Best UK breaks: cruise and walk in the UK

Enjoy a break with a difference with cruising and walking holidays that combine city and country walks in England, Scotland and Ireland with the luxury of a cruise ship.

Unless you're a true trekker, most walking holidays are based in one place that you set out from each day. But for something completely different, try a cruise and walking holiday, where every day you set out not just from a different port, but often a different country – Scotland, England or Ireland, to be precise.

Ramblers Holidays has joined up with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines to offer a glorious “roaming around Britain and the Kingdom of the Seas” holiday. It boards at Southampton and takes in Ireland's Cobh and Dublin and then sails north to the highlands and islands of Scotland.

At each port a guide awaits to lead the walks, including both country and city walks. For instance, in Dublin, you'll visit historic Trinity College as well as the Howth peninsula, while in Edinburgh a guided walk includes Arthur's Seat and the Royal Mile. Further north, meanwhile, and it is the glories of the Orkneys and Skye that are on offer. After this it's straight for the magnificent Eastern Highlands at Invergordon, and the whole expanse of the North Sea around you.

The whole trip is a great way to remind yourself of just what wonderful places we have in this country – and all from the comfort of a cruise ship to which you return each evening to a magnificent dinner, the occasional cocktail party, and midnight feasts.

Prices start from £712 for an eight-day cruise (prices correct at the time of publication).

For more information visit ramblersholidays.co.uk

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