England

Great trip especially if you want more challenges when you bike. Beautiful areas to bike through.

The leaders were exceptional and the riding and scenery were great. I loved every day, even when it was raining. My only complaint --and this is ongoing with VBT--is the hotels. I understand hotel rooms in Europe are not uniform but the variability on this trip was extrememe. Although Borrowdale Gates was charming the room we had was tiny, though with a lovely view. Hexham was a neat town, but again our room was tiny with the tiniest bathroom. In both of the above there wasn't enough room for both of us to open our suitcases at the same time. I understand others on the trip had great rooms at both locations so either you may want to secure more rooms that are similar in size and quality or stay somewhere else. The last hotel in Peeples was fine, but a bit old and tired. We did have a nicer room but the place could use an update.

Cotswolds are a beautiful place to bike, guides facilitated a great trip. Wish there were interactions with locals as we’ve had on other VBT trips. Hotels are beautiful but a local chain and the food is similar throughout.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Nice combination of pedaling in pastoral settings and activities that included a day-and-a-half in Oxford, lovely Burford (the meat pies at The Royal Oak are a must!), Blenheim Palace, cream tea in Bourton-on-the-Water, the Hidcote Manor Gardens, and a tour of the Roman Baths. We stayed the extra day in Bath and explored - it was very nice! The undulating hills of the Cotswolds were a nice challenge on road bikes. Residents and (car) drivers were pleasant and courteous. The bonus is we had amazing weather - mid to high 60°s, sun, clouds, and no rain (okay, a very slight shower one afternoon for 20 mins.!) Our tour leaders - Conor and Mick - terrific guys that really made the tour so pleasant!

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.

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.