England

A wonderful part of the world to visit. Beautiful scenery, delightful people and countless sheep. This part of the world is hilly and needs an e-bike for comfort.

Another great VBT trip through the beautiful rolling countryside of Northumberland, Cumbria, and the Borderlands of Scotland. Although we have always used road bikes on prior VBT trips, we were very happy we chose e-bikes for this one, allowing us to enjoy the scenic vistas without struggling up the (many) hills. We enjoyed the historic sites like Hadrian's Wall and Vindolanda, the towns and little villages, our always friendly guides and companions, and of course the (many) sheep. The post trip in Edinburgh is a great contrast to the ride itself. As a new VBT trip, this one still needs a couple of little tweaks, but if the weather cooperates (which it did for us), you will have a wonderful experience. (Here's a tip. Don't try to climb Hadrian's Wall in bike shoes. (: )

We loved our VBT cycling trip in the Cotswolds. The countryside and charming villages we passed through were beautiful, and and we learned so much from our two guides, both local to the area. We've taken many cycling trips, and this was among our favorite. Highly recommend this trip!

We enjoyed a wonderful week of cycling through the Cotswolds across rolling countryside, past beautiful farmlands and pastures filled with grazing sheep, through charming villages and past stately manor houses. This was my first ebike experience and the hills warranted the pedal assist. I would rate this route as moderate as many on the climbs were quite challenging for those on a road bike. Queen Elizabeth had just passed, and our excellent and resourceful guides, Kate Edmond and Conor Murphy, rearranged our itinerary for the Queen’s national day of mourning, providing a delicious picnic on the banks of Bourton-on-the-Water. For afternoon tea break, we enjoyed the Queen’s favorite, Victoria sponge! Stops included Blenheim Palace, Hidcote Gardens, Bath Roman Baths, and sites of the filming of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter. Bookending the cycling trip with the pre-and post-trip option of Oxford and Bath is recommended.

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.