Londra: esplora le Cotswolds da Londra con il taxi nero privato
Descrizione
Non c'è niente di meglio che trascorrere del tempo in campagna. Lo scenario mozzafiato, tra cui campi dorati in primavera, i vivaci giardini di campagna colorati arcobaleno in estate e la miriade di cremisi scuri, gialli e argenti in autunno e inverno, ci toglie sempre il fiato. Aggiungi le splendide città storiche e villaggi fatti di morbida arenaria cremosa, molti dei quali regolarmente top i migliori posti da visitare nelle Cotswolds e nel Regno Unito, più la fauna locale di anatre, oche, api e persino il serpente strano, e il cibo fantastico e hai il rinfrescante perfetto per soggiornare nella rumorosa città. Visitando molti dei villaggi che ogni anno vengono votati i migliori posti delle Cotswolds, questo tour ti offre l'opportunità di vedere alcune delle parti più belle della Gran Bretagna con qualcuno che è appassionato del passato, ama mangiare (e conosce i posti migliori dove fermarsi per mangiare), e chissà dove scattare una foto che renderà i tuoi amici a casa gelosi di questa giornata unica, quasi perfetta.
Opzioni del tour
Itinerario
Il nostro tour inizia con una visita alla tomba del britannico Sir Winston Churchill, il più amato dalla Gran Bretagna. A differenza di altri grandi eroi nazionali che sono sepolti in una delle grandi cattedrali di Londra, Sir Winston è sepolto nella chiesa parrocchiale di Saint Martin Bladon, vicino a dove è nato. Mentre sei qui, potrai rendere omaggio al grande leader in tempo di guerra e la tua guida spiegherà perché Sir Winston è una figura così importante (e talvolta controversa). Se la chiesa parrocchiale di Saint Martin Bladon è aperta al pubblico il giorno del tuo tour, avrai anche il tempo di vedere la finestra commemorativa di Churchill che si trova all'interno della chiesa.
Chipping Norton è la città più alta dell'Oxfordshire e prende il nome dall'antica parola inglese per mercato. Città di mercato dal XIII secolo e importante città commerciale di lana dal XV secolo, questa vivace città di Cotswolds ospita anche il famoso Bliss Mill, unico nel suo genere, un ex mulino di tweed noto in tutta la zona per sembrare un incrocio tra una villa e una follia piuttosto che una fabbrica. Dopo aver guidato attraverso Chipping Norton avrai la possibilità di fermarti e ammirare la bellezza di questa meravigliosa follia della fabbrica prima di continuare il tuo viaggio.
Moreton-in-Marsh è una delle principali città mercato delle Cotswolds settentrionali. Situata sulla Fosse Way, l'antica strada romana che collegava Exeter a Lincoln, questa pittoresca città mercato è ancora animata da un mercato locale ogni martedì. Fondato nel 1227, questo mercato settimanale è oggi uno dei mercati più antichi del Regno Unito. Come tutti i villaggi del Cotswolds, i pub locali sono il cuore della comunità e della storia della città. Mentre sei a Moreton-in-Marsh sentirai come Carlo I si rifugiò in uno dei pub della città durante la guerra civile inglese e come si ritiene che l'autore JR R Tolkien sia stato ispirato da The Bell Inn quando ha scritto la sua famosa opera Il Signore degli Anelli.
Blockley è un punto di passaggio affascinante e in gran parte incontaminato tra Moreton-in-the-Marsh e Chipping Campden. Questo bellissimo borgo era un tempo un importante centro di produzione della seta, che utilizzava il torrente locale per alimentare i mulini da seta. Oggi, il villaggio è visto regolarmente nella serie TV Father Brown in cui la chiesa normanna di San Pietro e San Paolo si trova come l'immaginaria Chiesa di Santa Maria e dove il vicariato locale funge anche da residenti di padre Brown. Durante la visita a Blockley, hai tempo per esplorare il villaggio e i suoi splendidi dintorni e scattare fotografie delle case pittoresche, dei cottage e dei negozi.
