self-guided walking holidays (hiking tours) in Scotland , England , Wales and Ireland
guided & self-led walking holidays in scotland, england & wales
Walking Holidays England Walking Holidays Scotland Walking Holidays Wales Walking Holidays Ireland

Welcome to our 2010 website

Contours Walking Holidays are the specialists in self-guided walking holidays (hiking tours) in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. Within this web site you'll find an unrivalled range of walking holidays and short breaks along more than sixty trails in Britain ranging from famous routes like Hadrian's Wall Path, West Highland Way, Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk, Cotswold Way, Offa's Dyke Path, Cumbria Way, Pembrokeshire Coast Path or the Dales Way to little-known gems like Northumberland's Coast of Castles, Isle of Anglesey Coast Path, Wild Edric's Way, Cotswolds Villages Trail or the Three Castles Walk.

Whatever your interest - following in the footsteps of Roman Legionnaires along Hadrian's Wall, hiking from coast to coast across England, tracing the route of cattle drovers through the Highlands of Scotland, walking the coast path of Cornwall, following a river on its journey from source to sea, climbing England's highest mountain in the Lake District, studying sea birds from the cliffs of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path or exploring villages in the Cotswolds - our extensive range of walking tours means you'll be sure to find your perfect walking holiday here.

We hope you enjoy our 2010 web site and that it will inspire you to take a hiking tour in England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland with us. New walks for 2010 include St Bega’s Way in the Lake District, St Oswald’s Way in Northumberland and the Ceredigion Coast Path in Wales.

England

England's North Country is famous for the beauty of its scenery. Here you will find the stunning lake and mountain scenery of the Lake District, the rich green valleys and dry-stone walls of the Yorkshire Dales, the rolling heather moorland of the North York Moors, the craggy limestone dales and gritstone moors of the Peak District, the old Roman frontier of Hadrian's Wall and the golden beaches and imposing castles of Northumberland's unspoilt coastline. We offer the largest selection of walking holidays in the north of England. These range from classic trails like Hadrian's Wall Path, Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk, Cumbria Way, Dales Way, Cleveland Way and Herriot Way to little-known gems like Northumberland Coastal Path, Westmorland Way, Swale Way, White Peak Way, Yorkshire Wolds Way and Lady Anne's Way.

The countryside of the South of England is noted for its great variety. It ranges from the rocky coastlines of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset to the beaches, dunes and saltings of the Norfolk coast, and from the wild expanses of Dartmoor and Exmoor to the neat fields and pretty villages of the Cotswolds.

Our programme of hiking tours in the South of England include the Isle of Wight Coast Path, Cotswold Way, Two Moors Way, Dartmoor Way, Tarka Trail, Mendip Way, North Downs Way, Thames Path, Cross-Cotswold Path, Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path, Ridgeway, South Downs Way, Saints' Way, a handful of trails exploring the Cotswolds and the South West Coast Path, the spectacular National Trail around the coastlines of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset.

Scotland

Scotland, with its magnificent mountains, heather-clad hills, remote glens, sparkling lochs, rugged coastline, magical islands, rich wildlife and turbulent history, has so much to attract the walker. Our hiking tours or walking holidays in Scotland include the Fife Coastal Path, Great Glen Way, Speyside Way, Rob Roy Way, Arran Coastal Way, Cateran Trail, St Cuthbert's Way, Borders Abbeys Way and the West Highland Way, a magnificent trek through the spectacular Western Highlands of Scotland from the outskirts of Scotland's largest city to the base of its highest mountain.

Wales and the Welsh Borders

With a fascinating history, compelling culture and beautiful scenery ranging from the jagged mountains of Snowdonia and the rolling hills of the Welsh Borders to the rugged coastline of Pembrokeshire, Wales offers some of the best walking in Britain. Our walking holidays in Wales includes the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, Glyndwr's Way, Wye Valley Walk, Isle of Anglesey Coast Path, Dee Way, Mortimer Trail, Three Castles Walk, Usk Valley Walk, Wild Edric's Way and Offa's Dyke Path, a superb coast to coast walk through the border country of England and Wales.

Ireland

Ireland's spectacular natural beauty, rich history, unhurried pace of life and legendary hospitality ensures that a walking holiday in Ireland will be a magical experience. This year we are offering two walking tours exploring the 'Emerald Isle' - the Dingle Way and the Kerry Way, a walkers' Ring of Kerry around the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula in South West Ireland.

Walking Holidays and Hiking Tours in EnglandWalking Holidays and Hiking Tours in Englandst cuthberts way scotlandspeyside waywalking holidays hiking tours walespembrokeshire coast pathgreat glen wayglyndwrs waycumbria waycleveland way

hadrian's wall coast to coast walk west highland way the cotswolds dales way offa's dyke path cornwall's coast path walking holidays in england, scotland and wales

Featured walks: coast to coast walking trails

There's something about walking across a country from one coast to another that really stirs the imagination. Maybe it's because coast to coast walks are a great way of seeing a wide variety of countryside. Maybe it's because all the best journeys have a definite beginning and end, or maybe it's because walking across a country is the ultimate long distance footpath. Whatever the reason, the challenge of a 'sea to sea' walk has inspired many to put on their walking boots.

We offer seven coast-to-coast walking holidays (hiking tours) in Britain :

1. Great Glen Way - a magnificent 73-mile (117 Km) walk through the Highlands of Scotland from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea. Read more
2. Hadrian's Wall Path - a fascinating 84-mile (134 Km) trail across England following the line of Hadrian's Wall, the world's finest surviving Roman frontier. Read more
3. The Coast to Coast Walk - devised by the legendary fell walker, guidebook writer and illustrator Alfred Wainwright, this famous 190-mile (304 Km) trail runs from St Bees on the Irish Sea to the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay through the beautiful and varied countryside of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks. Read more
4. An Alternative Coast to Coast Walk - an easier alternative to Wainwright's classic walk runs from Arnside on the shores of Morecambe Bay to the North Sea at Saltburn-by-the-Sea through the stunning landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. Read more
5. Offa's Dyke Path - a scenic and varied 177-mile (283 Km) long distance footpath running from the Severn Estuary to the North Wales coast along the line of Offa's Dyke, an impressive Saxon earthwork on the Welsh/English border. Read more
Great Glen Way
Hadrian's Wall Path
Offas Dyke Path
Devon Coast to Coast Walk
The Saint's Way
Coast to Coast Walk Alternative Coast to Coast
6. Devon Coast to Coast Walk - a varied and attractive 104-mile (166.5 Km) route from Plymouth or Wembury on the south coast to Lynmouth on the north coast through the National Parks of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Read more
7. The Saints' Way - an attractive 28-mile (45 Km) walk across Cornwall from the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel, following the route taken by the Celtic saints. Read more

Contours Walking Holidays, Gramyre, 3 Berrier Road, Greystoke, CA11 OUB, UK.      Tel: +44 (0) 17684 80451    EMAIL: info@contours.co.uk

© 2007 Contours Walking Holidays