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One reason why we love to pedal (yes, we love a pun too!) self-guided cycling holidays and walking tours is because they give you the opportunity to travel at your own pace and to make your own decisions.

So if you find yourself freewheeling past a charming Austrian cafe on the shores of a beautiful lake, you can make a spontaneous decision to do an about-turn, chain up your bike and settle at a table to enjoy a freshly-brewed coffee and a slice of the finest local Apfelstrudel (a favourite of The Carter Company team).

Equally, you may be meandering along the historical Thames on one of our self-guided English walking holidays and come across a special interest museum you fancy having a nose around. This you can do, because our tours are all designed with the thoughtful, 'slow traveler' in mind, so we've built in plenty of time each day for you to enjoy the local points of interest without having to hurry along because there are so many miles to cover there isn't time to stop and soak up your surroundings, or because the rest of the group aren't interested and the coach is about to leave, which so often seems to be the case when you take a guided group tour.

One of our all-time favourite things to stop and do en route on our walking holidays or bicycle vacations is wild swimming. It's something that's become increasingly popular in recent years, but this has always been an area of real expertise for the Carter family. There are more than a few individuals in the family who fancy themselves as open water swimmers and take pride in their ability to brave freezing cold fresh waters for an icy dip!

Top wild swimming spots in England

1. Rhaedr Dhu waterfall in Wales - it's quite a 'bush-wack' down to this remote and secluded little spot but once you arrive it's absolute heaven. The freshest, coldest water you could imagine and not a soul in sight. Completely wild and lush.

2. Respryn bridge in Cornwall - this is a wooded riverside walk in the National Trust estate of Lanhydrock House. It's great for a splash about as the water isn't too deep, and there's even a shingle beach at one point which you can lay your towel on and catch some rays. You can visit Respryn bridge on one of our cycling holidays in Devon and Corwnwall.

3. Clifton Hampden on the Thames - this charming bridge and pub is featured in Jerome K's "Three Men in a Boat". Sandy and shallow bays on the nearside and wild and unspoilt flower meadows lie on the farside. Truly idyllic.

4. Faerie pools, Bla Bheinn on the isle of Skye - a destination on our 'Highlands and Hebrides' cycling holiday, the isle of Skye is home to this amazing waterfall gorge and many smaller pools en route to Bla Bheinn. This is true wild swimming in an amazing location and the water is just crystal clear.

5. The Witch's Cauldron near Fort William, also on our Highlands and Hebrides cycling holiday. Very accessible as near the road, this is a series of 3 falls and 3 pools set amongst some beautiful rocks. Well worth a visit!

For more info on good wild swimming spots in the UK, check out this website we rate highly. There is also a book and even an app which lists some of the top places with detailed instructions on how to reach these hidden gems - a lot of them are pretty hard to find on your own (which is what makes them so great!)

Book a tailor-made UK cycling holiday or a ready-made walking holiday with us and you too could find yourself wild swimming in a beautiful remote lake in Wales or splashing about in the sea in Cornwall in no time.

Some of the younger members of The Carter Company team visited Berlin recently. There are many reasons why we think it's a great city (we list a few of our insider tips below), but one thing that really struck us was how bike-friendly it is. Compared to London, it feels streets ahead. Berlin isn't really a walking city, as the distances are just that bit too far, so you see a lot of locals cycling around the place. This is the case of course in London too, but unlike London, there has clearly been a concerted effort (back by significant investment) to make cyclists feel safe. The bike lanes are generous in width; cyclists have priority on roundabouts; there are traffic lights and other road markings addressed specifically to those on two wheels.

As a tourist, it's incredibly easy and convenient to find bike hire shops; they seem to be dotted throughout the entire city. As is the case with most things in Berlin, it's also extremely good value for money. We hired some really comfortable, high quality bikes for €10/day. Most places ask you to leave a deposit though, so remember to take some spare cash with you.

Once on board, it's unbelievably easy to navigate around the city. If you do like to have a map on hand though, we recommend downloading a CityMapper onto your phone whilst still at home or over WiFi so you don't get stung with data roaming charges.

The other big bonus of cycling around Berlin (or anywhere in the world for that matter) is that you are travelling slow enough to see all the detail you would if you were on foot, but you don't find yourself completely exhausted after covering a few miles. Pottering around on your bike really lets you soak up the atmosphere and feel of a place, and you can usually visit several neighbourhoods in just a short amount of time, leaving you with a colourful patchwork of memories to take away with you.

The best things to see in Berlin by bike

1. Mauerpark Really fun and vibrant park in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. Visit on Sundays for impromptu, terrible (and hugely popular!) public karaoke performances. It really embodies the spirit of the city - laidback, all-embracing and not overly self-conscious. Buy a beer for €2, take a seat in the mini amphitheatre and get ready to clap along!

