Three days in England's Lake District with Rabbie's--A mini trip report

The Lake District Explorer Tour: For this tour, I did book my own hotel as I have heard some negative reviews in the past from people who were disappointed with the accommodations booked by Rabbie’s. I don’t know the circumstances. Perhaps they booked the tours later and choices were limited. I did ask everyone on this tour who had Rabbie’s book for them and they were all happy with their rooms. I stayed at the Royal Oak Keswick.

https://www.royaloakkeswick.co.uk/

It was a great location, right in the center of town and about a 10-minute walk to the lake.

The driver/guide for this tour was Ally, who used to work for the Scotsman newspaper.

Like I mentioned above, all the guides I have had so far have been great. Taking so many of the tours, I have heard some of the stories multiple times, but they all tell them in their own way.

The itinerary is set out here, but all the guides have discretion to change if needed.

https://www.rabbies.com/en-us/tour/the-lake-district-3-day-tour-from-edinburgh

We did have some good rain on this tour, but it did not spoil the tour. I was finally able to use my rain pants, and they worked really well. These are the ones I have:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W1MV593?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1&psc=1

Final Thoughts: I thought this was a great way to see the Lake District. The scenery is spectacular, even in the rain. We saw so many rainbows. I highly recommend this tour.

Next Up: London this November to see the Christmas lights and Spain in March with my sister and her husband.

Photos: I’ve included a link to some of my photos from the tour so those unfamiliar with the area can see how gorgeous it is. I already want to go back!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/izZQ1ngpVBwfWhSQ8

Fantastic report, I am bookmarking, this appeals to me a great deal, Thanks.

Carrie, thanks for the wonderful trip report and the pictures. So beautiful! We did our first Rabbies tour, the longest one day they have, to the Highlands, Loch Ness and Glencoe out of Glasgow. I agree with you about the quality of the guides Rabbies employs. Ours was full of so much wonderful information.

It’s interesting that your group was more conversational. Our group of 16 was very quiet throughout the tour. The only voice during the day was that of our guide. He tried to engage some of the travelers, but people were mostly quiet and just taking in the scenery. We were seated right behind him, so we were able to discuss a few things, which we enjoyed tremendously. Maybe it’s because yours was a multi day trip.

So glad you got to yet another region of the UK and had another positive experience!

PS.. we counted seven rainbows on our tour, too! So beautiful!

Carrie, many thanks for taking the time to post this. You are one of my stars on the forum and I really appreciate all the great information you provide. You’ve made me really consider Switzerland and showed me that doing Ireland solo is very possible with a few short guided tour here and there.

I loved your photos, especially the one with the solitary sheep laying down looking your way. You can always be depended on for great animal shots.

Carrie, I’m envious at how concise your reports always are. I agree with your assessment of the Motel One across from Waverley station being close to most of the areas in Edinburgh I wanted to explore. In 2022, I stayed in a room that had a view of the beautiful Balmoral Hotel. Thank you for this wonderful TR.

Edit: Rabbies is a very good company and I also have enjoyed tours with them. 3 one day tours and 1 four day tour. Fabulous time on all

Thanks, Carrie. This sounds great. I know you don’t want to do a full report, but I am curious where else you went on this trip.

Hi Jojo Rabbit, I’m glad you found it helpful. I wasn’t going to do a trip report this time, but I just had to tell people about this tour.

Hi Mustlovedogs, I think the difference in engagement with the group is definitely the length of the tour. I have noticed that there is not as much talking on the one-day tours. This group was a little quiet on the first day. And it always takes a bit of time for me to switch mentally from independent travel to group travel. By the second day, it’s like we were all old friends. The same thing happened on my 3-day Dingle, Ireland tour. It is really surprising to me how quickly the group bonds in such a short time. There’s probably a bit of luck too in the makeup of the group.

I’ve been reading with interest your topic on the Cotswolds as that is another area that greatly appeals to me.

Hi Lyndash, I appreciate your kind words. I got teased on this tour about the sheep (and the rainbows). :-) I am always so excited to see animals. After we had all become friends, I was asked, “Don’t you have sheep and rainbows in America?” I said “Nope, no sheep and no rainbows.” All the animals I see at home are in the zoo. Not out roaming around. Plus, when I’m home, I’m inside all day working. I’m not outside in nature.

Hi Linda, I work in legal publishing. So, I have lots of experience with writing. I felt the view of the Balmoral was a tease. It seemed to by saying, if you make enough money, you can stay here next time.

