The fells of the Lake District and the Howgills attract millions of walkers and backpackers every year and rightly so. These areas present a small area of England that is a unique blend of mountain, fell and lake and has an ambience that can't be replicated anywhere else. The 214 Wainwrights, the Lake District fells made famous by the author Alfred Wainwright, boast a fraternity as enthusiastic as those who climb the Scottish Munros.

Northumberland has long been known as England's best kept secret and the hills around the Cheviot have a real feeling of remoteness and isolation. The Northumberland coast is also becoming very popular amongst walkers and backpackers and of course the historic line of Hardian's Wall will always be a great favourite.

Cumbria is, without doubt, the epicentre of the English hillwalking world. It would be great even if it was only the North Pennines and the Howgills but add the delectable landscapes of the Lake District and you realise Cumbria has something very special to offer the walker and backpacker.

The county of Yorkshire can boast two superb walking areas – the Yorkshire dales and the North York Moors. The classic Yorkshire Three Peaks round of Pen-y-Gent, Ingleborough and Whernside offers a very fine challenge route of some 25 miles while many of the routes in and around the limestone Dales offer a very different kind of walking experience.

Not the most obvious choice for hillwalkers and backpackers but the smaller hills of the Malverns and the Cotswolds and the hills of Shropshire have always attracted walkers. The very fine Offa's Dyke Path parallels the England/Wales border and the Welsh Marches offers a number of fine walking area, many which have a distinct historical feel. The area stretches north to cover the very popular White and Dark Peak of Derbyshire.

The North Downs and the South Downs and the various ridges of Kent offer a lung to country starved walkers from Lonodn while the New Forest is the UK's latest National Park. Popular long distance routes include the historic Ridgeway and the Thames Path.

Dartmoor and Exmoor are the most popular areas while the 600-mile long South-West Coastal Path runs through some magnificent landscapes, particularly the section round Cornwall.