England

England/Scotland in early June was our 22nd VBT Tour. We had five days of riding in some rain. The tour before us and the one after had much better weather. When the skies cleared the scenery was quite nice and the small villages charming. All the hotels were in good locations. Due to the long hill climbs, this tour deserves the Moderate rating. If you are not a strong rider, get an e-bike. This is a new tour and there are some minor kinks that need to be worked out. The pre and post trips are very good.

Amazing views, great guides but so glad we went with e-bikes this trip😅

Delightful part of the world, and the biking was thoroughly enjoyable. Guides Dan and Hattie were talented, engaging, knowledgeable and competent. The stonework and villages were quaint and charming. Traffic very manageable, with good safety reminders from guides. Accommodations were excellent, and food delicious. The Half Way pub fare was scrumptious. The ride the last day was along a canal from center of Bath out and back--I didn't find this as enjoyable due to traffic, pedestrians, dogs and baby carriages. As with most VBT trips, I think rides from center city should modified by doing a shuttle bus to outside the city, do a ride, and then shuttle back. City riding is dangerous (especially on the wrong side of the road!) and one really can't see much if paying attention to safe riding. Otherwise, this trip was FABULOUS. Happy to chat with anyone who is considering this trip. JB

The Cotswolds are incredibly beautiful! Small villages with golden stone buildings almost don't look real. All of our hotels were top notch and the food was excellent. Biking on the left hand side of the road was a bit scary at first, but the drivers were courteous and gave us a wide margin; and most of the roads we biked had minimal traffic.

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.