Anyone who has freewheeled down a country lane knows that cycling is the best way to enjoy the British countryside — but there’s a problem. Most routes are linear, leaving you with one lovely long ride . . . then the same ride back again.

Not ideal. What you need is a neat circle: a two-day bespoke package. Drive or take the train to the start, where a fab hotel or B&B awaits; hire a bike if you need one; enjoy a refreshing day’s spin to some other comfy digs; then cycle another day to find yourself, magically, back where you began. And here they are: four mini adventures to put some autumn colour in your cheeks.

Hotel prices are for a double, B&B; bike-hire prices are for 48 hours. Visit www.sustrans.org.uk for more detailed route guides

NORTHUMBERLAND

EXPAND YOUR horizons, and your lungs, with this tonic of gentle moorland climbing and astringent sea air, starting from the bijou resort of Seahouses.

DAY ONE, 21 miles

These days, Seahouses fishes mostly for tourists, but its harbour is no less charming for that. Mind you, saddling up won’t be easy if you’ve chosen to overnight at the Olde Ship Hotel, thick with salty atmosphere — ship’s decking floor, model lifeboats, even an anemometer on the chimney.

But leave we must — first aiming inland towards Elford, then turning right on the lane to Bamburgh, which runs parallel to the busier B1340 along the shore. Bamburgh’s clifftop castle makes a spectacular early waymark, the town nestling beside it, and you’ve time for a quick tootle around.

Afterwards, push on across the hinterland for Belford, skirting around Budle Bay and following signs for the National Cycle Network (NCN1). These take you inland along the B1341 before steering east to cross both the East Coast Main Line and the A1 on your way into Belford. The Blue Bell, an old coaching inn on the square, is a good spot to refuel.

Once refreshed, follow the B6349 out of town, turning left after a mile onto a quieter lane for Chatton, some five miles ahead. Your thighs get a serious workout here, but the route on to Chillingham (take the third left after the bridge) steers clear of the Cheviots, which loom to your right. The heather-clad hump of Ros Castle, arguably Northumberland’s best viewpoint, vies for attention on your left as you drop into the village.

Chillingham has a castle, too (01668 215359, tours 1pm-5pm), and it claims to be Britain’s most haunted, with a spectral retinue that includes the Radiant Boy. Continue south from here: your overnight stop at Old Bewick is now just a mild sweat away.

DAY TWO, 16 miles

You get the feeling that possession of a combustion engine might constitute a breach of the peace in the hamlet of Old Bewick: the whirr of bike wheels feels just right here.

Bid goodbye to Barry at your digs, then pedal north and uphill to the first right-hand turn for Hepburn. Once you pass Quarryhouse Farm, it gets easier and you can enjoy five miles of fence-free gawping. On the final descent, apply your brakes before the A1 and steer left onto a lane that runs parallel, crossing under the road via a subway and turning immediately left for Ellingham.

This village is your next waypoint — turn right at the crossroads. Arrive after noon and its pub, the Packhorse, will be up and running. Half a mile on, at the T-junction, turn left for Newstead; here, carry on towards Lucker, but turn right at the crossroads, following the sign for Seahouses, some three miles distant. Soon the Olde Ship will be beckoning again.

Planning: there’s no rail link to Seahouses, but there are occasional services to nearby Chathill from Alnmouth, on the East Coast Main Line. It’s then a five-mile connection by bike if you’ve got one, or taxi if you haven’t (01665 720542; £5), to the start, where Black Sheep Bikes (01669 631121) will deliver bikes on request, for £24.

Where to stay: the Olde Ship, at Seahouses (01665 720200, www.seahouses.co.uk; £106), is the archetypal harbour-top hotel: the crab soup is a cracker.

Break your ride at Old Bewick Farmhouse (01668 217372, www.oldbewick.co.uk; from £50, evening meals £10). Simple but classy, it’s a showcase for local produce, and they’ll even run you to the nearby Tankerville Arms.


WILTSHIRE

THIS CIRCUIT from Bradford-on-Avon neatly splices the Kennet & Avon Canal towpath with the Severn & Thames Cycle Route, jumping off here and there to sample quaint market towns, stone circles and UFO parking bays.

DAY ONE, 29 miles

Bradford-on-Avon is a sort of model-village version of nearby Bath — same riverside setting, same golden stone, same distinguished air. Your starting stretch couldn’t be simpler — a 12-mile blast along the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal, passing a majestic ladder of 16 ascending locks to reach Devizes, where the Bear (01380 722444, www.thebearhotel.net), on Market Place, serves coffee from midday. Previous visitors include King George III, who, they say, went mad about the place.

