English Lakeland Ramblers is hailed in hiking circles for its 27 years of experience guiding walkers and hikers through the glorious countryside of England, Scotland and Wales. Its Cotswolds tours always sell out quickly.
Not surprisingly. This bucolic countryside (all 800 square miles of it, immense by English standards) has been officially designated “an area of outstanding natural beauty” — but it could just as aptly be voted best region for “interesting, stress-free hiking.”
The folks at Ramblers plan for 5 to 10 miles daily, with modest elevation changes, switching seamlessly from sheep meadows and beech forests to fairytale, honey-colored villages. Ramblers’ CEO Jeff Kendrick adds: “We always build in time to slip into Ye Olde English tearoom for a ‘cuppa’ or time to admire the old churchyards and traditional flower-draped English gardens.”
CHARMING COTSWOLDS, CHARMING HOTEL
‘Charming Cotswolds’ is one of Ramblers’ single-base, 7-day tours where guests check in for six nights, explore the surrounding countryside by day then put their feet up in the same comfy room every evening. This year, “base camp” is the delightful, very English Charingworth Manor Hotel, close to Chipping Campden and within striking distance of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Shipston-on-the-Stour. The manor is centuries-old but it’s now fitted out with contemporary perks like an indoor pool, gym, tennis court and a garden spacious enough for pre-breakfast strolls to loosen up the hiking muscles.
Departure dates for ‘Charming Cotswolds’ are July 20 and September 14. Prices begin at just $3,175 per person, double occupancy, and include 6 guided walking tours, 6 nights’ lodgings (private bathrooms), all breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners in the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, all admission charges, ground transportation, local taxes.
LONDON, ANYONE? 7 DAYS, 2 WORLDS.
“Thanks to the persistence of longtime guests,” notes Ramblers CEO Jeff Kendrick, “we have added a surprise winner to our menu of tours: a week of walks that combines those idyllic Cotswolds landscapes with the city vibe and vitality of London. And, let’s face it: the British capital is a great walkabout destination in its own right.”
‘London and The Cotswolds’ begins with 4 nights at the Charingworth Manor Hotel and ends with 3 nights in a luxury city hotel. One full day of guided mini-trips encompasses the capital’s iconic sights (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey) plus intriguing venues like the Inns of Court (where those Masterpiece Theater barristers bustle around in robes and wigs) and a cluster of Wren-designed churches and pioneering skyscrapers around St.Paul’s Cathedral. The adventure ends with a boat trip upstream on the Thames, from the Tower to Parliament. The final day is leisure time, sans schedules, so that guests can head back to a favorite museum or go for a walk through the city’s wondrous open spaces.
The ‘London and the Cotswolds’ tour (departures May 25 and June 1) costs $3,475 per person for 7 nights but the pricing formula is slightly different: in the Cotswolds, the 4 nights’ lodgings come with all meals and guide service; in London, the price includes only 3 hotel nights and dedicated guide service on the single day-long tour. “But we do give you one pleasant little bonus,” says Jeff Kendrick, “the 100-mile trip from The Cotswolds to London includes a stop at Downton Abbey, a.k.a Highclere Castle, with time to explore the expansive gardens.”
OTHER DATES, OTHER TOURS, OTHER ITINERARIES
What happens if the dates above don’t tally with your vacation plans? Or if the tours are indeed booked out? All is not lost. Just call the number below and ask one of the informed, eager Ramblers’ experts to arrange for a Self-Guided or a Custom-Designed tour specially arranged for your family or friends, any number.
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