So I feel well qualified to assist and offer advice to customers.

Iona: Everyone has their favourite spots in Devon & Cornwall. Where are yours? Can you share any hidden gems, away from the tourist hotspots?

Ian: There are so many places that I could mention, the South West really is a special place. Exmoor is our favourite place, especially in the summer when the coastal areas are busy. You can really hear the silence on Exmoor even in August - but don’t tell anyone else! A hidden gem, though a known place, is the Valley of the Rocks. There is nothing quite like it. We are lucky enough to have travelled to many beautiful parts of the world over the years but the Valley of the Rocks has to be up there with the best of them. We took a lady from Belarus, who had never lived anywhere near a coast, and she wept pleasure when she saw it!

Iona: Do you have any advice for anyone (thinking of) visiting the Devon or Cornwall?

Ian: Devon and Cornwall is like a mini continent. It has everything from beaches, lakes, rivers and moorland. It is much larger than people imagine, and it can be very hilly in places. It is approximately 100 miles from the North Coast of Devon to the South Coast. Ilfracombe to Plymouth and even by car it can take 3 hours to complete. Devon and Cornwall are year-round locations and can be enjoyed in all seasons.

Iona: And finally, if you could go walking or cycling anywhere else in the world, where would you choose and why?

Ian: New Zealand would a wonderful place to walk and cycle, it's just a shame it is so far away!