Chipping Campden come Stow-In-The-Wold, Burton-On-The-Water e Burford (tutti i luoghi che visiterai in questo tour) è regolarmente elencato come uno dei posti migliori da vedere nelle Cotswolds da blogger e giornalisti nello stesso modo. Ricca di storia, oltre a splendidi edifici e storia affascinante, la strada principale di Chipping Campden era una volta descritta dallo storico G.M. Trevelyan, come "la più bella strada del villaggio ora rimasta nell'isola". Oggi questa strada principale rimane in gran parte incontaminata poiché l'ampio e dolce arco della strada è delimitato da un tratto continuo di edifici che risalgono al XIV secolo. Con oltre 250 proprietà elencate, inclusa una che risale al 1380, questa affascinante città è il luogo perfetto per scattare foto che renderanno la gente a casa gelosa della tua vacanza.
Mentre guidiamo attraverso la campagna verso la nostra prossima posizione, viaggeremo attraverso i villaggi gemelli di Upper e Lower Slaughter. Se desideri fermarti brevemente qui, informa la tua guida che sarà felice di fare una breve sosta aggiuntiva.
Mentre guidiamo attraverso la campagna verso la nostra prossima posizione, viaggeremo attraverso i villaggi gemelli di Upper e Lower Slaughter. Se desideri fermarti brevemente qui, informa la tua guida che sarà felice di fare una breve sosta aggiuntiva.
Bourton-On-The-Water è talvolta conosciuta come la Venezia dei Cotswolds. Come la vivace città veneziana, Bourton-On-The-Water è un luogo eccellente per scattare fotografie che renderanno gelosi i tuoi amici del tuo viaggio. Il fiume Windrush, che scorre dolcemente, è attraversato in tutta la città con diversi piccoli e bellissimi ponti, i luoghi perfetti per posare per una foto. La città è anche ricca di una vasta gamma di negozi che vanno dai gioielli ai profumi e alle ceramiche che ti offrono la possibilità di raccogliere dei regali perfetti da portare a casa. Se desideri trascorrere un po' più a lungo a Bourton-On-The-Water, c'è anche la possibilità di visitare il villaggio modello locale, una perfetta replica in scala 1/9 di Bourton-On-The-Water creata negli anni '30 o Greystones Riserva naturale, sede di un'ampia varietà di fauna locale e sito dell'accampamento del neolitico e dell'età del ferro (che ora è nel programma di antichi monumenti) che dà il nome a Bourton-On-The-Water.
La nostra destinazione finale di questo tour è lo splendido villaggio di scatole di cioccolato di Burford. Regolarmente votato come uno dei luoghi migliori da visitare nelle Cotswolds (insieme a Bourton-on-the-Water e Chipping Campden) Burford include graziosi pub, negozi mozzafiato, tra cui un negozio di dolci tradizionali, e negozi di alimentari e abbigliamento tradizionali. Disposta lungo una strada centrale, che ti lascerà senza fiato, la città di Burford era un rifugio preferito da Carlo II e dalla sua amante Nell Gwyn e contiene la farmacia più antica della Gran Bretagna, aperta nel lontano 1734. Mentre attraverserai questo luogo, la tua guida ti spiegherà la storia del villaggio che è stato conosciuto per secoli come 'la porta d'accesso alle brandine'.
Punti salienti
Cosa è incluso
Luoghi e orari di ritiro
Si prega di essere pronti 15 minuti prima dell'inizio del tour. Il tuo autista/guida ti contatterà prima del tour per confermare i dettagli del ritiro e ti contatterà quando saranno pronti a prenderti.
Valutazioni dei viaggiatori
Informazioni importanti
- I neonati devono sedere in grembo a un adulto
- Adatto a tutti i livelli di forma fisica
Recensioni(16)
Sue was a fantastic guide who showed us beautiful sights, helped arrange a lunch reservation, and made the experience very customized, easy and memorable.
