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Provence: famous for its traditional drystone farmhouses, colourful Van Gogh landscapes, ancient Romanesque chapels, bountiful vineyards and charming medieval villages situated atop dramatic hillsides. In fact, some of the villages in Provence and the surrounding area are hailed as among the most beautiful in the whole of France. There's an official body in charge of deciding which villages those are - Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) - an association set up to promote tourism in rural areas. As of 2016 it includes 154 villages, including one in Provence. We think Provence deserves a few more on that list, so we've shared a few more of our favourites below...

1. Les Baux de Provence
   In a spectacular position in the heart of the Alpilles mountains, the village of Les Baux is perched atop a rocky spur measuring 900m x 200m, with dramatic vertical ravines on either side. Its name is from the Provençal "baou", meaning a rocky spur. The ruins of a fortified castle, destroyed by Richelieu in 1632, continues to keep watch over the old Provencal stone houses of the village. The streets are just gorgeous and perfect for an afternoon promenade. Don't forget to take in the view from the castle's keep over the plains to the south: the Aix region, the Luberon, Mt Ventoux, Sainte Victoire, and the Cévennes.

2. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
   Saint-Rémy-De-Provence, a small mountain community, is a popular choice for history and art buffs. Featuring picture-postcard sun-soaked medieval walls, ornate fountains and a Roman ‘Arc de Triomphe’ (considered one of the oldest in France), this is the village that inspired some of Van Gogh’s most famous works. The artist lived here for some time, as a patient of the local asylum. It was here that he produced: ‘The Starry Night’; his celebrated ‘Wheat Field’ series; and a number of paintings of roses, irises and forests.

3. Avignon
   Avignon is really the cultural hub of Provence, and the gateway to this stunning region of France. Our cycling holiday exploring Provence begins and ends here. It was once the papal seat, before it moved to the Vatican City, so there are a multitude of churches and chapels and of course the gigantic Palais des Papes (Popes’ Palace), an architectural masterpiece whose turrets can be seen for miles around. Situated on the banks of the River Rhone, Avignon is also home to a famous medieval bridge which inspired a song and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, the city hosts numerous festivals of theatre and music, and also attracts thousands of visitors thanks to its Côtes du Rhone vineyards.

You can visit all three of these towns on our 'Provence and the wild Camargue' luxury gentle cycling holiday. Combined with the extraordinary flora and fauna of the Camargue region, it's a unique cycling holiday that offers both culture and nature in one trip.

Wendy, our director and founder, recently headed to Wales to research an exciting new cycling holiday in this gorgeous corner of the British Isles. Heading off in her car with her trusty folding bicycle in the boot, she returned a week later brimming with enthusiasm and tales of her adventures. Below, she rounds up her personal highlights...

• The magic of the Brecon Beacons National Park (see pic above); I can still recall the fantastic view down from the great height of the forest cycling path on the Talybont reservoir under a bright blue sky, with the water shimmering blue and the pastureland beaming bright green

• Dinner at Twr y felin hotel - incredible food, the best I had all week!

• The cute setting of St David’s town with its cathedral and famous Bishop's Palace. The cycle path which leads here drops down into the valley and crosses a stream at the bottom over a little stone bridge between the cathedral and palace. There are no cars, only bikes and pedestrians. Dreamy!

• St Justinian's, a dramatic but sheltered tiny coastal bay where you'll find a life boat house on stilts. Boats ferry people from here over to the RSPB's Ramsey Island, which is visible from the shoreline

• The lift bridges on the idyllic Monmouth and Brecon Canal... some are hand operated, some electric

• The working wool mill at Solva. It's a small, family-owned joint replete with traditional looms. They make rugs here which you can buy in their fantastic shop and tea room next door. Don't forget to check out the old working water wheel too!

• The Georgian town of Tenby with its harbour, several fab sandy beaches and a buzz of life

• The old tramway at Saundersfoot, which is now a superb walking and cycling route, runs along the bottom of the cliffs, in and out of little tunnels, past several gorgeous sandy beaches and rock pools

• The very friendly and helpful newly-wed pub owners at the White Hart, Talybont. A top pub!

