A cold snowy evening spent gazing at 18 inches of the frozen powder has me longing for summer and…read moremy favorite warm weather cocktail - an ice-laden tumbler of Bombay Sapphire and Tonic. The beautiful translucent aquamarine bottle containing that wonderful juniper berry infused elixir and the slight bite of those perfect floral finishing notes. Global Warming can't get here fast enough. Just leave enough ice for my tumbler.

A fun and unique experience. A bit of a haul getting out there but the trip was totally worth it…read more It's a lovely facility with plenty of trees around and even a stream that runs through the property. The environment creates an interesting intersection between human and nature, which felt even more prominent with the presence of the botanical greenhouses. During our time at the distillery, we went on the self discovery tour. It was a rather leisurely tour that took us on a journey through the history of the company and various buildings that make up the distillery. Eventually we made it inside the greenhouses, followed by a room that enlightened the senses with ingredients that make up the gin, and, finally, a guided tour of the copper stills. Best part was finishing the tour with a glass of gin cocktail made with fresh ingredients and delivered straight to the table.

Relatively new distillery with an interesting story and delicious early product. Friendly and…read morequirky staff make the tour a memorial experience. TOAD, as it's lovingly called, offers a wide range of distilled spirits all based on an ancient the, brought back from the ages and grown with no intervention through entirely organic and biodynamic processes. The result is a unique grain that produces a rich, flavorful spirit. Even their single distilled vodka is unique and has chocolate and caramel flavors. I don't love vodka, but still brought home a bottle. Apparently I'm not alone, this bottle one the best vodka in the works and has been served at the Russian embassy! My favorite was the Distillers Edition Oxford The, which is just slightly too young to officially call a whisky, but just as delicious. I cannot wait until December when they bottle their first 3+ year old whisky. The staff was super friendly, and we really got a behind-the-scenes tour with plenty of free drinks. I can't wait to come back!!

I don't get why this place is rated so poorly - it is an easy 5 star for me. If you want a proper…read moreEnglish pub without the crowd, then this is the place for you. Great selection of food and beer, but it does get busy so reserve a table in advance. I especially like the indoor Christmas lights - adds to the charm during the holidays!

Thanks to Qype for getting us to this little gastropub tucked away behind the main shopping area of…read moreExeter. We were just passing through and found a rumbly in our tumblies and had no idea where to stop. We found The Fat Pig to have an adequate menu for budgets and diets. I had the pork belly roast (£10) and a Malbec, while my veggie friend had a gorgeous salad. We both enjoyed our meals and service. The pub itself has a nice range of booze behind the bar. I can imagine it would be a good place to get a drink. Based on it's location, I wonder what kind of crowd it gets on the weekend. There are no TVs, so it is not your usual loud crowd pub for sports events. All in all, it was a perfect stop with ample (paid) parking just across the street.

Excellent selection of good value wines, chosen to be different to mainstream retailers. Same for…read moretheir spirits (especially Whisky). Knowledgeable and helpful staff, led by manager Alan Nordberg. Just received a great review in Decanter's annual awards issue.

Lovely church ! Very welcoming & peaceful & instills the spirit of Jesus Christ . Highly recommendedread more

We had a delightful afternoon tea cruise (1.5 hours) that was not only scrumptious (best scones I…read morehad this trip), but the guide was quite hilarious. Back to the food for a moment: Finger sandwiches, scones, cake, and tea! AND they had gluten-free option available meaning my spouse could enjoy as well (I did order in advance, but same day). We had a lovely cruise on the river and enjoyed seeing the Christ Church meadows, all the rowing clubs, and going through the Iffley locks. Our boat could accommodate eight people (maybe ten?), so it was a cozy experience. It was the first thing we did when we arrived in Oxford and it was a delight!

