Best of the rest

Every year it’s the same – we’re inundated with so many great escapes, it would make even Steve Mcqueen blush. Well, this time we’ve mixed things up, so here are a few extras that caught our eye. Arblaster & Clarke’s

First up is Europe and a tour close to home. English Wine Walk (arblasterandclarke.com; 27 Sept 2019) around the vineyards of Sussex and Hampshire blends tastings, country estates and history in an oenological escape to rival even those found across the Channel. Alternatively, sample landscapes every bit as tasty on Ffestiniog Travel’s Mountains & Coast in Montenegro trip (ffestiniogtravel.com; 4 June 2019), an adventure that begins in Serbia before winding rocky canyons down to Montenegro’s Dalmatian Coast and back by train and road. It’s one of the continent’s great journeys.

For something a little wilder, Naturetrek’s The Best of Lithuania (naturetrek.co.uk; 11 May 2019) turns its eye on Eastern Europe’s migrating birds. Explore bogs, taiga, delta and marsh in search of white storks, great snipe, pygmy owls and more. And then there’s Brightwater Holidays’ Flora & Fauna of Madagascar (brightwaterholidays.com; 5 Nov 2019), as you set off in search of lemurs in Berenty Reserve, or