We were delighted to discover recently that the presitgious UK-based broadsheet paper The Telegraph has named our cycling holiday in the Baltics as one of the 50 best cycling holidays in the world. And ever better, we feature in the top 5, as Number 2!

We've always thought Lithuania was an unsung hero for great value family biking trips (in fact, see our most recent blog post before this one, below). And when we say great value, we really mean it: this is an 8 day cycling holiday that comes in at £670 per person, including half-board at all hotels, route directions, maps, a bespoke Carter Company Adventure Handbook, the services of a local host, and bicycle hire. So we're extra happy to see it get the recognition it deserves. It's not only great for bird watchers, it's got an interesting culture, a varied landscape, fantastic white sandy beaches and delicious food and wine. What's not to love!

Check out the full list over on The Telegraph.

We love shouting about Lithuania. Mainly because when we first launched a bike tour here, we felt it was a place that deserved much more attention, and many more accolades than it had, as a superb holiday destination. Five years later, and much to our surprise, although perhaps due to political developments, Lithuania remains broadly unknown and undiscovered. We continue to sell Lithuania cycling holidays, but not in the numbers we had expected. We think this is a great shame, as there are so many fantastic reasons to visit. It's perfect for families and leisure cyclists because the terrain is flat, there are with miles and miles of traffic-free cycle paths, and it's incredibly good value compared to other European countries.

The area our self-guided cycle tour visits is also famous for its birdlife. The Curonian Spit, with its rolling sand dunes, is in fact considered to be one of the best birding areas in Northern Europe, with internationally significant populations of many species found here. There's even a book about bird watching here, 'Birds of the Curonian Spit', by Krister Castrén.

Mixed and coniferous forests cover almost 30% of Lithuania's landscape. Much of it is mature, and some of it is wet forest, which is extremely rare in Europe. Hundreds of pairs of Black Storks and Lesser-Spotted Eagles are known to nest here. Three-toed Woodpeckers are common in areas, and the White-backed Woodpecker, which is now thought to be rare in Europe, can still be found in some numbers. In fact in total there are 9 different types of Woodpecker found in Lithuania. Northern forests are famous for their owls and those in Lithuania are no exception! Ural, Tengmalm's and Pygmy Owls all breed.

Out in the meadows and pastures, Corncrakes and White Storks (considered to be Lithuania's national bird) are found in high numbers. In the open sedge fens, you'll find two extremely rare species in Europe: the Aquatic Warbler and the Great Snipe. There are only a couple of hundred pairs of each, so they are very special to see. On marshland and shorelines, you might see elusive Bitterns, Marsh Harries, Ospreys and even White-tailed Eagles - a globally threatened species.

And if your eyes start to get tired from all the squinting through those binoculars, prick up your ears and listen for the wild trumpeting call of the magnificent Crane, who abound in this gorgeous hidden gem of a country.

It really is a bird-watcher's paradise! If you're interested, check out our cycling holidays in the Baltics to find out more.

Tomorrow, the 19th of August, is World Photo Day. No doubt Instagram feeds and traditional media outlets the world over will be celebrating with some pretty spectacular photography. And no doubt many of them will be around the theme of travel.

There's nothing like taking your camera on holiday and capturing spell-binding moments to share with friends and family back home; nothing can capture the spirit and essence of an adventure like a photo does. Here at The Carter Company we love seeing pictures that customers have sent in of their cycling holidays and walking tours. Every year we run a photography competition, where the winning photo receives Wimbledon ground passes, and the runner-up receives a £100 voucher to spend on our biking tours and waking holidays. We like to think we appreciate a great image. The one above is a real favourite in the office!

What's your favourite travel image? Have you ever been inspired to travel somewhere through a picture you've spotted online? Join the conversation on our recently launched Instagram account for lots of cycling and walking pics or #travelgrams (as they're called!) from Britain, Europe and beyond. We'd love to hear your comments, and see your own travel photos too, so please tag us in your pictures. Our handle is @thecarterco. Happy World Photo Day!