What a relaxing time we had exploring the Cotswolds. Dewi picked all perfect places to see. He is very knowledgeable about the area and its history. It was wonderful having our tour in a black cab with our personal driver. I can’t imagine a better way to get around.
The Cotswolds are a must see! It felt like a trip back in time. Lovely to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city to the quite of this beautiful countryside. Our tour guide, John, was fantastic! He is very knowledgeable about the Cotswolds. His suggestions were spot on and made the trip more enjoyable.
The day was wonderful. John gave us history and commentary throughout the entire trip on the areas we explored. My husband, father and I loved all the stops, especially the picturesque visit to Lower Slaughter. Our pub lunch completed the experience. Would definitely recommend it and would take any tour John hosts on our future visits!
My mother and I did a private daytrip to the Cotswolds and it was absolutely perfect! Our driver, John, was prompt, attentive, and a very helpful, knowledgable guide. My mother has some mobility issues and he made sure to park close to everything that he wanted to show us. It’s worth noting that the taxi is also wheelchair accessible if you need that. The day was a great mix of scenery and history, plus a stop for a lovely lunch in a local tearoom. You can customize the tour if you like, but we were happy to let John lead the way and show us the highlights. Would 100% recommend the experience!
November was an amazing time to explore the Cotswolds. No crowds, no tour busses, Christmas lights and decorations everywhere. John picked us up at our hotel in an iconic British taxi which was very comfortable with loads of space and big windows to see out. It's a good 2hrs to get out of London (and back) but we were a bit jet-lagged so we used it as an opportunity for a nap. John, our tour guide, was incredibly kind, knowledgable and accommodating. Our favorite part might have been his lesson for us on Cockney rhyming slang - highly recommend you ask him about that ;-)
Our guide Richard was excellent, knowledgable, and flexible! The car (a newer taxi model was super spacious and had great windows. The Cotswolds is a long-ish trip (depending on how far east you are in London), so take that into consideration. Highly recommend though and job well done by Richard!!
Richard gave us an excellent tour of the Cotswolds and included history and fun facts from the moment he picked us up at our hotel in London through the moment he dropped us off. He was easy to talk with, modified the tour based on our interests, and kept everything moving at a beautiful pace. We enjoyed the restaurant he recommended for lunch and would absolutely seek him out for another tour.
Do not book this tour. The pick up car is a taxi. The guide has no knowledge of the area. He gives a very very vague overview. We were promised four different areas of the Cotswolds and was not taken to Bibery. They started driving us back to London and would not tell us that we are headed back. I had to keep asking where we are going. The guide did not give us a verbal itinerary. He did not tell us how long we will be spending at each location. He kept talking about himself and how he is an actor on PBS. The taxi car is extremely uncomfortable. The driver is sort of nice but his driving can be aggressive at times. I tried to get my money back from Viator and got very random responses. I paid for multiple sights and was told by guide and driver that we would go but at the end of the day we were not taken. I had planned for this day for many months and very disappointed. This was my twin daughter’s graduation gift and it went in shambles. I started getting afraid in the car but thank God my husband was able to track our location.
