walking in Wales

In today's column, I want to write about a destination, the United Kingdom (specifically Wales), and about my favorite way to explore any destination ... walking. The UK is an ideal destination for Americans for several reasons.

We speak the language. There's none of the insecurity that many experience when realizing they speak very little French, Italian, or Spanish (not to mention Chinese or Thai). While there's no need to brush up on a Berlitz list of travel phrases, visitors to the British Isles can look forward to hearing their own mother tongue spoken with a delightfully different accent. You definitely get the experience of being in a different culture.

The weather is moderate year-round. Italy is a hot destination in more ways than one. As crowded and warm as Rome was this past September when I visited, it will be even hotter, more humid, and more crowded come July and August. Many people don't mind heat, but I do, so when I think of a summer destination, my mind thinks of places like England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

There are fascinating things to see and do in the British Isles. Golfers can enjoy links golf in Scotland, the very place the game began. History buffs can spend endless hours exploring the British Museum or visiting Roman ruins. The anthropologically minded can marvel at Stonehenge and Avebury.

Me? I am attracted to beautiful landscapes -- shady woods and colorful fields, country paths and stone fences, craggy mountains and glassy smooth lakes, rocky shorelines and dramatic cloud formations. I love being alone with nature, taking in its beauty one step at a time. Nature nourishes me. Walking is a way of slowing down, contemplating the gift of life, and being filled with the wonder of this planet that nurtures life.

There are many ways of doing a walking trip, from a luxurious, meticulously planned trip with Backroads or Butterfield & Robinson ... to an economical do-it-yourself walking holiday based in strategically located bed-and-breakfasts (which I will be doing next month in Wales). This is my favorite kind of travel to plan, so feel free to call on me.