An insider guide to wild Northumberland

It’s a country pub in a city. That’s my thinking as bartender Michael O’Donovan lets my pint of Murphy’s settle on the counter, pausing for an intuitive amount of time before topping off the stout’s creamy crown. There are licks of flame in a tiled fireplace nearby. The wood spits and crackles as the conversation eases into gear.

Tom Houghton picks up a pair of binoculars from the sand-covered desk and slowly scans the beach in front of him. It’s June and things are starting to get busy at one of Cornwall’s biggest beaches. Stretching for more than two miles up the county’s north coast, and backed by craggy cliffs and rolling dunes that reach nearly a mile inland, Perranporth attracts crowds of sunbathers, swimmers, bodyboarders, surfers and dog walkers.

Landscapes as green and lovely as everyone says. Literary giants in Dublin; Titanic history in Belfast. A pint and good craic in a traditional pub. The lure of Celtic legends.

No one forgets their first safari: the sunsets, the open plains, that heart-stopping thrill of seeing wild animals in their natural habitat. When it comes to Tanzania, there are countless reasons why so many travellers choose to return to the country time and time again. One region that's especially well-suited to second-time visitors, a destination that keeps people coming back for more, is southern Tanzania. 

International dialling code: +41 Currency: Swiss f

Smaller than Wales, Belgium’s southern, mainly French-speaking region may be compact but packs a diverse punch. Wallonia is a jewel of a destination that sparkles with centuries of history, architectural splendour, glorious nature, fascinating culture, wonderful gastronomy and beautiful cities, towns and villages.

It’s easy to pigeonhole England’s south-west as overrun with visitors, yet there is a national park here that is one of the UK’s least visited. The reason perhaps lies with its location, in the shadow of its Devon neighbour. Indeed, when I told one person I was heading to Exmoor for a break, they queried: “Do you mean Dartmoor?”

Nestled in the north-west corner of Ireland, the city of Derry-Londonderry (Northern Ireland) and the county of Donegal (Republic of Ireland) sit snugly side by side. Taken together, this pair have every ingredient you could want from a short break: a dollop of history, a splash of culture and immeasurable quantities of nature and adventure. Better yet, it’s a combination that few have yet to put together.

The 2,000 year old Roman walls that encircle the city are the longest, most complete, and oldest, still standing in Britain today. A walk around the walls will take 45 minutes to an hour depending on how fast you walk and how often you stop. You can see the entire city from the walls, including the UK's oldest racecourse and the Eastgate Clock - one of the most photographed clocks in England. There’s a lovely place to stop by the river, where you can watch the boats float by while tucking into an ice cream. Take centre stage at the Roman Amphitheatre The Roma

As I bowled along the roads linking Herefordshire’s ‘Black and White Villages’ (named in honour of their two-tone buildings), I believed, for a second, in time travel. Here, in one of England’s least populated counties, little appeared to have changed for decades, centuries even.

For somewhere as fabled as the ‘birthplace of British tourism’, the narrow, steep lane leading to Symonds Yat’s waterfront was remarkably quiet. In fact, it almost felt like a dead end until I turned a tight corner and there was the River Wye, spread out before me in all its glory.

Early morning on Dartmoor, and as I lie in bed all I can hear is the trill of birdsong, punctuated by a distant cuckoo’s call. I open the campervan door to take in the scene. There’s no one around, no buildings in sight, just fields glittering with dew in the sunlight and sheep grazing nonchalantly on the hillside.