2. W Der Imbiss As vegetarians, Europe can be a tricky place. Berlin isn't as bad as Paris, but you can struggle to find good vegetarian places. However, this one is a real winner. Not only is it fantastic, fresh veggie and vegan food, it's also amazing value and serves a variety of dishes really well - so you can have a Mexican burrito or an Indian curry, and both are delicious (honest!) The meat lovers we were with gave it the thumbs up. Find it on Kastanienallee 49.

3. Clärchens Ballhaus Located on Auguststraße 24, this is a real gem. You can almost smell the history and the stories as you approach. It celebrated 100 years in 2013, and it's been a colourful hundred years at that. Recently it's changed ownership, but it continues to function as a dance and live music venue. Or you can just pop by for a drink or bite to eat - the garden is lovely on a sunny day. It's got that 'faded glory' feel to it, all crumbling but beautifully complimented by fairy lights, vintage garden furniture and a bright, kitsch interior.

4. Neues Museum If you only visit one museum in Berlin, we recommend this one. The building itself is a museum, let alone all the incredible Egyptian and other ancient treasures it houses in its permanent collections. The British architect David Chipperfield won a competition to restore the building after it was damaged severely during World War II, and work began in 2003. After painstaking and careful work, it reopened in 2009. The result is breathtaking - the scars of war have been carefully preserved (you can still see bullet marks on some of the facade and interior walls) - but it has been seamlessly updated at the same time. Hard to put in into words really - just go and see it! Find it on Museum Island, Bodestraße.

Biking vacations in Europe

Why not combine a visit to Germany with a cycling tour in another European country? We recommend a bike holiday in Spain if you're heading to Europe in autumn. It's cooler than in peak summer months and would offer a lovely antidote to a few days in a bustling city like Berlin.

Picture the scene...

After months of planning and suspended excitement, you're finally about to set off on your British biking vacation with The Carter Company (who else?). Having arrived at your hotel the previous night and enjoyed a delicious night's sleep, day one of your cycling tour looms large. You head down to the hotel breakfast and treat yourself to a filling and nutritious plate of food to fuel you up for the day. Once you've had your fill, the question then pops up: "What are we going to do for lunch?" Many of our customers like to stop off en route for elevenses and then a hearty lunch in a pub or other local establishment. We recommend this option of course - it's a great way to sample the produce and cuisine typical of your destination, meet some of the regulars and generally stop for a moment and absorb the atmosphere of the area. However, there are some instances in which...
- there are no places to stop and eat en route (particularly on some of our more remote tours like the Highlands and Hebrides guided cycling holiday)
- the scenery is just so breathtaking, that you prefer the idea of sitting outside and enjoying a picnic with nature as your companion

If this is the case, we've got you covered. All bikes on Carter Company cycling holidays come with panniers, so there's plenty of space to pack a picnic. The only dilemma that remains then, is what to put in it. Below, we share our tips on our favourite things to pack in our panniers for a scrumptious picnic.

1. PIMM'S
   No holiday in the UK, whether it's a cycling tour or not, would be complete without Pimm's. You don't get much more English than this. Head to Wimbledon during the Championships and every other person you see is sipping on a cool glass of fruity Pimm's. It's pretty much a part of English summer tradition. And even if the sun isn't out, things suddenly might look a bit better after a glass or two of Pimm's (NB. we do not advocate more than two glasses if you're planning on continuing your bike ride and following your route directions correctly!) Luckily your bike takes the weight of the panniers, so unlike a picnic in a backpack, you don't need to worry about a bottle of Pimm's and good quality lemonade being too heavy to carry.

2. SCOTCH EGGS
   The key with scotch eggs, another very British foodstuff, is to try and get your hands on fresh ones. If you're cycling past a farm shop or staying in a town overnight where there's a farmer's market, you might be in luck. If not, you have to settle for the shop-bought packaged variety, which aren't really the same thing, but better than nothing. We like the fresh ones because they're made that morning, and the yoke should still be runny, which takes them to a whole new level, trust us! You can also get some wonderfully creative varieties if you buy them fresh, like lentil, mushroom and tarragon, instead of the standard pork layer.

3. CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
   Supposedly invented by Lord Sandwich, the 'sarnie' as it's affectionately known by us Brits, is a real culinary institution. Last year, 1.69 BILLION were bought 'on the go' in the UK. And we're not talking about the baguette here. No, this is one area where we trump the French. Only 10% of our sandwiches sold are baguettes. We like a good pair of granary bread slices stuffed full with fillings and condiments. And nothing is more British than a cucumber sandwich. Keep them simple with good quality unsalted butter, sea salt, white pepper and organic cucumbers. This is what the recommend over at The Guardian, and we think they've hit the nail on the head.

