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Even though this season isn't quite over yet - in fact, we recommend Autumn as the perfect time to visit Corfu and Mallorca now the heat of the summer has subsided a little - we have already begun to plan for next year. Several new tours will be available, bringing some new areas to our offering (including stunning Suffolk), which we are really excited about.

The best way to see Holland? We think so!

Interestingly, one of our biggest sellers last year was our guided 'Dutch Craft, Flemish Art' bike and barge tour. It soared in after some high-profile press coverage, selling out for the rest of the seasons and leaving many customers disappointed. However, fear not, as we have already posted the dates for 2015, so those of you who are eager beavers can reserve your places well in advance. The tour certainly gets brilliant feedback, with people loving the combination of staying aboard a traditional Dutch barge and hopping off during the day for a variety of guided excursions on two wheels.

Since the tour is so popular, we've decided to add another similar tour to our roster, this time with a special flower theme, for 2015. 'Spring tulips in Holland' is a special 5 day excursion, available from March to May, which offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in the "Garden of Amsterdam", witness the famous flower auction just outside the capital and visit the world's largest flower farm - as well as taking in Holland's rich culture and history. Accommodation will be aboard an authentic and traditional Dutch barge, similar to the one offered on our 'Dutch Craft, Flemish Art' tour. The itinerary for this trip is shaping up to be absolutely fantastic... we can't recommend it enough! For more details, check out the holiday page here.

What better way to complement a day spent cycling or walking around London than to visit some of the capital's finest loose leaf tea shops? There's no drink more refreshing than a cup of tea. Here at The Carter Company, we are big fans of a proper pot of loose leaf tea, brewed to perfection, so we're proud to share with you some of our insider tips on the best shops to go and sample a cup and take away a bag or with you when you're done.

1. Postcard teas

This is very special shop in Mayfair run by a team hailing from England, Japan and China, who are real tea experts. Husband and wife Tim and Asako set up the shop together. Amazingly, Asako's father supplied tea to the Emperor of Japan and her grandfather was a tea growing pioneer who established fields in the Mount Fuji area. So she is real tea royalty!

The two reasons why this shop is so different and original are their focus on provenance (long before this was fashionable in the way it is now) and small tea. They were the first tea company to put the maker's name and location on all their teas - and they have over 60 teas - and they work with small producers who farm less than 15 acres. This is because they consider it 'better for people, places and the planet'.

Also, the tea is absolutely beautifully packaged and presented. A must visit for anyone who considers themselves as into tea as the English are!

2. Good & Proper Tea

Can be found at various locations. This is wonderful start-up which has a great story because it was launched through a crowdfunding platform. It was one of the first ideas on the platform to achieve its target fundraising amount, and is all the more wonderful for being created by someone in their 20s - it's not just boring old farts who are into tea! Currently there isn't a permanent shop, but follow Good & Proper on Twitter and you can sample their delicious, exclusive blends from their roaming vans (often found at farmer's markets, outside major train stations, festival and more). You can also buy a bag of their blends to take away with you. Our top tip: we love their 2nd flush Darjeeling. Or, for something a little different, try their special recipe iced Keemun tea on a hot summer's day. Absolutely delicious!

3. Drury Lane Tea & Coffee Company

This is an institution that's been around for over 75 years, and it is still a family-owned business. They stock over 100 loose leaf tea varieties, including black, green herbal and flavoured. They are proud to be able to source any tea on request from anywhere in the world, and have 3 professional tea-tasters to offer advice on all aspects of tea brewing and drinking! Our insider tip: ask for their Kenyan Broken Orange Pekoe, it's delicious.

4. The City Beverage Company Ltd.

This is a Carter Company favourite because we think they sell the best Keemun of anyone in the UK. They also sell beer, wines, spirits and coffee. Their mission 'to source an eclectic collection has introduced us to passionate local producers in all the major growing areas of the world, as well as some very interesting and lesser known regions'. We can't recommend them enough!

5. The Tea Makers of London Ltd.

Fine tea specialists who are big on the precision and artistry of proper tea brewing. They stock not only black and green tea but also white, yellow (a rare type of fermented tea only produced in China), oolong (an ancient Chinese variety dating back over 400 years), dark tea or border-sale tea as it is known in China, and pu-erg which is very unique but essentially a Chinese dark tea. Our insider tip: we're big fans of their Green Roasted Rice and Popcorn blend. Absolutely tasty as anything and a lovely nutty aftertaste.

Some members of The Carter Company team have just returned from some pretty spectacular travels around the other side of the globe. As always of course, we were eagle-eyed and on the lookout for bicycles and interesting bit of local cycling culture in the two countries we visited, Bali and Japan, to share with you back here on our blog.

