England and West Country - trip review...sort of
Recently arrived home from this trip and thought I'd give a few comments based on previous questions in various discussions (with a longer trip review if folks are interested). Just for context, I've only been to London in the past and I did the Peru/Hidden Galapagos trip last May (2025).
First - Trip rating of 4/4 - I am still at a loss as to why this trip is rated so high. There were a few days we started on the coach at 8:00 and a few days where we were on the bus for 2-2 1/2 hours at a time....but you are sitting on a bus so its not rigorous activity...and IMO 8:00 is not THAT early...most of the activities were like other European tours - visits to cathedrals, walks thru towns, visits to castles, a cooking class....a few walks with some hills and St. Michaels Mount...Peru/Hidden Galapagos is rated 3/3 and was far - FAR - more strenuous in terms of early/long days and rigorous activity than this trip! This trip - if consistent ratings are applied across the board - should, IMO, be a 3/2 or no more than a 3/3 - do not let the rating scare you off.
Pre-trip stays can be either at the Bath starting hotel or in London.
With a 4-night stay in Bath, they do very little actually in Bath. There is a group orientation walk that was good in pointing out things and giving some history - but no included tours of anything....which I felt did a disservice to Bath since we were there for so long. On my own I did the Bath Abbey and the Roman baths...I would have had time to visit the Royal Crescent museum but was getting tired and decided not to.
Stonehenge was on the itinerary when I signed up for the tour but removed along the way and replaced with Avebury. It was explained on the tour that it was removed because it was on the England, Scotland, Wales tour and Tauck did not want to repeat it on this one. I went in 2 days early and booked a private tour on my own to Stonehenge since I've always wanted to see it. Stonehenge - to me - was fascinating. While you can't get close enough to touch the stones, you actually get pretty close and can get some pretty amazing photos. It was a bank holiday weekend and I was worried about crowds, but the way it is set up I was able to get photos without crowds in them and it did not feel overcrowded. Avebury - again to me - was, at best, underwhelming. I think partly because I had previously been to the Ring of Brodgar in the Orkneys and the look is similar (rough hewn stones rather than the Stonehenge cut rectangles), partly because I had just seen Stonehenge and partly because of the tour guide. Sadly, I was not impressed by the tour guide and usually I am. By way of explanation, the tour guide said more than once (I'm paraphrasing a bit here) - we don't know who built this, or why they built this but we know they came together as a community to create this and to get together...and honestly it made me a little crazy for her to say they did not know who did this or why they built it but then somehow she knew they came together as a community to do so??? In addition, Avebury is so large (I think 2 or 3 Stonehenges could fit inside) you could only see a handful of the stones and not a circle.
St Michael's Mount was pretty amazing. We took a boat out and while we were there the tide went out and we walked back on the causeway. Good hiking shoes are a must (cobblestones and some slippery areas) - I have some Merrill's - that were great. I also took my walking poles and they were helpful but probably not necessary. I'd say 80-85% of the walk up to the castle is a ramp-like walk on cobblestones. The cobblestones can be a bit uneven in places and to be fair it is somewhat steep in some sections and you might be short of breath when you get to where the steps start - but you can stop along the way to admire the scenery and catch your breath and I think most in "decent" shape will be able to do it just fine. There are steps the last 15% or so of the way but they are fairly normal steps and not overly tall steps. (I'm not real tall so the tall steps like at Machu Picchu were difficult for me.). I was a little out of breath at the top, but I could have gone down and back up again...IMO it in no way compared to the difficulty of Machu Picchu and its at sea level so you are not contending with the altitude - perhaps I misunderstood the poster who seemed to suggest St Michael's Mount was more difficult than Machu Picchu, if not, we will just have to agree to disagree on St Michael's Mount's level of difficulty. The causeway was slippery in sections on our walk back - it was still wet from the tide and there are some areas of moss or seaweed that were real slick if you weren't paying attention.
Not to mislead if my comments come across as "complainy" - I loved this trip! I loved the Cotswolds and Cornwall and would recommend to anyone who has not been to those areas. It was so beautiful and quaint and like everything you see on TV...this one is definitely in my Top 5 - perhaps even Top 2.
If people have questions about what I've said or want to know more or have a more fulsome review on other days of the tour just let me know in a reply - I'll check back after I do some laundry and go pick up my mail....
Comments
Just a few more comments…we had glorious weather. Apparently they had rain and storms for two months (Jan/Feb) and a really bad storm named Goretti with 108 mph winds that knocked down many 100+ yr old trees out at St Michael’s Mount. It was generally cool - 50’s and low 60’s, with sun many days and partly cloudy some days, but no rain. Because of all the early rain the Spring flowers were absolutely beautiful!
The tours of Chavenage House and Sudeley Castle were very interesting - Sudeley Castle was Katherine Parr’s home (sixth wife of Henry VIII) - i love the history. Port Isaac in Cornwall was beautiful and quaint and fans of the Doc Martin series will enjoy. The villages we visited in the Cotswolds were so quaint and like a “story book.” The stone houses and thatched roofs were everything I had hoped for.
Bovey Castle was beautiful and the activities were fun - I went to the falconry talk, on the deer park walk and did the carriage ride - it was a quiet day of country pursuits and welcomed after a long day the day before.
The final hotel in Windsor was modern and beautiful and about 30 minutes from Heathrow. I stayed 2 days longer and met a friend I made on a prior Tauck tour who lives in Leeds and we stayed in London and toured Kensington Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral. I do have two restaurant suggestions near the Tauck pre-tour hotel if anyone would like them - super crowded and I’d recommend reservations.
I enjoyed the pasty cooking class and my least favorite activity was the Morgan car visit - I’m not a car person and when our clearly knowledgeable tour guide started in on the size of the chassis in this model v. That model I zoned out. I rode in a car driven by another group member and was a little nervous. 😬😁