1. Back in the 1'70s we were enthralled by the humble spectacle of John Noakes walking the Pennine Way hike with only a heavy rucksack and old Shep for company.

2. Such traces are now gossamer–thin; the YHA is planning to close some of its most historic and evocative hostels – isolated Capel–y–Ffin with its arts and crafts connections, Earby with its socialist links to Katherine Glasier, and Keld, a vital hub at the junction of the Coast–to–Coast Walk and the Pennine Way.

3. Peak District road Status of threat Public inquiry expected A 3.5 mile stretch of the Mottram–Tintwistle bypass would be widened, cutting unspoilt moorland, woodland, the Swallows Wood nature reserve, green belt, four national trails including the Pennine way and a 1.3km stretch of the Peak District national park.

4. Peak District Rough: Upper Booth Farm near Edale is a small, 30–pitch campsite on the Pennine Way, surrounded by hills (3pp pn, 01433 670250, edale–valley.co.uk/upbooth). Smooth: A 40–minute drive away is the Peacock in Rowsley (rooms from 235, DB&B or 165 B&B, 0162' 733518, thepeacockatrowsley.com), where muted earthy shades (moss green, heather) serve as a reminder of the scenery you‘ve just left behind.

5. There are stately homes (the rather blousy Chatsworth or the more authentic Haddon Hall) and heritage (Arkwright Mills and the Blue John mines)." Activities include fly–fishing on the river Wye, great walking (the Pennine Way starts at Edale), mountain bike trails and good climbing (Stanage Edge, near Hathersage). You can stay in a cottage, at Harthill‘s barn near Buxton – "fantastic", according to Pietrasik – or at the Peacock Hotel in Rowsley, owned by Lord Edward Manners and with a Gordon Ramsay–trained chef. 4 West coast of Scotland "You won‘t get Costa del Sol–type sunbeds on the beaches of the west coast of Scotland," says John Hill, editor of Good Holiday magazine, "but you will get a wonderful and totally different experience.