AllWays Traveller Features
The UK’s great outdoors
During 2021 England will be highlighting the Year of the English Coast, Scotland its Year of Coasts and Waters and Wales the Year of Outdoor.
OYO Hotels offers a diverse selection of properties in the most scenic locations for walking and outdoors activities.
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
OYO Braeriach is an affordable, family-run property located in the village of Newtonmore in the upper reaches of the Spey valley within the Cairngorms National Park.
The hotel welcomes dogs and the hotel bar with its wood burning stove is a place to relax enjoying a real ale from the local Cairngorm Brewery.
The village is known for its Wildcat Experience treasure hunt which invites visitors to search for over 130 painted models of the endangered Scottish wildcat.
For those exploring Highland culture, the Clan MacPherson Museum and Highland Folk Museum are must-visits year-round and the Highland Games takes annually in August (7 August 2021).
The Cairngorms National Park is Britain's largest national park, almost twice the size of the Lake District.
Situated in the Scottish Highlands it embraces five of the UK's six highest mountains.
There are also 60 lochs, 43 munros, nine nature reserves, an abundance of majestic wildlife and swathes of forests containing ancient Caledonian Pine trees.
The national offers castles and distilleries to family attractions and outdoor pursuits.
Outdoor activities include walking and hiking, mountain-biking, pony-trekking, fishing, sailing, windsurfing, rafting, wild swimming, gorge walking and the Dark Skies Park.
The Cotswold Way & Bath Skyline Walk
The OYO Bailbrook Lodge Hotel is a Grade II listed Georgian limestone house dating from 1811 in the heart of historic Bath, overlooking the picturesque Avon Valley.
The AA four-star hotel features 15 en-suite bedrooms including five with four-poster beds, bar, lounge and landscaped garden with patio.
The 102-mile Cotswold Way is a National Trail that runs from the Roman city of Bath to the market town of Chipping Campden and, when combined with the Limestone Link paths is a circular route from Bath.
Highlights include Cotswolds villages, stately homes, Roman forts and historic battle sites and panoramic views over Bath, Bristol and the Severn Estuary.
A more relaxed option for walkers is the six-mile circular Bath Skyline Walk.
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/cotswold-way
The South Downs Way, Sussex
The OYO White Horse Hotel is a 400-year-old coaching inn located in the village of Storrington in West Sussex.
En-suite bedrooms are decorated in a contemporary style and guests can relax in the bar-lounge or garden in the summer months.
The hotel also has a restaurant serving a gastropub style menu.
The boutique hotel is good for walking a section of the South Downs Way with the seaside town of Worthing a 20 minute drive.
The 100-mile South Downs Way is the only National Trail to lie entirely within a National Park.
The trail follows old routes and droveways along the ridges of the South Downs with sections soon to form part of the England Coast Path when completed in 2021.
It is almost all off-road from the cathedral city of Winchester through to the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head at Eastbourne.
www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/south-downs-way
Durham Heritage Coast and North Pennines UNESCO Global Geopark
OYO The Townhouse is a boutique hotel situated within a Grade II-Listed Georgian town house in Durham's charming Old Elvet area beside the banks of the River Wear.
Offering individually themed rooms, several of the rooms have feature bathtubs and others also have their own private outdoor hot-tubs.
OYO The Village Inn is a white bricked cottage in the village of Murton, just inland from Seaham on the Durham Heritage Coast.
The property combines traditional architecture with a contemporary twist inside with eight rooms each cosily furnished with ensuite facilities.
The dramatic landscape of the 14km coastal path known as Durham Heritage Coast takes in beaches, rugged cliffs and imposing headlands with views out to the North Sea.
It is known for its rare plants, wildlife and areas of historical and geographical significance.
The path takes you past the Castle Eden Dene Nature Reserve with 550 acres of woodlands and 450 species of plants and wildflowers, many of dating back to pre-medieval times.
The harbour town of Seaham offers views from its dramatic cliff top location and is home to the heritage centre and one of only 20 pre-Viking churches in the country.
To the west of Durham lies the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which incorporates much of the Durham Dales.
The area is a designated UNESCO Global Geopark and is an upland landscape of wide open moors, stone-built villages, dramatic waterfalls and industrial heritage.
There are a number of geological trails to discover the area's rich geological history and the area is also perfect for stargazers being home to more Dark Sky Discovery Sites than any other part of the UK.
www.thisisdurham.com/explore-durham/durham-coast
www.northpennines.org.uk/unesco-global-geopark
English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark, South Devon
A Georgian manor house with views over Lyme Bay, the OYO Orestone Manor is a family-run country house hotel in the resort town of Torquay.
All 14 bedrooms are individually-designed and its restaurant serves a menu including freshly-caught Brixham fish, local meats, and vegetables grown in the hotel gardens.
The hotel is a short walk from the coastal village of Maidencombe.
The English Riviera, a 22-mile coastline with rich geological, historical and cultural heritage, is one of only seven UNESCO Global Geoparks in the world.
Visitors can discover the area's 400 million year history with a Geopark themed walk with Kents Cavern one of Europe's top prehistoric Stone Age caves.
It is a labyrinth of caverns and the site of excavations including North West Europe's oldest human jawbone.
The tour continues to Torquay Harbour for a Geopark pleasure cruise to Berry Head Nature Reserve.
This is a limestone landmark and a hot spot for bird watching with unrivalled views.
www.englishrivierageopark.org.uk
Pembrokeshire Coast Path, South West Wales
OYO Lamphey Hall Hotel is a family-run country house hotel located in Lamphey village on the Pembrokeshire Coast.
It has ten guestrooms and a restaurant and bistro using local ingredients.
The property is a 20 minute drive from the harbour town of Tenby, and guests can also explore some of Wales' best beaches which are just a five minute drive from the hotel.
The 186 mile Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trailis almost entirely within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and offers an array of coastal flowers and birdlife, as well as evidence of human activity from Neolithic times.
From St Dogmaels in the north to Amroth in the south, the trail covers almost every kind of maritime landscape from steep limestone cliffs, undulating red sandstone bays, volcanic headlands, beaches, estuaries and flooded glacial valleys.
Completing the coast path in one go takes 10 to 15 days so most visitors tend to walk a section at a time.
www.visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/coast-path
OYO Hotels & Homes
OYO Hotels & Homes has properties in 800 cities in 80 countries in the USA, Europe, India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
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