4. STRAWBERRIES
   Firstly, try and buy your strawberries If you can, throw in a couple of fresh mint leaves and sprinkle a little icing sugar over your strawberries before setting off. By lunchtime, they will have marinated nicely in a sweet minty sauce which will be absolutely irresistible. There's no better way to finish off a picnic than with some fresh fruit. You'll be raring to get back on your bike and pedal through the gorgeous British countryside after this, rain or shine.

If all this talk of food is making you hungry, may we suggest taking your pannier packed full of goodies on our Kent cycling holiday for foodies, the ultimate dream trip for all the gluttons out there ;)

Carl Honoré is a man after our own heart. In his book 'In Praise of Slowness', he comments on the frantic pace of life which is now so prevalent in the Western World. The speed-obsessed society we live in doesn't do much for our health, nor our quality of life. Interestingly, he even argues that it is detrimental to our productivity levels - despite the assumptions we may make otherwise.

Notably though, there is a backlash to this perpetual 'fast-forward' state of play we seem to be stuck in - the slow movement. He defines this as "a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them."

Cycling tours inspired by the concept of slow travel

Here at The Carter Company, we are all about slow travel. Our European biking vacations and UK walking tours are very much inspired by the idea that if you take the time to slow down, you start to engage with the world around you with a fresh perspective. Suddenly you start to notice the subtle smells that perfume the countryside air, you spot the rare flowers you might otherwise miss, you hear the call of the sparrowhawks circling high above. The beauty is in the details! Our itineraries go easy on distance and stick to flat terrain, so that you can focus on enjoying the process itself of travelling, rather than it being just a means to an end - which it so often is these days. This also means we factor in plenty of time to allow you to stop and sample local produce; to sit on the grass and taking a moment to feel the earth beneath you. Choosing to travel with this mindset is often a big eye-opener. Many of our customers report back to us at the end of their walking tours or cycling holidays that they discovered hidden gems they would never have encountered otherwise; that they met and got to know real locals who shared their top tips for the best things to see and do in the area; that they were leaving feeling like they had got to know the real, authentic Britain or Europe, not the one that the busloads of tourists encounter.

The Carter Company team invite you to take Carl Honoré's lead, and "embrace your inner tortoise". You'll be joining a growing army. His TED talk entitled 'In Praise of Slowness has already been viewed by 1,138,382 people. His book is published in 30 languages and has been a bestseller in many countries.

For more information on easy cycling holidays in the UK and gentle biking vacations in Europe - a speciality of ours - check out our page dedicated to the theme of cycling for softies.

Broughton Castle is a stunning manor house with a fantastic moat near Banbury in Oxfordshire. Set in parkland and an absolutely delightful walled garden (see the photo above we took just the other day), it is built of the rich local Hornton stone, which gives it that quintessentially English - and more particularly Oxfordshire - feel to it.

In his book 'The Pattern of English Building', Alec Clifton-Taylor describes this stone as special inasmuch as "deep brown, tawny yellow, greenish and greyish-blue tints can be combined within a single block.” You can only imagine how incredible all these colours are combined with the amazing array of flowers and other flora which have been planted there.

Inside, Broughton offers a rare blend of incredible history and contemporary relevance... just ask your tour guide about the recent film productions that have taken place! We visited at the weekend and apparently Daniel Day Lewis had been shooting there only the day before. Famous films shot there in the past have included, to name a few, the recent Jane Eyre production, Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The Madness of King George (1994).

But the house has been inhabited since 1306, when it was built. Possibly its most famous moment in history is its role as a stronghold of opposition to Charles I. During the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 it was besieged and damaged. Amazingly though, the Castle has belonged to the same family since 1447 - the Fiennes. The 21st Lord and Lady Saye & Sele are the current residents.

We're not the only ones who think it's a fantastic house which is well worth a visit; Broughton was selected by Simon Jenkins as 1 of only 20 houses to be awarded 5* in his book 'England’s Thousand Best Houses'.

Our insider tip: check out the wallpaper hand-painted from China in about 1800 in The King's Chamber, where James I stayed in 1604 and Edward VII also spent the night in 1901.

Visit Broughton Castle on a tailor-made Oxford walking tour

Here at The Carter Company we specialise in bespoke itineraries. So whilst none of our tours currently pass right alongside Broughton Castle, we think it's such a gem that we'd recommend anyone who fancies visiting it for half a day to combine it with an Oxfordshire walking holiday tailor-made by us. As usual, we can also adapt one of our existing trips to include a visit to this wonderful historic house on request. Just ask!