On a sunny day, the towns and villages of the Cotswolds cast a light so golden, a magical city seems to rise in the midst of this quintessentially English landscape. Walls and buildings made of Cotswold limestone glow in myriad shades of gold and honey brown. This beautiful stone is seen in the homes of prosperous wool merchants and the medieval Norman churches they endowed and in earlier, Saxon architecture. Two of England's historic towns anchor the Cotswolds and our walk concludes in Oxford, for 800 years the home of the fabled university.

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and smal...the splendor of the Yorkshire Dales and the wild and human life that inhabit them are superbly chronicled in print and celluloid by country vet James Herriot. Little has changed since Herriot penned his stories. The stunning landscape of heather-covered hills and tranquil dales, cozy villages, ruined abbeys and the beauty of the birds and beasts of this serene land, are timeless. This year, the ancient city of York is on our itinerary. Romans, Danes, Vikings and conquering Normans left their mark here and York's walls have surrounded this riverside city since the 13th century. The faithful have prayed in its magnificent cathedral, York Minster, for nearly a thousand years.

From the Irish Sea to the North Sea's craggy shore, the Coast to Coast Walk spans 85 miles of hills and dales, lakes and moorlands. Invigorating and inspiring, this legendary journey leads through the tranquil Lake District to the villages and dales of Yorkshire, to a walk on the wilder side the haunting moors immortalized in Wuthering Heights. Here Wordsworth wrote, James Herriot tended creatures great and small and the spires of a 13th century monastery rise over the moors. At 12-15 miles a day, this is one of The Wayfarers more demanding walks, showcasing England's infinite variety, rich history and spectacular beauty. The van is always available for those who want to take a break or explore other aspects of this breathtaking countryside.

Gracious gardens, stately mansions, dramatic cliffs and a coastal town immortalized by Jane Austen in Persuasion it's all very recent history in Dorset. Dinosaurs roamed its coastline where unique rock formations span 180 million years of the earth's history. The Wayfarers literally walk through time, accompanied by a scientist who explains the mysteries behind the fossils found along the shoreline. One relic of the Jurassic period is the jaws of an Ichthyosaur, a giant marine reptile that predates the dinosaurs. Wayfarers are welcome in country villages and 16th-century mansions and in the extraordinary gardens that flourish in Dorset's countryside. We take Afternoon Tea at Ryall Farm, the original home of The Wayfarers, where Michael West and Christopher Hague first envisioned this unique way of walking 24 years ago.

The ancient harbor of Dartmouth launched a thousand ships. Crusaders, Sir Francis Drake, naval vessels and today, luxury yachts, all set out from this picturesque port. We head inland through the dramatic open spaces of Dartmoor and Exmoor where windswept moors, rushing rivers, stunning seascapes and thick forests surround thatched villages and working farms. Norman and Saxon kings hunted here on feudal lands first mentioned in the Doomsday Book, a famous tax survey launched in 1086 by William the Conqueror. Before that, Bronze Age chieftains held sway and we visit their burial grounds. The Virgin Queen still rules in the timbered Elizabethan towns and 14th and 15th-century castles and churches survive. Local legends inspired many writers, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles and RD Blackmore's Lorna Doone.