Across Poland: Masuria, Gdansk & the Coast, 9 Days

You make your own way to Poznan, the old capital of Greater Poland. If you arrive early, walk the Old Market Square with its merchant houses and the Renaissance town hall, where two mechanical goats butt heads every noon. The route description, GPS data and maps reach you before departure.

Around 300 kilometres on back roads through the provinces, with little traffic and long avenues of trees. The afternoon in Warsaw is free: the old town, the Royal Castle and the Palace of Culture, whose viewing terrace gives you a good sense of the city. Anyone who wants more time adds an extra night here, which can be arranged at booking.

The longest stage of the week at roughly 340 kilometres, and the most striking one. The route brushes Bialowieza National Park, the last lowland primeval forest in Europe, where wild bison roam again. After that it carries on to Bialystok, where the Branicki Palace, the baroque town hall and the Orthodox church are worth a walk.

A short stage of around 200 kilometres, so there is still time left at the far end. Beyond Bialystok the land flattens and empties out, then the first lakes appear. Masuria greets you with deep forest, small villages and quiet shorelines. Two nights here, and tomorrow is yours to shape.

Today you set the distance yourself. The classic loop through the land of a thousand lakes runs to Gizycko with its Boyen fortress and a swing bridge of a kind rare in Europe, on to the pilgrimage church at Swieta Lipka and to Ketrzyn. Anyone who would rather stay by the water finds a jetty and turns it into half a day.

Around 290 kilometres west, with a stop on the Nogat. Malbork is the largest medieval brick castle in Europe and was the seat of the Grand Master for centuries, so allow two hours if you want to see the inside. In the evening you reach Gdansk, where Neptune's fountain, St Mary's church and the old crane on the Motlawa sit close together.

Just over 210 kilometres, and today the way is the point. Through Pomerania you stick to the minor roads and turn north to the water again and again. Between pines, dunes and half empty seaside resorts you get a proper feel for this coast. The night is spent in Darlowo or nearby.

The final stage runs about 220 kilometres, staying near the coast before turning south towards the border. Szczecin sits on the Oder, with broad boulevards laid out on a Parisian model and a harbour promenade where the last evening winds down easily.

You arrange the journey home yourself, and from Szczecin the German border is a short hop away. Anyone not ready to stop adds a day on the Baltic, or takes the long way back along exactly the kind of country roads that carried the whole week.