But the last three trips have been in the more northern parts of that great dividing mountain chain - and having family who live in New England has meant that I have made many visits to this beautiful part of America over the last 25 years and have consequently made many good friends there - some of whom again helped us run this tour and also acted as additional guides.

This tour was designed around the spectacular autumn colours, which were at their peak at that time of the year. Many people have always dreamed of witnessing the beautiful New England Fall colour display - and we feel that this is simply the best way to do it!

We commenced in Boston and then traveled by mini bus (van) to The White Mountains of New Hampshire - home of some rugged peaks, of which 6288 ft Mount Washington is the highest. We spent the first week there, staying in a lovely old Inn in the charming town of Littleton, NH.

We took daily hikes and trails to suit the prevailing weather of the day. This first week was primarily a mountain experience with easy to moderate - and one or two serious hikes, to experience the wonderful scenery and wildlife, but with other activities too, such as a boat trip on Squam Lake (On Golden Pond) and general sightseeing by car through the mountains and velleys.

The walks were carefully designed so that anyone who is fit and adventurous would have no difficulty doing them, being approx. 6 or so miles per day, with the odd high mountain day being considerably longer. On those days, there was some considerable altitude gain, up to 3000 or 4000 feet. The other days averaged between 1000 and 1600 feet of altitude gain/loss per day.

We ate out each night at some of the best restaurants around Littleton!

After the first week, we then travelled on in our van(s) through the forests and mountains of northern NH and Maine to Bar Harbour, in Acadia National Park for 7 nights. This park is famous for it's dramatic granite and glaciated scenery and the whole area is forested and very beautiful. Here, we stayed in a comfortable lodging motel with nice seperate cabins in landscaped grounds, where deer often visit.

Acadia is famous for it's spectacular geology and glacial evidence and we took daily hikes in the park, up the small but lovely granite mountains and along the beautiful rocky seashore. We also hired mountain bikes one day and rode the famous carriage trails (car free!) created by a wealthy Rockefeller.

The ground costs of this 14 night tour was $2200, based on two sharing. This equates to approximately £1250 sterling GBP.

It was possible to participate in just the New Hampshire week - or just the Maine week - or both weeks.