This 13th-century ruin is spectacularly positioned on a crag towering over the Cheshire Plain. When you’ve had your fill of views reaching across eight counties from the Pennines to the Welsh Mountains, explore the 40 acres of landscaped woodlands that spread out below (www.english-heritage.org.uk).

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A steep climb from Balmaha brings you to a sharp summit overlooking Loch Lomond, its chain of islands in one direction and the Munro peak of Ben Lomond in another. Allow two hours for the round trip, then cross the water to Luss (www.cruiselochlomond.co.uk) for a fine lunch. Visit the Coach House Coffee Shop in Luss (01436 860341) - don’t be put off by the tartan cups and piped Highland music. Intensely tasty bowls of broth with chunky bread and wedges of homemade cake make this bright and welcoming lunch stop on the shores of Loch Lomond one you’ll find any excuse to return to.

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Red kites circle above the highest point in the Chiltern Hills, where views across sweeping fields stretch to the Malverns on a clear day. It sits on The Ridgeway, a prehistoric road and 87-mile national trail, although you can also wander up from Wendover station (www.chilternsaonb.org).

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A Gothic tower overlooks the quintessential chalk countryside that inspired the evocative, unmistakeably English music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The composer’s former home can be spied amid the estate’s beautiful parkland (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/leith-hill). Enjoy the charms of the area to the full with a stay at the Blackbrook House B&B (01306 888898). This Victorian house set in lawns and woodland offers locally sourced breakfasts, including next door’s eggs and home-grown fruits, in portions big enough to fuel hours of rambling on the Surrey Hills. Double B&B from £95.

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The heather-covered plateaux on top of Shropshire’s ten-mile ‘long mountain’ are perfect for picnicking, bird-watching and kite-flying. Reach it by car or explore its deeply cut valleys on foot, bike or horseback (www.shropshirehillsaonb.co.uk).

Enjoy a nearby walk: the Stiperstones Stomp. The jagged boulders and sculptural tors of the Stiperstones Ridge near the Welsh border are most striking against a summer backdrop of blazing gorse and heather. This five-mile ridge walk starts at Stiperstones car park and ends at Habberley, linked by a seasonal shuttle bus. (Find out more at naturalengland. org.uk; OS Map Explorer 216).

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No ascent is more repaying for the small labour involved,” wrote Alfred Wainwright of Loughrigg Fell. Reaching a height of just 335 metres, it’s one of the lowest of the Wainwright Fells, but its isolated position offers panoramic views across Grasmere and the central Lake District.

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Its vista across the English Marches was admired by 17th-century writer, gardener and diarist John Evelyn as “one of the goodliest in England”, but that is not the only reason to enjoy a stroll to the top of this Malvern Hills landmark, whose sculptural dykes and ditches are remnants of an ancient hill fort (www.malvernhills.org.uk).

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The ruins of the county’s largest castle loom dramatically over the River Okement on the northwestern edge of Dartmoor. Climb to the top of the Norman motte or enjoy a memorable picnic among the glorious wild flowers and native woods (www.english-heritage.org.uk).

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Beckoning walkers with its iced-gem outline, ‘Yorkshire’s Matterhorn’ rewards a steep climb with views across the Cheviot Hills and the North York Moors, whose heathery expanses stretch out like a purple sea in August (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/roseberry-topping).

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Work up a good appetite in the food capital of Wales with a five-mile round trip to the top of Abergavenny’s conical landmark, where the 360-degree panorama takes in the fertile Usk Valley and the moorland ridges of the Black Mountains (www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sugarloaf-and-usk-valley).

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