Can anyone who has been on this tour comment on the availability of folk music in some of the towns on the itinerary. The official itinerary notes that there is a dinner with folk music in Stow-on-the-Wold. Any other venues?
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3753 posts
No other music except the one you mentioned was planned for our group.
It was an enjoyable evening of entertainment by a local folk group.
The venue was a large upstairs dining room at a pub.
There was no other planned musical event on our Rick Steves Best of England tour.
As far as the availability of folk music in some of the towns on the itinerary:
Our favorite pub of the tour was The Dog And Gun in Keswick (Lake District) which has music on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The tour begins in Bath. We spent two nights in Bath before the tour started and noticed several pubs had music in the evenings. You would have to check around when you get to Bath to see which of these pubs would have folk music, as opposed to some other type of music. Sorry I can't be more specific than that.
The Bell Inn on Walcott Street had a chalkboard outside telling what type of music would be played there that evening. They have various types of music--not all folk music--sometimes cello or trumpet.
I am trying to remember whether our hotel in Wales had folk music late on a Saturday night downstairs on the back terrace.
I know there was one guy playing guitar and singing Welsh folk tunes. Whether he was paid entertainment or just a guy who came to the pub with his friends and entertained them at their table, I do not know. I suspect the latter. Wales is that kind of a place. Friendly people, a group of friends, having a pint together on a Saturday night, being quiet and considerate of others at the hotel; no noise or brawls.
I highly recommend this tour. Actually, don't miss the opportunity to go on this tour--it's great.
Posted by
OP
Beaverton, Oregon, USA
740 posts
I'm booked on this tour in September. I always like to find local folk music everywhere I travel in Europe. Nothing beats Ireland, but I've had good experiences elsewhere.
By any chance, did you take a balloon ride when you were in Bath?
I'm also trying to decide whether to spend my first night in Bath or maybe somewhere like Windsor. I arrive one day before the tour starts. Did you feel like you had enough time in Bath?
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3753 posts
Eric, we arrived in Bath two days before the tour started. We stayed at the hotel that was used by the Rick Steves tour. For us, it was important to have some time by ourselves to walk around and explore Bath.
This gave us time to eat at some restaurants we had researched online, and to take a bus tour of Bath. There is a tour bus that does two different loops around Bath. One through the central part of the city. The other goes outside the city and up into the surrounding hills, into a residential area, and out by the American Museum. Quite an eye-opening tour of the area surrounding Bath.
We had already done a lot of exploring by the time our tour group met up for the first evening. Yes, we felt we had enough time in Bath. Most in our tour group felt they had plenty of time in Bath just on the tour.
No, we did not do a balloon ride while in Bath.
About spending time in Windsor before your tour........highly recommend that.
We visited Windsor after our Rick Steves tour ended.
We spent two nights in Windsor before our flight back home.
We toured Windsor Castle and walked around the town of Windsor, which is interesting.
Good pubs and restaurants.
Do walk down to the river and across the bridge to see Eton.
If I were asked, between Bath and Windsor, which did I like more, I would have to say Windsor.
I hope this helps you plan your trip.
RS England In 14 Days is a great tour and you are going to have fun!