8 April 3, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel No-fly trips
16 HEBRIDEAN ISLAND
HOPPING
There are ten islands, six
causeways, four ferry
crossings and some of the
most beautiful beaches on
this 164-mile journey along
the Hebridean Way. Book
online early because it gets
busy; avoid July and August;
take camping gear just in case;
and drive south to north
because it’s more fun driving
away than heading home. As
for the route, it takes you on
a truly breathtaking journey
from Oban to Barra, then
Eriskay, the Uists, Benbecula —
home to the white sands of
Balivanich — Grimsay,
Berneray, Harris and Lewis,
before you jump on the
CalMac to Ullapool.
Details Camping from
£12pp; B&Bs from £30pp;
hotels from £43pp
(visitouterhebrides.co.uk).
Outer Hebrides Island
Hopping Ticket No 8 from
£223 for a car and two
passengers (calmac.co.uk)note that Asturias’ other
nickname is el pais de los 40
quesos: the land of 40 cheeses.
Details From £1,064pp for
seven nights’ B&B, two dinners
and three picnics, including
return car ferry crossings to
Santander and onboard
cabins (inntravel.co.uk)15 PARTY ON THE ISLE
OF WIGHT
The Ventnor Fringe Festival
returns this year with a blast
of pop-up bars, front-room
theatre and seaside gigs
running from July 22-31
(vfringe.co.uk). If the
commercial megafests have
left you broke and jaded, the
Ventnor festival could restore
your faith in inanity. Stay at
Cliffview, a ground-floor
apartment sleeping four up
the hill from the esplanade.
Details £879 for seven nights’
self-catering arriving on
July 23 (sykescottages.com).
Return ferry crossings from
£161 for a car and four
passengers (redfunnel.co.uk)11 CELTIC JOURNEY
Scotland or Ireland? Choose
both on this luxury self-drive
from Celtic Routes, driving an
expedition-equipped Land
Rover Discovery 4 you collect
in St Helens before continuing
north to follow the North Coast
500 via Durness, Assynt and
Ullapool, with a detour to
Skye. Next, the Stena ferry
from Cairnryan to Belfast and
on to the Causeway Coastal
Route via Carrickfergus and
Bushmills to Derry city. The
board and lodging match the
scenery: castles, hunting
lodges, the Titanic shipyard
and boutique B&Bs.
Details From £2,100pp forHead out on the
Ardèche river→Continued from page 7 starred hotels. New for 2022 is
Cap Sud at Plage de Venzolasca
— a private beach on the east
coast of Corsica, with 250 chic
cottages and chalets set amid
Corsican pines and juniper,
a pool complex, kids’ clubs,
a restaurant and a spa.
Details From £2,044 for a
family of four for seven nights’
self-catering in a two-
bedroom, two-bathroom
cottage with hot tub, arriving
on August 7 (sandaya.co.uk).
Return ferry crossings from
Dover to Calais from £128
(irishferries.com); returns
from Nice to Bastia from
£264 for a car and four
passengers in August
(corsica-ferries.co.uk)10 WATERWAYS OF
FLANDERS
Step off the boat at Calais and
on to another at Nieuwpoort
an hour later for a week
cruising the waterways of
Flanders. Ypres is six hours
south, Bruges a bit further
northeast and Ghent an
eleven-hour cruise. From
there you could head to
Kortrijk, across the French
border to Armentières and
loop back to Nieuwpoort via
Dunkirk, but you’ll need
discipline because the
distractions are many. You’ll
be mesmerised by the number
of bridges and delighted that
the locks are all staffed.
Details From £1,129 for a
Cirrus B motor cruiser
sleeping four, departing on
July 20 (leboat.co.uk). Return
ferry crossings from Dover
to Calais from £128
(irishferries.com)canyoning, whitewater rafting,
birdwatching, e-biking,
scrambling to waterfalls and
kayaking — all with expert local
guides. On day six you shift an
hour northwest to the magical
Valle de Tena in the Alto
Gallego, and it’s here that the
foot comes off the gas and you
can hike, bike or paddle at
your own pace.
