Break with tradition - Take a walking holiday this Christmas

Britain's leading guided walks specialist operator, Ramblers Countrywide Holidays are offering a selection of Christmas breaks to various locations throughout the country.

All of these include half-board accommodation and the services of a dedicated tour leader on all walks.

Walking in the footsteps of the great Alfred Wainwright - a 7 night Christmas break at Hassness House, Buttermere - right in the heart of the beautiful and dramatic Lake District.  Some of the best and most varied walking in Britain from the gentle amble to high peak hikes. 

7 nights from 21 December - £429 per person

Walking in the Peak District - a 5 night Christmas break in the rugged Peak District's National Park with its spectacular hills, dales and gorges.  Highlights include, High Tor, Matlock Bath, Bakewell, Ashford-in-the-Water, Monsal Head, the cradle of the industrial revolution at Cromford, the High Peak Trail, travel by steam engine to Rowsley and a visit to Chatsworth House - ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire.

5 nights from 22 December £629 per person

Discover the North Wiltshire Cotswolds - a 5 night Christmas break in the glorious North Wiltshire Cotswolds discovering its wonderfully preserved ancient villages.  Highlights include, Lacock (owned by the National Trust);  Castle Combe (voted England's most beautiful village in the 1960's); Silbury Hill (built around 2,500 BC); the MacMillan Way though Bybrook Valley to Box' and the city of Bath.

5 nights from 22 December £464 per person

Church Stretton in the Shropshire hills - one of the most beautiful landscapes in England.  Highlights include walks on Longmynd, Pole Bank, the heights of Caer Caradoc and Bodbury Hill.  Half-board accommodation at The Longmynd Hotel, set in ten acres of private woodland with panoramic views across the Welsh border.

7 nights from 23 December - £778 per person; 4 nights from 23 December - £544 per person 

Rustic Oakham in Rutland - the ancient capital of England's smallest county.  Highlights include, Rutland Water, England's largest reservoir, lake side walks, long-distance footpaths through Oakham and the Georgian town of Stamford.  Half-board accommodation at  The Whipper-In Hotel, Oakham - located in the centre of the town in the old market square.

5 nights from 23 December - £484 per person

Cheltenham at Christmas - a spectacular winter-wonderland in the Cotswolds.  Highlights include, walks along the Cotswold Way to Leckhampton Hill; the Devil's Chimney; the Cotswold Escarpment with spectacular views across the River Severn to Wales.  On Christmas Day there is a shorter walk past the Whitcombe Reservoir and remains of a Roman Villa.  Half board accommodation at Cheltenham & Gloucester Chase Hotel, Brockworth.

5 nights from 22 December - £529 per person;  

For more information, visit ramblerscountrywide.co.uk.