I’m feeling a little guilty as it’s July and I haven’t done any sort of trip report on this trip. I was very eager to read what I could find about this tour so I want to do the same if folks are interested.
And I very happy to answer any questions.
I was 20 days in England, I spent 2 nights in Canterbury before the tour started and after the tour I was in Bath another 4 nights and 1 night at the Heathrow Premier Inn before my morning flight back home.
In regard to packing etc: everything I took worked well but I wished I had brought a bit more cold weather stuff. The weather was a bit colder than I expected but the truly unexpected issue was it was quite windy most of the time and I didn’t see that coming.
I packed as usual for my trips- in total (including what I wore on the plane) 3 pairs of pants, 2 no iron button shirts, 1 long sleeve t shirt, 1 t shirt weight turtleneck. Took 1 merino wool cardigan, 1 cotton cardigan. 1 sleep shirt, 1 pair knit pj bottoms. 4 pair undies, 4 pair socks, and, thank goodness, 1 sleeveless silk camisole, 1 pair lightweight mid thigh length thermal bottoms. Because of the cold i wore the silk and thermal undies almost every day and wore my wool cardigan a lot more than the cotton cardigan.
I brought 1 pair of Saucony sneaks and my much traveled Ariat paddock boots that I love for stable comfortable travel shoes. I call them my combat boots as they are that are that height.
I had my almost knee length hooded raincoat and was very glad it was as long as it was. It has a liner that I put in the first day and stayed in until the last travel day up to Heathrow. Fortunately we had very little rain.
I regret not taking a knit hat and another warm under layer. If I had brought a long sleeve silk or synthetic underwear layer I could have worn with my sleeveless silk cami or maybe if the cotton cardigan had been wool I would have been good. I did buy a knit hat in Canterbury so my head and ears were covered and warm so I was really ok. I tend to be a cold person and usually cover my bases but I really thought I’d be okay after studying the weather history and real time predictions. But what I didn’t think about was the wind; most of the tour is close to being coastal so it made a difference.
I took 2 new smaller travel purses this trip as a trial run and both worked out well. If I’m out all day and would end up eating or spending time on my own I would take the larger one, Prima by Sherpani, because it would hold my travel journal. If I was going to be with the group the whole time I took this truly little guy instead. Baggallini Women's Essential Mini Crossbody Bag, Charcoal Gray: Handbags: Amazon.com Both were so much smaller and lighter than my previous travel bag.
I was happy with all the hotels we stayed in, I was a solo with the single supplement and the rooms I had were all double rooms as far as I could tell. The Canterbury cathedral Lodge was terrific and it was wonderful to be right next to the cathedral. Also the spa hotel in Cornwall was a highlight.
Our guide was Steven Back and he was excellent. He was funny and informative, personable and really made the tour special. I’ve been on 8 RS tours and he’s in my top 2 favorites. We also had a really good group who gelled and made the trip even better.
All of this tour was great and some of it was ‘bucket list stuff for me’. I’m a bit of a history nerd and have read about 1066 and William’s invasion so walking the battlefield was so cool. Also being on the Victory was a highlight. And I love, love gorgeous cathedrals and we saw 3 beauties: Canterbury, Salisbury and Bath. I’ve always wanted to see Cornwall and it is gorgeous and then there were the Dartmoor ponies and Stonehenge and on and on. You really cover a lot of ground and see a wide range of cool places on this tour. I highly recommend it.