England

Another great VBT trip through the beautiful rolling countryside of Northumberland, Cumbria, and the Borderlands of Scotland. Although we have always used road bikes on prior VBT trips, we were very happy we chose e-bikes for this one, allowing us to enjoy the scenic vistas without struggling up the (many) hills. We enjoyed the historic sites like Hadrian's Wall and Vindolanda, the towns and little villages, our always friendly guides and companions, and of course the (many) sheep. The post trip in Edinburgh is a great contrast to the ride itself. As a new VBT trip, this one still needs a couple of little tweaks, but if the weather cooperates (which it did for us), you will have a wonderful experience. (Here's a tip. Don't try to climb Hadrian's Wall in bike shoes. (: )

Wonderful views. Lots of climbs - highly recommend using an e-bike, unless you’re 20! Conor and Nick curated an excellent way to bike in northern England, into Scotland.

Beautiful scenery, charming villages, local lodging, hilly rural roads, quintessential Cotswold .

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.