August 10th 2014 Tour - A Review
I was initially going to do a detailed review of our recent England, Scotland and Wales tour that kicked off on the 10th August 2014 but halfway through I realised that most of the review was moot because the itinerary for the 2015 tour, for whatever reason, has been changed quite considerably. After some drastic editing this is what remains and I guess it’s still pretty long so please bear with me.
I’m a big fan and supporter of Tauck holidays but nothing is perfect for everyone so I’ll start this review with my two negatives. I truly believe that for the extra money paid upfront that 26 people is too large to be called a “small group” tour. If the average tour here is around 40 then a small group, I believe, should be around 20 customers. My second disappointment was the stop at Hadrian’s Wall. With an historic wall that covers over 70 miles, has 16 garrison ruins and a watchtower ruin about every mile we arrived at a little car park and was shown a wall that that was not unlike the dry rock walls 100 yards from it. That was Hadrian’s Wall. I thought and I expressed this on the end of tour report that any other choice of a stop at the wall would have been much, much better.
Now let’s get on to the positive parts. This is a very good tour designed for Americans to learn about British history and like all tours lives or dies with the TD. Our TD was the 8th wonder of the Words. Kori the Canadian was like the never ending fizz of a good bottle of Champagne. Even when she suffered a painful back injury she soldiered on with that BIG smile of hers and her infectious style of telling a story. She finally had to take a few hours off to get a shot from a local hospital for the back pain but that was only a small stumble for this amazing woman.
Our itinerary included the Edinburgh Tattoo, my absolute number one tour highlight and our seats were first class. Kori insured we each got a programme. This is just a small sample of what Tauck provides above and beyond normal expectations. Each tour stop was covered by outstanding local guides who were not only knowledgeable but also knew how to convey that knowledge in a light and interesting way. We were the only two Aussies in the group but our guide in Bath took time to show us where Captain Arthur Phillip lived in Bath. Now that’s first class service.
In Scotland we covered all the sights of Edinburgh, sat through the amazing Tattoo, got to see Stirling Castle and although our local driver got lost we also got to have lunch and cruise on Loch Lomond.
In Wales we visited Caernarfon Castle and the beautiful hills and dales of the Snowdonia National Park with stops at Conway where there is another castle and a great local market. During our Welsh visit Tauck takes you the Bodnant Gardens food centre where we got to try some great wines and how they would pair with our dinner that evening. The Chef, Dai Chef, is a local and national TV star who was off to Las Vegas to do a series of cooking shows over there. He and his 9 year old daughter assistant entertained us royally. The dinner was outstanding and a real highlight of this tour.
In England the tour with the help of Kori’s commentary takes you through British history of its Kings and Queens, its poets and playwrights and all the wars that covered over 1000 years of its history. Whether it be walking through Wordsworth’s or Shakespeare’s house, visiting all of Liz’s houses/palaces, seeing some of the castles you’ve only read about, being up close with stones that are thousands of years old at Stonehenge, seeing the Roman Baths at Bath or standing in awe in Westminster Abbey this tour has something for everyone. As an Australian who had English History pumped into our brains at school I thoughly enjoyed Kori’s interpretations. Our short stay in London was non-stop trying to fit 25 hours into a day and even with an extra day and a half we only scratched the surface. It would be fair to say that the dinner in the Tower was splendid in its design with the ceremony of the keys to follow but the meal was only average.
The accommodations on this tour are first class with every hotel providing warm beds and great food. The Langdale is no exception but it does pose a small problem when it’s raining as the rooms are about 150 metres away from the eating and drinking area and there is no cover. It’s put up your umbrella and run situation. Our drive Joe was not only a superb driver he was a conversationalist as well and his contribution to the tour was unmeasurable.
Except for the two points I mentioned at the start and they were truly personal observations this is a great tour even with the inclement weather we encountered and one that I would recommend to everyone. Tauck obviously have their reasons for the many changes in itinerary for 2015 but I would have no hesitation in recommending this itinerary to anyone who asks my advice on a holiday in Great Britain.
As always I’ll try and answer any questions you may have.
Rod
