All England's 17 World Heritage Sites

Prompted by a recent article on the most expensive luxury travel holiday ever - a 2 year tour of all Unesco's 962 World Heritage Sites costing a cool $1.5 million, we decided to tot up the sites in England you can visit on our tours and the associated luxury holiday price tag.

Currently. by bike or on foot we take you to 9 of the sites - 
The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Maritime Greenwich, The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Canterbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Avebury, Bath, Blenheim Palace and  the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.


Adding visits to the 8 others - Durham cathedral, Fountains Abbey, Hadrian's Wall, Derwent Valley Mills, Saltaire, Ironbridge, the Cornwall and Devon mining landscape and Liverpool would take 19 days in all. With a  price tag of just less than £3,500 with our hand picked luxury hotels and our very special tailor made service, this all feels like a wonderful and incredible luxury holiday - and is, dare we say it, a bargain!. It's unique too - we only offer one of these holidays per year.   Book it ! 
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At Last - an Invisible Inflatable Cycle Helmet

Brilliant!
2 industrial designers from Sweden have finally come up wtih a sensible solution to the cycle helmet problem. Many of us don't wear a helmet as it doesnt do much for the cycling experience. Their design is a bit like the air bag in cars - it inflates on the way to impact. Read all about it on their website. They don't have an outlet in the UK yet but you can buy it online or view it at the Spin London Urban Cycle Show in May.

4 Heated Outdoor Pools for Cool Spring Days

Lehon swimming pool France

There's nothing better than finding an nice outdoor pool on a cycle ride or walk. Even better if its heated and its one of those cool spring days or even a cold winter day.

So here's our list of 4 wonderful heated pools, all open throughout the winter and all on biking or walking  tours we offer year round. 3 are in Britain and one in France.

• .Hampton Pool close to Hampton Court Palace and on the perimeter of Bushy Park. Accessed from any of our Lower Thames cycling and walking tours
• Chesham Moor in the Chiltern Hills. On our Chiltern Challenge Tour
• Bath Spa Thermae  The original and only natural spring in Britain first discovered in 863 BC. Heated by high temperature rocks 2km below the earth's surface, the waters rise through a city centre spring which until recently ran very wastefully into the River Avon. Since 2006 you can swim at roof top level in the waters which are 33C. On any of our tours going to Bath
• Lehon Pool, France. Minutes fromDinan this charming village and its pool are adjacent to the Rance river. On our Emerald Coast Tour

Where in the World?

It was only last week and it was sunny and warm as we explored routes for a another new tour.. Seems like a dream as its barely above freezing here this week.

Off Season - Ups and Downs

The good

And the not so good

Off

News from Paris

Paris is a fun place to cycle with its broad boulevards allowing nice wide cycle lanes. Not quite as good as Amsterdam but not bad. The city's Velib bike program is now more accessible to visitors, who can buy a one- or seven-day subscription online (http://en.velib.paris.fr). This is a fun way to tootle between sights -- the first 30 minutes of any trip are included with your subscription; after that there's a small fee for each additional 30 minutes.

If you prefer a guide to show you around on a bike, have a look at the cycle cities website covering bike tours in over 30 cities in Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Fly Over - Tunnel Under the Thames. A Great Day Out

These are two unique ways of crossing the River Thames in London by bike. They make for a great day out. The  Emirates Flyer is the 1.1 km cable car crossing  that links the Greenwich peninsula on the south side of the river with The Royal Docks on the north and gives a unique view of London. Flip the seat to load your bike and 'enjoy  your flight' as the commentary requests. Its quick- some say too quick, painless and fun.  Pedal past the O2 to Greenwich village, or for a bit of added fun board the Thames Clipper at the North Greenwich Pier and be propelled there. Stop for a refreshment at The Trafalgar with its atmospheric riverside  views, or busy yourself with a visit to the Cutty Sark or Maritime Museum before heading for the lift down to the Greenwich foot tunnel that takes you 50ft below the Thames. Opened over a hundred years earlier than the Flyer, in 1902 and free, (the Flyer is £3.20 on the Oyster) it was built to enable shipyard and dock workers to reach their jobs on the north bank Isle of Dogs. You will have to walk your bike along the tunnel and from the lift you emerge up in Island Gardens. Follow Sustrans Route 1 north through the Isle of Dogs where you'll get some great surprise views of the docks, the Thames and the London skyline. Almost at Limehouse - where you can detour via several canals to the Olympic Park, the Greenway and Broadway Market to mention but a few options, you turn east and pedal along the Cycle Super Highway. Here Dutch style cyclist traffic lights, alleys, bridges and bike paths thread you through east London.  Leave the Highway near the East Inda Docks and then its not far to reach the Royal Docks where you started. This last section is poorly signposted and I admit we took a few wrong turns. You will need a map or local knowledge or one of our guides here.