A typical day starts whenever you want it to. You eat breakfast at your accommodation, follow the route notes or the app's GPS line out of town, and stop where you like. The app carries detailed maps and route notes, so you are not unfolding a paper map at a junction in the rain. Your bags travel separately and are waiting at the next hotel when you arrive.

What separates these trips from a guided cycling tour is the absence of a schedule. Nobody waits for you at the top of a climb and nobody decides when lunch is. On the Cotswolds routes that means you can detour into a village for an hour, or stop for afternoon tea and scones. On Hadrian's Cycleway it means time at the Roman forts and museums along the wall, including Chesters, where the centurions' names are still carved into stone tablets.

The Cotswolds trips are the easiest introduction. The Heart of the Cotswolds runs over seven days through the countryside around the wool towns, past mills and the drystone walls that, laid end to end, would apparently stretch further than the Great Wall of China. A shorter five-day version covers three days of cycling. The Oxford to Bath route links two of England's better-known cities via Cotswold villages.

The northern routes are harder. Hadrian's Cycleway is six days across England, following the Roman frontier with long coastal stretches. The Sea to Sea covers the Lake District to the North Sea in four cycling days over five nights, and is the one to pick if you want a genuine challenge. Both are graded Comfort but involve real climbing and changeable weather.

Macs Adventure has been running self-guided trips since 2003 and remains founder-led. They describe themselves as the world's number one self-guided operator, with 24,000+ customer reviews and multiple British Travel Awards. They have been covered by The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian. Their team handles trip planning and is reachable during the trip, with 24/7 emergency support if something goes wrong.

On timing: spring (late March to early June) and autumn (September to October) give the best chance of warm, dry weather, and quieter trails. Summer brings long daylight hours, useful on the coastal routes. The Cotswolds works well in autumn, when the villages and pubs are quieter.

What's included

- Accommodation for the duration of the tour - Breakfast each morning - Luggage transfers between accommodations - GPS navigation via the operator's app - Detailed maps and route notes - 24/7 emergency support during the trip

What's not included

- Travel to the start point and from the finish - Bicycle hire (available for most tours, including e-bikes) - Lunches and dinners - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Entrance fees to museums and attractions