Once refreshed, rejoin the bike path, pedalling eastward as far as Coate, then follow the lane to your left, for Horton. At the T-junction, steer right for Allington and Alton Barnes, where you need to turn left and keep going towards West Overton and Manton.

The run to Manton is across a six-mile spread of open downs — look out for Milk Hill, Wiltshire’s tallest tump, looming up on your left. In 2001, this was the site of the most elaborate crop circles ever seen, so keep your eyes open for fresh markings. In the village of Manton, you’ll meet the River Kennet: follow it downstream into Marlborough.

DAY TWO, 32 miles

Marlborough’s regal High Street makes for a rousing sendoff on day two — pick up the signs for the Severn & Thames Cycle Route in the shadow of the town’s famous college and follow the River Kennet west before crossing the A4 and spearing mildly uphill for Clatford Down. A stretch of the Wessex Ridgeway leads you to Avebury, with its eerie megaliths. The village museum tells the story behind the stones.

Continue westward to Cherhill, looking left to spot the second white horse of the morning. (Your first was at Marlborough.) You’re back on the tarmac here; follow the road through Cherhill and north towards Compton Bassett, but take the left turn before the village for Calne, a pretty market town with a smart green.

Follow the main A4 southeast through here and take the right turn for Stockley and Heddington, cycling on for the thatch-heavy village of Sandy Lane. The George Inn (01380 850403) has an almost magnetic draw and a top-notch menu. Better still, it’s all downhill afterwards; cross the A342 and head left for Bowden Hill and the meander to Melksham.

Pedal straight through the town, then it’s simply a matter of following the A350 south towards Semington until, shortly after the roundabout, you pick up the canal towpath back to Bradford-on-Avon.

Planning: Bradford-on-Avon is on the Bristol-Southampton railway line. Hire your bikes from the Lock Inn, right beside the canal (01225 867187, www.thelockinn.co.uk; £16).

Where to stay: Widbrook Grange Hotel (01225 864750, www.widbrookgrange.com; from £110), on the outskirts of Bradford-on-Avon, is a Georgian country house with plenty of trimmings.

On Marlborough’s eastern flanks, Fisherman’s House (01672 515390; £70) has lawns that fringe the Kennet, inquisitive swans and a pub, the Horseshoe, just a few paces away.


CARMARTHENSHIRE

ALL BUT ignored in the summer stampede towards Pembrokeshire, the castle- studded horizons of Carmarthenshire horizons hold a labyrinth of quiet lanes. This circuit from Llanelli explores the best of them.

DAY ONE, 29 miles

Llanelli may not sound like wildest Wales, but its once industrial coastline has been transformed into a spacious ocean-front park, with wetland bird reserves and a seafront promenade. Your weekend begins at the Millennium Coastal Park visitor centre, pedalling west along the Millennium Coastal Route (especially for bikes) to reach Burry Port’s busy little harbour — a prime spot for mid-morning snacking.

Now follow a tarmac track through the dunes and into the shade of Pembrey Forest, home to 35 species of butterfly; then flutter past Kidwelly railway station and on beyond the town’s tumbledown castle, following signs for Ferryside.

At the next junction, turn left and veer out along Wharley Point, where your handlebars frame a halcyon coastline as the River Towy funnels north for Carmarthen. Teasing stretches of golden sand lie just beyond your left knee, but there will be ample opportunity to hit the beach in Ferryside, where the railway station abuts the sand.

The pretty lanes that lie between there and Carmarthen are a thigh-thwarting succession of ups and downs — be sure to stay left of the A484 and steer via Croesyceiliog, eventually descending towards the town. You’ll hit a short stretch of the A484 now, though it is speed-restricted and broad.

Carmarthen sits on a hump, which guarantees a helping hand as you coast away along the flats of the B4300 for Capel Dewi. Just after this village, grab the left-hand turn for Nantgaredig and (carefully) cross the A40, heading north on the B4310. The next right (then left for Pont-ar-Gothi and Plas Alltyferin) delivers you to your B&B rescue station.

DAY TWO, 16 miles

A less arduous day today, beginning when you retrace your route to Nantgaredig and head back onto the B4300, this time heading east for Llanarthne. Just beyond its church, turn right to reach the village of Penallt-uchaf. Soon afterwards, you’ll pass the entrance to the National Botanic Garden of Wales (01558 668768; £7.50) — well worth a blossomy breather.