Dear Marzia_A, Thank you for taking the time to write your review. Feedback about our tours is highly valuable to us, and we take all client complaints seriously. Having investigated what happened during your tour, we have the following comments. Firstly, Viator (the company which you booked through) does not give us an option for a Black Cab or Taxi as part of their platform. The car option is the closest we can get to our offer. Most clients are very happy with the Cab as a vehicle choice, as this allows us to navigate the streets and roads of London at the start and end of the tour, using routes that only London Black Cabs can use. All London Black Cab drivers undergo rigorous and extensive background checks as part of their taxi license. They are also subject to more stringent rules and regulations than most other private hire vehicles or drivers on the UK's roads. Most of our clients find this new generation of electric Black Cabs to be very comfortable. During the tour both the Driver and Guide commented that they felt your behaviour was unacceptable and reported your comments and your behaviour to our Duty Manager multiple times throughout the day. The comments you made at the start of the day, in the presence of our Driver and Guide, about the other guests staying at your hotel were unacceptable and had no place on any of our Tours. Had the Guide immediately reported the language you had used at the start of the tour to the Duty Manager, we would have terminated your tour and advised the Guide, who took offence, to report the incident to the relevant authorities. Additionally, throughout the tour, you repeatedly shouted at both the Driver and Guide. This behaviour and your language throughout the tour was flagged with Viator whilst the tour was still in progress. We have a zero-tolerance policy on discriminatory language and behaviour, and Drivers and Guides have the right to a safe working environment free from fear, hate, or discrimination. The Guide assigned to you has been working as a guide for over 11 years and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Cotswolds, London, and a vast number of tourist sites across the UK. He works for numerous tour companies and regularly receives outstanding reviews from many clients. From our investigation, it was you who enquired about the other work that the Guide does as well as Tour Guiding, and in response to your questions, the Guide mentioned that he had been part of several historical documentaries which have been broadcast internationally, including on PBS. Most clients enjoy this fact, as his work in documentaries demonstrates the Guide's expertise and historical knowledge. According to both our Driver and Guide, on multiple occasions, when the Guide tried to inform you about the locations on the tour, you told them that you weren't interested. In Bourton-on-the-Water, you informed the Guide that you wanted to explore the village independently, so the Guide stayed with the Driver. In lieu of your comments about not being taken to Bibery, Bibery was not part of the booked itinerary, nor was Blenheim Palace. We amended our booked itinerary whilst the tour was in progress to take you to Blenheim Place, which you asked to see and which you were taken to as a courtesy. At Blenheim, you spent over an hour exploring the gardens, which meant that not every location on the published tour could be visited in the remaining time allotted. Additionally, you asked to visit Bibery, again a location that was not on the booked itinerary, which would have added at least an extra 2 hours to the tour. This was not possible as it was explained to you via email the day before when you asked for a 10:30 pick-up rather than a 09:00 one 'this tour only operates with a 09:00 start time with an 18:00 finish. This is due to the locations that we visit as part of the tour, and the timings of the Driver and Guide under UK working time legislation.' In the email you received (quoted above) and the information the Guide gave you throughout the day, it was made clear to you that the tour would be returning to London by 18:00. In your review, you mention that you did not visit multiple sites, but on the day you visited Blenheim Palace, Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water, and Lower Slaughter. This includes stopping in three areas of the Cotswolds as well as driving through multiple parts of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You also visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Blenheim Palace, which you requested to visit on the day of the tour. The reason your refund request was rejected was due to the fact that the Driver and Guide facilitated your visiting the sites that you requested, which were possible given the time constraints of the tour. Both the Driver and Guide acted in good faith when altering the published tour itinerary so that you could visit Blenheim Palace, as we always try to give clients what they want, even if it means making reasonable changes to the tour on the day. It seems to us that you possibly saw a different tour on Viator to the one which you eventually booked with us. We currently do not operate a tour that visits Blenheim Palace, Burton-on-the-Water and Bibery, however some of our competitors who also sell their tours through Viator do. You mentioned planning your trip for many months; however, we only received your booking on the 31st of July for a tour on the 12th of August. We therefore recommend that next time you book a tour, activity, or experience, that you check the published details available through the Viator website. Alternatively, you can always reach out to the provider to ensure that what you have booked aligns with your expectations. In conclusion, we feel we engaged with you in good faith by amending the tour route and itinerary where possible. We also feel that our staff delivered your tour to the best of their ability against behaviour that was deemed to be unacceptable by the Driver, Guide, and myself, as the owner of this business.
Our guide was amazing. He was so accommodating even when I got hangry and wanted to eat lunch, he found a good place. He allowed me to shop and let me tell you, I like to shop. He was an encyclopedia of information about the Cotswolds, but had great info when we were driving out of London, he gave us all this information he went above and beyond and I highly recommend him and for some darn reason, I can’t remember his name so if you see this, please let me know your name and send me your information because I would like to send people to you as a guide and I may want to come back and use you .