Details From £1,580pp for
11 nights’ B&B and three
lunches, including activities
and guides (pura-aventura.
com). Return ferry crossings
from Portsmouth to Bilbao
from about £1,000 for
a car and four passengers in
August (brittany-ferries.co.uk)7 STROLL THE ISLES OF
SCILLY
April 12 is the beginning of
the Isles of Scilly’s week-long
walking festival. The 19 themed
routes are guided by locals
and are graded from two-hour
strolls to all-day hikes, some
of which involve beach
landings. The walks include
a seven-hour tour of Bryher,
Tresco and St Mary’s; a visit
to uninhabited Teän;
birdwatching expeditions;
military history walks and a
vineyard tour, with prices
from £5 to £85pp. Stay at
Parkside, a two-bedroom
cottage in Hugh Town.
Details From £895 for up
to four guests for seven
nights’ self-catering
(sibleysonscilly.co.uk).
Return ferry crossings
from Penzance to St Mary’s
from £136pp
(islesofscilly-travel.co.uk)8 GLAMPING IN BEAUJOLAIS
The French may not have
embraced glamping as
enthusiastically as we
have, but when they
dabble, they make an
impression. Les Folies
de la Serve is an
ancient domaine in
the Beaujolais hills,
half an hour south of
Mâcon. There are
painted showman
caravans and a temple-
like cabin, but the best of
the follies is the Seven
Seasons: a fantastic double
room in a tower. You probably
wouldn’t spend a week there,
but it’s a fabulous stopover
if you’re heading south.
Details From £167 for
two nights’ B&B
(canopyandstars.co.uk).
Return ferry crossings from
Dover to Calais from £142 for
a car and two passengers
(dfds.com)9 POSH CAMPING CORSICA
The French camping holiday
company Sandaya was
established in 2010 by two
former directors of Pierre et
Vacances to raise the level of
luxury in the sector. The
company now owns and
operates 44 four and five-star
sites, and the quality of the
cars parked at them suggests
that they’re dragging the rich
French away from similarly11 nights’ B&B, including
Land Rover hire and ferry
crossings (celticroute.com)12 BEACH HOUSE ON
SPAIN’S ATLANTIC COAST
The Os Padrons villa in Pintens
on the Ria de Pontevedra in
western Galicia sits near a
footpath that takes you across
heathland to the white sands
of the Praia de Pintens. A
couple of hundred yards
further, you reach the
white sands of Praia de
San Xian, then the white
sands of Praia de Pipin,
and so on all the way to
Punta de Couso, which
shelters said beaches
from the Atlantic swells.
The villa sleeps 12 and
has a big garden and a
pool — for lovers of
gentle seaside hols fuelled
by fish and wine, this is as
good as it gets.
Details £2,598 for up to
six, £3,650 for up to 12 for
seven nights’ self-catering
arriving on August 20
(vintagetravel.co.uk).
Return ferry crossings from
Portsmouth to Santander
from £1,307 for a car
and four passengers
(brittany-ferries.co.uk)13 DEEPEST DORDOGNE
Craving a French escape but
still hesitant about crowds?
Try Le Moulin de Connezac,
a 15th-century watermill in
deepest Dordogne. The
Nizonne millstream runs
under the house: follow it to
a natural pool that will tempt
any wild swimmers in the
family. Kids sleep in a dorm
full of toys and games, while
the best of the two doubles
overlooks the Nizonne andthe gardens. There are bikes
to borrow and kayaking on
the Dronne, 20 minutes
southeast. For bars,
boulangeries and boutiques,
Sainte-Croix-de-Mareuil is
six minutes’ drive west.
Details From £1,465 for up to
eight guests for seven nights’
self-catering in August
(sawdays.co.uk). Return ferry
crossings from Dover to
Calais from £157 for a car and
four passengers (dfds.com)14 WALKING ESPAÑA VERDE
It’s the 40 inches of annual
precipitation that give
Asturias its nickname of
Green Spain, but June to
September are the driest
months. The scenery is
astonishing and the cuisine
hearty. This seven-night trip
combines mountain and
coastal walking, and rather
than travelling inn to inn
you’re based in the Posada
del Valle in the Sierra del
Sueve for the duration. It’s a
foodie spot, and you shouldVisit Bruges on a week’s cruise of the waterways of Flanders in the north of Belgium