Unexpectedly cycle-friendly places

First up, Bali. Or more precisely, Lombok. Indonesia is fairly notorious for its terrible traffic problems, and the mode of transport associated with this country that first springs to mind is the moped. Everyone seems to be riding them, even kids who look like they've barely made it to senior school! Of course, people whizzing about the streets in all directions in apparent mayhem is all part of the vibrant charm of a place like Bali. But it does mean it's not usually considered "cycle-friendly". However, hop on a boat to the Gili Islands (officially part of Lombok but usually visited as part of a Bali itinerary), and the scene is quite different. Here, on what we would call the most laid-back place we have ever been - all the furniture is designed with a very generous reclining angle! - there are no cars or mopeds. This means transport around the islands is limited to horse and cart (perfect for when you arrive and need help transporting your luggage to your hotel) and of course the humble bicycle. The rather idyllic picture from above we think illustrates pretty well how incredible it was to cycle around this car-free, pollution-free and noise-free island. And in case you're thinking there is no way the sky really was that pink, think again. We'd certainly never seen sunsets like it! But back to the cycling, the point is that it was truly wonderful to enjoy and experience such a beautiful place on two wheels without any cars about. So hats off to the village chiefs of the Gili Islands for making the decision to rule out cars!

Bicycle hire schemes in Japan

It was also exciting to see cycle hire schemes made available to tourists in some of the Japanese cities we visited. Our (unexpected) favourite by far was Kanazawa, a small-ish city just north of Kyoto that boasts one of the top 3 gardens in Japan, numerous old Shinto and Buddhist temples, a speciality local tea called Bo Cha (roasted twig tea which we can't recommend enough!), a stunning modern art museum, a strong craft tradition and the best sushi restaurant in Japan (categorically according to us, and the internet! It's called Otomezuhsi. You must go if you ever visit Japan). What made our trip to Kanazawa all the more enjoyable was hiring bikes and cycling from one sight to the next. Once again our conviction was confirmed that cycling REALLY IS the best way to see a new place and discover some hidden gems not in the guide book. All cities welcoming visitors should set up cycle hire schemes like the Vélib in Paris and the Boris Bike in London. Unless you're already on a cycling holiday of course! If this has whet your appetite, check out our inspire me page for bike tours and walking holidays galore.

We love a bit of foraging here at The Carter Company, and nothing quite beats blackberry season, which is fast approaching! We tend to think the first week of September is the best time for harvesting, when the hedgerows in the countryside are simply brimming with shiny, deep purple, sumptuous berries ripe for picking. However, if you live near a city, the blackberries might come into season a little earlier - the best thing is simply to take lots of walks around this time of year, keep your eyes peeled and always take a basket or small container with you so you can pick some if they're ready.

What do you use your blackberries for? Well, there's a multitude of options... you can of course eat them fresh, with a drop of cream and a dusting of brown sugar, or you can make a pie and crumble (see below!), or even turn them into jam or chutney.

We're big fans of the mighty crumble (surely there are few things better in life than a good ol' crumble topped with thick, vanilla custard?!), so we're sharing our own recipe below. This is a real family favourite, so we hope you enjoy it too.

• First, heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Next, mix 500g of blackberries with a couple of tablespoons of demerara sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• To make the crumble, sieve 200g of flour into 175g of caster sugar. Add 100g of rolled oats, and then 100g of unsalted butter. Mix together with your fingers
• Put the blackberries into the bottom of an ovenproof dish, and spoon the crumble mixture on top
• Bake for around 30-40 minutes until it's golden brown
• Serve with freshly made custard or cream (we vote custard!)

If you fancy feasting off the natural fruits of the land, you need to get yourself out into the Great British countryside and spend some time in amongst the hedgerows. We recommend a bicycle trip around The Chilterns or a walking holiday down the Thames for some prime blackberry picking. Let us know how you get on!

"Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation and 2% butterscotch ripple" - Willy Wonka

If your imagination was captured by the pure inventiveness of Roald Dahl's writing (and who hasn't been captivated by those wonderful books at some point in their lives?), then you'll be delighted to hear that this year is the 50th anniversary of one of his most well-known and widely loved stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. To date, the book has sold more than 20 million copies around the world and has been translated into 55 languages. There have also been 2 film adaptions, an opera and a musical, which is still running in the West End.

To celebrate the occasion, we've collaborated with one of the finest artisan chocolateries in Britain to design a special family weekend package of cycling and chocolate making, all topped off with a visit to the fantastic Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden. You'll be learning chocolate skills from the very best, as Rumsey's supplies hand-made chocolates exclusively to the Oxford University colleges. Trust us, we've tasted their original chocolates and they are some of the best you'll ever pop into your mouth!

The tour is based in Thame, and includes two nights in a charming boutique hotel, a chocolate making lesson at Rumsey's, entry to the Roald Dahl museum and a day of gentle cycling in the Chilterns, which almost entirely traffic-free (so great for kids) and full of variety, from woodland paths to sweeping views and sleepy hamlets.

If you haven't done a family day out yet to the museum, we couldn't recommend it more. Located in the village where Roald Dahl himself lived for 36 years, it features 3 (genuinely) interactive galleries aimed at 6-12 year olds and has own numerous awards. They also put on a packed programme of live storytelling, craft making and fun themed workshops at weekends and during the school holidays, so it's worth checking their website to see what's on and booking some spots in advance if you see something that appeals.

We aren't the only ones marking this important anniversary. There are lots of celebrations planned nationwide to mark 50 scrumdiddlyumptious years of the book, check roalddahl.com for a calendar of monthly events!