SEE one old ruin and you've seen 'em all.

Look at any old statue and, frankly, it's pretty much like any other.

Visit one ancient site and, yawn, time for something different, right?

Wrong - at least if you're in Egypt.

And I'm not talking about the pyramids here, renowned as they are.

I mean the many other truly staggering sites of antiquity that literally litter this famous land, many of which we've heard of vaguely but have no idea just how awesome they are - until you go to see them.

The tomb of Tutankhamun, the giant statues of Abu Simbel, Cleopatra and the Valley of the Kings, Nefertiti and the temple of Thebes, Luxor, the river Nile itself . . .

We've all heard of them but few have considered the possibility of going to see them.

Style

After all, Egypt as a holiday destination is really all about fabulous sun, brilliant hotels, and warm seas at places like Sharm el Sheikh.

Been there, done that, loved it.

But there is another Egypt, the ancient land of the pharaohs . . . and I loved that more. It gave me the single most fascinating week's holiday I've ever had.

And even better, the only way you can do it is in real style - by a cruise on a luxury Discover Egypt ship down the magnificent river Nile.

You fly in to Luxor, the ancient capital of those pharaohs back in the days when it was called Thebes.

It's actually a lovely modern small city in its own right . . . and the gateway to the southern stretch of the Nile 1,000 miles from Cairo. There aren't vast cruise liners like the QE2 - instead they're like small, superbly-equipped and rather genteel hotels on water.

Agatha Christie set her famous novel Death On The Nile on one, you may recall (and wrote it in Aswan, further down the river!)

Mine was called the Royal Viking (no, I don't know why either), and to begin with was simply a base from which we were whisked off to see truly extraordinary pieces of history.

For starters we went to the fabled Valley of the Kings, at first glance simply a winding gorge but then you discover the hiding place of a series of tombs of pharaohs dug out 3,500 years ago.

They've discovered 62 so far. Most have tiny openings from the rock face which then widen into huge complexes of connected rooms, ornately furnished and with brilliantly painted walls and ceilings, where the mummified remains were meant to lie for eternity.

The biggest we saw was that of Ramesses IX. British archaeologist Howard Carter was excavating it when he went for a stroll outside, kicked away a loose stone . . . and discovered the gold and jewellery-packed tomb of the famous boy king Tutankhamun.

With you at all times are deeply- knowledgeable guides who tell you the amazing stories of the pharaohs and their myriad bizarre gods.

The highly-sophisticated pharaohs discovered the value of the written word - and wanted everything about them and their families to be recorded in hieroglyphics in their temples and tombs.

Forget 1001 Arabian Nights - this is 1001 Egyptian stories, all of which are endlessly fascinating and entertaining.

You assume the Valley must be the highlight of the ancient monuments you are going to see - but it's anything but.

Just a few miles away is the incredible Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, its vast and magnificent colonnades and terraces covering an area the size of Wembley stadium.

Your head reels with the thought: "How did they do this, 3,500 years ago?"

But then it's back to the ship and time to relax as she cruises south.

You lay around the pool in the brilliant sun on the top deck, sipping cold beers or cocktails, watching the world slide by.

There's wildlife to watch, picturesque villages to see, stunning scenery . . . and then suddenly you're at Edfu and you disembark to see the temple of Horus with its massive black granite statues to the ancient falcon-headed god.

Then on down the river to other enormous temples at Kom Ombo, Philae, Aswan. And, most amazing of all, Abu Simbel.

This is where a warrior pharaoh called Ramesses the Great built an enormous temple to the Sun God with the entrance guarded by four 20 metre statues of the monarch carved out of solid rock.

Breathtaking. You really do wonder, as you sit that night in the luxury ship's restaurant eating your four-course dinner, what could top that?

Probably nothing - but the twinned temples of Karnak and Luxor we sailed back to came close.

Two miles apart, they were originally joined by a single straight avenue flanked by hundreds of human-faced large sphinx. Together they form the biggest single religious site in the world.

Three thousand years ago it needed 80,000 people to keep it running. Yet again, truly amazing.

The sheer size of the temples in it, 23 metres high and built from single blocks of stone weighing 20 tons or more, keeps you asking: "How did they do that?!"

