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Great British walks
Peninsula pilgrimage
For many of us, walking can become an almost spiritual experience. St Davids, in the southwest of Wales, is imbued with the Celtic atmosphere that enfolds the ancient rocks and rugged seascapes of Pembrokeshire's shores, or the lingering memory of early Christian saints who settled here.
My favourite coastal walk takes in the peninsula around St Davids, the tiny cathedral city named after Wales's patron saint. Follow this particular stretch of the 186-mile (300 km) Pembrokeshire Coast Path and for the next few hours, you'll feel as though you're walking on air as the route takes you past golden beaches, remote coves, religious shrines and salty headlands. Although small and utterly peaceful, St Davids is blessed with a wide range of accommodation including country house hotels and farmhouses.
Sea-cliff stroll
Back in England, the South West Coast Path National Trail starts in an altogether busier place - the seaside resort of Minehead on the Somerset coast. But within a few miles of the starting point (marked by a startling new sculpture - a pair of giant hands holding a map) you're up in the clouds cresting the highest sea-cliffs in England, then down amongst the oakwoods in the country's thickest coastal forests.
This year you can help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the path, which winds its way for 630 miles around the southwestern finger of Britain to Poole Harbour in Dorset. And because it takes in the popular holiday counties of Devon and Cornwall you'll find plentiful accommodation en route.
Walk down Britain's oldest road
The essence of England is also to be found on the rolling downlands of the Ridgeway National Trail, which runs for 85 miles (137 km) across the North Wessex Downs and Chiltern Hills from Avebury, with its prehistoric stone circles, to Ivinghoe Beacon. It's easy walking and easy to get to, for the Ridgeway runs close to some popular tourist centres, including Bath and Oxford.
It is 'Britain's oldest road', which has existed for thousands of years: follow in the footsteps of prehistoric man, medieval farmers and 17th-century drovers.
If you lack the time or confidence to plan your own independent walks, there are a number of operators who specialise in organised walking tours - luxury or budget, gentle-paced or energetic.
Other useful websites:
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