Hannah Rees-Middleton

With its three deep glacial coves and two sharp-topped ridges, Helvellyn might be one for the English records: it’s the third-highest peak in England and the Lake District. It was also one of the first fells to become popular with walkers and explorers, counting poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth among its early visitors.

A short but rewarding hike up Gummer’s How, one of the Lake District’s southernmost fells, leads to incredible views across Windermere, the Coniston and central fells, and as far as Morecambe Bay. At 321 metres, it’s an easy yet slightly adventurous introduction to the landscape.

Bought by Beatrix Potter in 1905 with royalties from The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Hill Top is where fiction quite literally grew from the garden. The 17th-century farmhouse, vegetable patch and winding paths inspired many of her little books, with familiar corners from Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddle-Duck still hiding in plain sight.

Just north of Esthwaite Water, Hawkshead is an enchanting, straight-out-of-a-storybook village. Once an important wool market in medieval times, it’s now owned by the National Trust and was nonetheless home to William Wordsworth, who went to school here, and later Beatrix Potter, who lived at nearby Hill Top House.

Part gallery, cinema, café and creative hub, Rheged is our go-to for browsing contemporary British art and craft, catching an independent film, joining a hands-on workshop or simply settling in with a coffee and a book. Its ever-changing programme makes it an easy stop when you fancy a little culture between the fells.

Base, helmed by Lisa and Rob Berry, is a pizzeria serving Neapolitan pizza to a hungry host of locals. A slow-rising, 48-hour-fermented dough is topped with fior di latte and a range of toppings before being thrown into a roaring wood-fired oven. A delicious taste of Italy, much closer to the English fells.

As one of the smallest and shallowest lakes in the national park, Rydal Water is the perfect place for a refreshing, cold dip. It lies between the villages of Ambleside and Grasmere, tucked beneath the foothills of Loughrigg, Rydal Mount and Heron Pike. Spend the day walking the lakeside loop, visiting the former homes and viewpoint seat of poet William Wordsworth, and peeking into the man-made Rydal Cave.

Perhaps the most iconic of the national park’s addresses is a humble, white-painted, green-shuttered cottage that opened as a gingerbread shop way back in 1854. Today, Sarah Nelson’s recipe for a biscuit-cake confection draws a continuous crowd each day, all flocking to savour a bite of the trademarked ‘best gingerbread in the world’.

A short drive from the hustle of Marrakesh’s city centre, down a little bumpy track that feels slightly off-road, lies the oasis of Farasha Farmhouse, nestled on a plain between the Atlas and Jbilet mountain ranges. Olive groves, which supply the goods for the in-house olive oil, frame regenerative patches growing fruit, vegetables and herbs, while the 50-metre swimming pool is poised between the two farmhouses. Once the residence of French painter Patrice Arnaud, the farmhouse’s new owners, Fred and Rosena Charmoy, have maintained its creative spirit. Each of the rooms is individually decked out in burnt terracotta tones andlimewashed walls, some with custom-made bedhead tapestries by Beni Rugs and wool and Corten steel wall sculptures crafted by artist Amine El Gotaibi. Whether checking in or not, be sure to book a table for a farm-to-fork lunch, serving a set menu designed to share.