I’m starting to think about what my next Rabbie’s multiday tour will be. I originally thought the 5-day Wales tour from London, but my guide on the Lake District Tour and several of my tour mates, said their absolute favorite tour is of Orkney, Scotland. So, I’ve been looking at that. There is a 3-day tour from Inverness or a 5-day tour from Edinburgh.

Hi Barbara N., I just stayed in Edinburgh. I explored some past favorites (Dean’s Village and Dunbar) and saw some new things (Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Yacht Britannia). I also did the following one-day Rabbie’s tours, which were all great: 1) Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Highlands (a repeat because I wanted to see the purple heather, which was still in season); 2) Hadrian's Wall, Roman Britain & the Scottish Borders; 3) St Andrews & the Fishing Villages of Fife; and 4) Outlander Adventure. One more Rabbie’s tour and I think I’m due a free T-shirt. :-)

Carrie, great report and photos. You really do have me thinking a multi day tour with Rabbie's may be the way to go. Combined with public transportation, we could cover a lot of territory. I've promised my husband that we would limit car rentals on future trips together so we could both spend our time enjoying the sights and not watching the road.

Did you feel there was a good balance between time on and off the bus? What was the morning pick up time during the tour? Did you feel you had enough time at the lunch stops to grab a bite and also see something of the town or attraction? Thanks again!

Great report Carrie. So glad the Rabbie’s tour was good.

Hi jeanm, yes, plenty of time to eat on the tours. There’s usually a morning comfort stop in a little town for 30-45 minutes for a chance to get a snack, use the toilets and walk around. The lunch stop is always longer and will vary depending on what the activity at that stop is. It might be an hour boat ride + 30 minutes for lunch beforehand. Or it might be, you have 2 hours in this town to see X and grab lunch. I always used to worry about availability of toilet breaks, but with Rabbie’s I no longer worry about that. They are very good about stopping every 1.5-2 hours or so at a place that has toilets and usually food. And one big difference this year, as opposed to 2 years ago, is that all of the pay toilets took credit cards. But many of the toilets are free.

For this tour, we were picked up at our hotel on days 2 and 3 at 8:45. So, time for a quick breakfast beforehand. For the day tours, the departure time varies depending on the length of the tour. I think one tour I took left at 7:45 and another one as late as 9:30. Rabbie’s is very organized at the departure point in Edinburgh. They have 2 people checking everyone in and then when your driver/guide arrives, they announce his or her name and you check in with them. If you do decide on a tour, I suggest getting there early so you can be first on the van/bus to get a good seat up front. I like to sit up front so I can be first off at all the stops.

For the time on the bus, I love most of it. The scenery is great, and the guides either tell stories or play music. I like to look out the window and take pictures, even though they never turn out great through the window. I still try though. Getting in and out of the cities at the start and end of a tour can be a little trafficky, but that is not the bulk of the time.

Some tours will have more stops than others. It just depends. You can get an idea from the itineraries online. Some of the tours have a few picture stops where you pop out for 15 minutes to enjoy the view and take some photos. I’m a big fan of these. I don’t need to spend 3 hours everywhere. These tours just give you a little sample of what’s out there. There are some stops where I wish I had more time, and some where I could have used less time. Overall, I find them to be a good balance of time getting to and from places and time spent in places.

I’m happy to answer any more questions.

Hi Horsewoofie, thanks for reading. Wait a minute, aren’t you the one who Rabbie’s cancelled tours on in Ireland? I will say that had me a little nervous for my tours this trip. That could really dampen a trip. I heard they were having issues with drivers in Ireland. In Ireland, the drivers/guides do not work for Rabbie’s, they are all independent contractors. In Scotland, they are all employees, so Rabbie’s has a little more control over them. But, on one of my day-tours, they had to pull someone out of the office to lead the tour because the guide had gotten sick at the last minute. And I get these things can happen and Rabbie’s can’t have a bunch of guides just waiting on standby, but if you book a tour, you really do want it to run. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen often that tours get cancelled.

Just last week I was in Edinburgh and also stayed at Motel One Princess St. Very central. I am writing this because of the breakfast. I have always been an advocate for hotel breakfast, but this one was only OK. For the extra price it was overpriced. Especially since I could have gone a couple blocks to Wetherspoons and gotten a better breakfast for a whole lot less. If I had to wander cafes perhaps it would have been different, but now knowing all the above, I will forgo breakfast at Motel One Edinburgh should I be there again.