New bike - what do I want?

[AnythingButVanilla]

It's exactly as the title states. I'm looking to treat myself to something new and shiny, have a budget of around £800 and haven't the first clue about what I want or need.

I bought an Apollo Etienne bike from Halford last year that weighs about the same as a tank and feels like I'm riding through treacle, it's very long and heavy and I struggle to lift it into my flat. I definitely want something lighter and faster and not too girly. Every time I go into a shop or look online I get more and more confused as I'm not sure if I want a road bike or a touring bike or another hybrid. My boyfriend and I are going from Glasgow to Edinburgh next September and I was also hoping to do a couple of the islands as well so perhaps a tourer is best? He's got a Specialized Sirrus that can be loaded up with panniers if needs be.

Any ideas?

 

[HLaB]

I own a Spesh Sirrus and it'll certainly cope with the Gasgow-Edinburgh ride mine has done it a few times and its a great fast bike, however if you are planning on touring a bit more, I'd either change its bars for butterfly ones or add bar ends to make it a bit more comfortable on a long ride but I'd rather get a bike that was already set up for that ie a tourer. As to a dropped bar road bike, I love mine light and nimble but depending on your level of touring they are not that versatile; my winter bike will take guards and a rack but my summer bike wont, I also wouldn't like to expose them to a rough path. To sum up, again if I was wanting something a bit more versatile, I'd go for a tourer.