England Explorer Trips

Although this tour covered only a small geographic area of England, we visited a lot of historic and beautiful garden sites included with the tour. The shorter travel time between sites allowed for more time at the sites. The location of hotels in Canterbury and Rye were ideal for exploring these interesting cities during free time. On visiting a hops farm we learned about the interesting history of the hop growing process and had a tasting of beers meade from different hop varieties. Oast houses were a characteristic site in Kent. An engaging and hospitable couple hosted a wine tasting of their artisan wines and a deliousious lunch on a visit to their vinyard. The small bus tour allowed us to get to know fellow passengers and seeing the sites on the backroads on Kent.

This tour was excellent. The itinerary was interesting and well paced and, of course, the scenery was beautiful. Out tour guide, Russell, was excellent. He had a thorough knowledge of the historical, sociological and geological aspects of Cornwall. He took an interest in, and looked after, all members of the group and provided kind assistance to individuals as he saw the need. He even arranged a surprise evening of song for us with entertainment by a Cornish men’s group. Driver, Jimmy, was excellent too. His driving was faultless. He socialised easily with all members of the group. The tour was an altogether excellent experience.

The whole tour was excellent executor our last hotel The Mermaid in Rye… for the cost of our tour we should not have to stay in a hotel like the Mermaid! I was told by our guide it was because it was old and had charm… we could have experienced the charm with a dinner there… I travel 3-4 times a year and that was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at!! You need to rethink that choice.

I couldn’t speak more highly of both our driver Steve he was magnificent & so helpful and excellent driver Daren (daz) was excellent knew his history like an expert. He went beyond what was expected and always ensured I was happy & well catered for as after a long flight from Australia had a DVT in leg & could not walk very far or handle steps. He was a god send

Our tour guide Terry and driver Ashley were amazing and really made the tour an incredible experience. Some of the accommodations were a little tired but in the main comfortable and clean. The last hotel at Gretna Green was particularly disappointing. However I understand that this was not the usual hotel for this tour. I would certainly recommend back roads and will look at other tours on offer. Thanks again back roads for the memories.

Excellent is not enough! This was an awesome experience with an awesome driver and and even more awesome guide. I will recommend backroads touring to everyone I know. We will be booking another backroads trip for next year as soon as we get back to Australia.