A traffic-free track wends south from here, crossing the A48 and emerging in Porthyrhyd, where the Abadam Arms is a handy lunch point. Now take the lane through Foelgastell as far as Cross Hands, continuing at the crossroads on the bike track for the wobble-inducing village of Tumble.

You are now on the Swiss Valley Cycle Route to Llanelli — 11 miles of cunningly recycled railway line. Once your front wheel sniffs the coast, steer right, pass Llanelli’s Water Park, and you’ll be deposited neatly back at your seaside starting point.

Planning: Llanelli is on the Heart of Wales line between Swansea and Shrewsbury. Llanelli Cycles (01554 778939; £30) is within yards of the Millennium Coastal Park centre.

Where to stay: Llwyn Hall Country House (01554 777754, www.llwynhall.com; £70), set in tidy grounds on the eastern outskirts of Llanelli, is antique-filled and welcoming.

At Plas Alltyferin (01267 290662, www.alltyferin.co.uk; from £50), near Nantgaredig, you’ll cycle straight into a Georgian costume drama. Or spare your rubber and try the 14th-century Uchaf Country House (01267 290799; £66), in Capel Dewi, bang on the route.


KENT

HERE IS one of England’s laziest and loveliest rides: a two-day doddle from Deal, meandering through the Garden of England and into Canterbury via a tracery of country lanes.

DAY ONE, 17 miles

You’d never believe that Deal, with its tight little alleyways and understated seafront, was once Britain’s busiest port — though the castle, the grandest in Henry VIII’s coastal line, gives a clue.

Start your cycle by aiming west out of town on the lane through Great Mongeham village, bearing left there for the village of Ripple, where you need to turn right and (soon) left to Sutton.

Push a few feet upwards now for Studdal and Ashley, where, just after the Butchers Arms, you take a sharp left. You’ll soon cross a bridge over the A256; steer sharp right at the T-junction and take the next left to Eythorne. Pedal downhill for Lower Eythorne, where you cross the East Kent railway line.

Now keep on for Barfreston, dismounting at its 12th-century church. Check out the carved doorway and Norman wheel window; the Yew Tree Inn here is heavenly, too. The next target is Frogham, where you need to follow signs right for Aylesham, on the outskirts of which you’ll double-cross that familiar railway line and head, a few spins later, into Ratling.

Now turn left by Ratling Court and chase the railway track northeast, towards Bekesbourne. Steam on through this village and the road leads into the eastern suburbs of Canterbury.

DAY TWO, 20 miles

No need to fumble with maps first thing, as we retrace yesterday’s route for three miles to Bekesbourne, turning left for Littlebourne and Wickhambreaux. Today’s leg is a one-gear breeze — just pick a ratio and enjoy the open skies. Wickhambreaux has a working mill and a 14th-century church, which suffered a Victorian makeover, but gained a rare art-nouveau window. Richard II’s mum lived here, too. You can ask after her at the Rose Inn on the village green.

With the Great Stour oozing away to your left, cycle on to Grove, where you turn right for Preston. Arriving there, turn left opposite the village shop to Elmstone, then left from there for Sheerwater.

If you begin to feel you’re cycling through a huge orchard, it’s because you are. At the T-junction for Paramour Street (on your left), steer right, then left to Upper Goldstone. Here, you’ll pick up signs for Ware and Richborough — the stubby remnants of its ancient castle to your left — as the lane skirts the old Saxon Shoreway to Sandwich.

Sandwich is largely bypassed by modern life, retaining a keen medieval twang. Make a beeline east for its receding shore, land of long views and sweeping drives — the golf variety. The championship links of Royal St Georges and Royal Cinque Ports separate the lane from the sea as you spin the last few miles south to Deal.

Planning: Deal can be reached direct by rail from Charing Cross. For bike hire there, contact Deal Prams and Cycles (01304 366080; £24).

Where to stay: Deal’s best digs are at the Royal Hotel (01304 375555, www.shepherd-neame. co.uk; from £80), an 18th-century seafront pile now run by the brewer Shepherd Neame. In Canterbury, you can guess the location of the Cathedral Gate Hotel (01227 464381, www.cathgate.co.uk; from £90); alternatively, get cosseted at Sylvan Cottage (01227 765307; from £48), on the southern fringes of town.

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