England

This tour was very challenging for me, and I took some time off of the bike. Hattie and Mick were excellent guides and provided me with recommendations on the most difficult portions of the route so I could ride in the support van on the steepest longest grades. The Lake District rides were very beautiful. All the hotels were good.

Carolina and Jago were the BEST guides and absolutely delightful! Beautiful and varied terrain. Accommodations were average, nothing too fancy. Especially liked the Beaumont Hexham in Hexham and Radisson Blu in Edinburgh (great location and good breakfast buffet). Some of the uphill climbs would be challenging if not on an e-bike. Should be a strong rider if doing this tour on a road bike.

Really enjoyed our cycling trip through the Cotswolds. Our guides and cycling companions were fabulous. A better description of the road conditions and elevations would have been helpful. Roads were narrow and quite pocked with loose gravel in many places. Scenery was simply amazing!

We chose to travel to England for the history, the quaint villages, and the beautiful pastures filled with sheep. We sure got all of that, but what we didn’t know is that the region is truly a road-cyclist’s dream! Paved and quiet country lanes over rolling hills—it felt as though we were on extended bike paths. Our leaders had a keen eye on safety and were supportive and present at every tricky turn. I can’t recommend this destination and this trip enough. The Cotswolds will transport you back in time and ignite your imagination. VBT knows how to play ball and they hit it out of the part with this one!

What a fantastic trip this was. This was my 6th time going to England, but my first for the Cotswold region and what an extraordinary time it was. The food was fantastic, everywhere you looked the views were spectacular. It was fantastic trip which I would do again in a heart beat.

My husband and I did this self-guided tour in early September and absolutely loved it. Country Walkers did an impeccable job taking care of every detail--booking hotels, moving our suitcases between hotels, and, best of all, the "route notes" book was so detailed and had everything we needed from step-by-step directions and restaurant suggestions to history and ideas for things to do. It felt like a wonderful adventure following the famous paths through sheep pastures and little forest thickets, past gardens and ancient churches, and climbing over or around all the different gates. It was often overcast and misty in the mornings, but the mid-day sun burned it all away. Our highlights are choosing to stop for an hour to check out the Hailes Abbey Museum and rubbing elbows with some locals at the only pub in a tiny village. So many great memories! We liked the intimate experience of doing a self-guided trip and the independence (without the planning!) that it provided. We spent some extra days in London at the end of our trip...that was just icing on the cake.