It also leaves you very glad that you went off the usual tourist track, risked a bit of adventure, and found one of the most enjoyable and interesting - albeit unusual - holidays you could find.

GETTING THERE

NILE cruise specialist Discover Egypt offer a range of four and five-star luxury cruises all year round on the Nile.

Prices to travel on the new 5-star Royal Viking start from £899 per person for November 30, December 7 and 14 departures.

Prices include return flights from Gatwick, taxes, transfers and seven-nights in a cabin with balcony, full-board plus 10 excursions with an Egyptologist. Supplement to fly from Manchester is £40 per person.

Other cruises including the newly launched five-star Viking Princess start from £699 per person for the same departure dates.

An additional seven-night hotel stay in Luxor costs from £199 per person or on the Red Sea Riviera in a hotel in El Gouna from £299 per person.

See www.discoveregypt. co.uk or call 0844 880 0462.

KING-SIZE ATTRACTION - The towering castle at Lindisfarne

Summit special for all the family

By Mickey Burke

WE were at 25,000ft, gasping for oxygen as we approached the gale-blasted summit.

This was the world's fourth highest peak after Everest, K2 and the mountain of washing in my teenage son's room. And I was about to be the first to conquer it wearing Chelsea boots.

My lifetime a-cheviot-ment came on a family break in Northumberland - a part of Britain so damned unspoiled that the temptation to drop a crisp packet, just for the sheer hell of it, was overwhelming.

But my indignant 11-year-old daughter Chloe quite rightly kept stuffing it back in my pocket. Dads can be, like, soooo annoying - especially when they insist on giving a running commentary about scaling a Himalayan mountain while all you're doing is climbing a Cheviot hill to see the view, without even the prospect of an ice cream at the top!

But that's the thing about this rugged, ancient land - it fires the imagination. After all, it's where Harry Potter was filmed. Where Christian saints brought faith to the region long before Newcastle United came along.

Splash

Where the s-s-sea is only to be p-p-paddled in, even in August.

Our HQ for this pilgrimage was Akeld Manor, close to the wonderful market town of Wooler on the edge of the Northumberland National Park. It's an assortment of comfy stone-built self-catering holiday cottages perfect for families - when it rained there was an indoor pool to splash in, a real find in a region not renowned for its year-round sunshine.

But what Northumberland may lack in rays, it more than makes up for in atmosphere.

Alnwick Castle - so atmospheric it was used as Hogwarts in the Potter movies - boasts award-winning gardens full of interactive wow-factor water features (change of clothes for nippers essential). There's also the Poison Garden where you are guided around some of the world's most dangerous plants - no touching of course, or shoving the mother-in-law in.

And medieval Alnwick itself - once voted the best place to live in Britain - is well worth the wander. Bamburgh Castle on the coast, dating from 457, is one of the finest in Britain - and perfect for an afternoon after spending the morning on the beach.

Then it's off to Lindisfarne, and the awesome sight of the towering castle was as delightful as the grub in the Crown & Anchor.

At sunset, through marran grass and dunes, we strolled on to a different planet - one of the biggest, most breathtaking beaches you'll ever see.

Next day it was time for some country action and we gave it both barrels at Otterburn Sporting Clays - a brilliant 'lads' morning with son Leo spent shattering flying plastic under friendly and careful supervision.

Peak

After lunch at the Otterburn Tower Hotel it was off to Woolaw Farm in the National Park where we quadbiked acres of hillside, slaloming sheep and cattle as the farmer led us to the top, 900ft above sea level. And there I was again, back on an unspoiled Northumbrian peak with an old crisp packet still in my coat pocket, and Chloe nowhere to be seen.

Don't worry, pet. It stayed there.

AKELD Manor cottages in peak season start at £594 per week (www.akeld manor.co.uk). Family entry, £22, www.bamburghcastle.com and £29.95, www.alnwickgarden.com. Otterburn Tower Hotel clays and quad-biking day, £80pp (www.otterburntower.com, www.otterburnsportingclays.co.uk, www.woolawfarm.co.uk). Create a tailor-made activity break at www.visitnortheastengland.com

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