Touring - Looking for a new bike - recommendations appreciated!

Hi all - my first post here :)

I'm looking for a new bike with the following requirements:


Suitable for tours in the region of 500 - 1,000 km.
Light enough to be used for short rides (from 10 km to day rides) without being cumbersome.
Capable off-road on paths and trails.
In the region of £1,000 (1,600 USD).
Decent groupset.

I haven't found anything suitable so far. I've been riding a Ridgeback Voyage touring bike (http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bike/voyage), which would serve me well on tours, and is comfortable on-road, but at 13.6 kg unloaded it's way too heavy and not comfortable on trails.

I've also been riding a 2003 Marin Mill Valley hybrid bike (specs (http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2003&Brand=Marin&Model=Mill+Valley), image (http://theneaus.com/family/Images/MillValley.jpg)), which is a nice light hybrid (just under 10kg), but the problem with these hybrids is they don't have the appropriate mounts and gear for tours.

So ideally I'm looking for a hybrid with the facility for touring gear, or a tourer which is light when unloaded and capable on trails. Or perhaps a cyclo-cross with touring gear?

Note that I haven't ridden for a few years, but used to do a lot of DH mountain biking, so out of the two, hybrids feel much more natural to me. However, I've found the Ridgeback tourer to be comfortable too so a tourer is still an option.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Where are you and what brands are represented by your favorite Bike Shop, where you Live?

I'm guessing you are in the UK because you first referred to British Pounds currency.
If that's the case, I'd go through SJS Cycles, and look at the Thorn bicycles.
Thorn makes lots of bike styles, and has super helpful staff to help you make your choice.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/page/default/

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-shopthorn/

Where are you and what brands are represented by your favorite Bike Shop, where you Live?

I'm in Sussex in the UK. My local shop sell Bianchi, Genesis, Ridgeback and Saracen. Also there's a Giant dealer nearby. There are Halfords chain stores everywhere too, but they don't sell anything of note (except maybe Boardman and Raleigh).

I don't mind driving some distance to buy or even to test though!

For anyone interested, I've decided on the Planet X Uncle John (http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXUJSP/).

It's branded as a cyclocross, but I think it will be fine for tours of only 500 km or so, as it has rack mounts and a triple-butted alu frame.

And it comes in under 10 kg, so is light enough for short day rides too. Add in the decent SRAM groupset and it looks perfect for me at that price :)