This was a nice float down the river, but not much more than that. I was looking forward to…read morelearning more about...anything really. The river itself, the wildlife, the connection to classic literary works, etc. Instead, the guide seemed to have limited information and only spoke about licensing on the river, the poor conditions of many of the boats, and the names of the colleges associated with the rowing houses (only some, though). He admitted hadn't been living there long and didn't know very much. He also let one group member dominate the trip, and spent most of the time answering his questions, which were completely unrelated to the river and really only related to himself. The trip started late because we were waiting for a group of seven, which was annoying. We had literally run from the train station to be there on time. The tour therefore felt rushed and still got back late, which made us late for our next event. Overall, I would not recommend as it is not worth the cost.

Okay, where do I begin?…read more HOSPITALITY Touring is a hospitality business. A guide is expected to be the host for his guests, but Rob had ZERO sense of hospitality. When we stopped, he was the first one out of the van. He'd go to the sites, leaving us behind. Or he'd want to be the first in his hotel room, and he wanted the best room. He had no "other" awareness. I am not even sure he knew everyone's name. He certainly didn't use them. He put on his headphones so that he didn't have to engage with us. GUIDING This is a tour. Rob Wildwood is supposed to be the guide. He wrote a book on sacred places of Britain. He only shared two stories about the many sites we went to. I expected Rob Wildwood to help with choosing appropriate restaurants. His idea of that was to ask the locals. I could have done that. DRIVING Rob Wildwood was also our driver. Three out of five passenger were car sick because of his driving and he took no notice of that. When asked to drive more slowly over the speed bumps, he said he was unfamiliar with the vehicle and that in his vehicle, he could drive right over them with no problem. He blamed being unfamiliar with manual transmission. I know that the last day of the tour, I was slammed into the seat in front of me at least three times because of abrupt breaking. Clearly he's following too closely. When you say something, he stops for a while and then goes back to what he was doing. INEFFICIENT & WASTEFUL I expected the guide to know where he was going since he's the expert on sacred places of Britain. He didn't. He explained that he was just going in the order that i put them down on the paper. (I said on day 1, I wanted to see X, Y, and Z). So every night, after a long day of touring, I was plotting sites on a map so that I could give to him to tell him where to go. The first day, he offered to take us to a place that was "on the way." I said okay. He didn't explain that this would mean that we couldn't go to the places that I actually wanted to hit. One closed at 5. It was very close to the places we stopped. Had he just gone to the one with the closing time first, we could have seen both. Instead we arrived as it was closing. The first day, our group was ready to go at 9. We had to wait for him to pack up his room so that we could leave. We ultimately ended up leaving at 10. The second day, departure time was 9. At 9 he was reading maps for 15 minutes. He said it was because he didn't know where he was going. I gave him the itinerary months before, but he didn't research anything before the tour started. That's when I started writing out the itinerary AGAIN the night before in order of the sites. COST Rob Wildwood was by far the most expensive "tour guide" I've had in the UK. I hired him anyway because he wrote the book on it. I figured we were in for something special and it would be worth it. Wrong. His website says, "Rob has a wide knowledge of the history, folklore, fauna, flora and spirits of this land, so will be able to fill your journey with all kinds of interesting facts and information. As well as relating the history and folklore of each site Rob can also take you on a journey to the Otherworld using his shamanic drum ("the shaman's horse") where you may get profound visions, messages from the faerie folk, or even interactions with the magical spirits of each place." If he has such information, he never shared it. When I asked about what he was getting from the sites, he said, "Oh, I didn't even tune in. I just took pictures." The only one who used the drum was him. He never even offered. In addition to his fee, I had to pay all expenses plus take the responsibility for any tickets or accidents. (The fee I've paid in the past INCLUDED expenses, so this was far more expensive). The van had a ding on each side and he never said a word. Nothing is his responsibility. It was always, "You never said that" or "Oh, it's the road." I have been doing tours for twenty years. I have never had guests tell me that they wanted to leave mid-tour. Two did on this tour. One actually did leave and said that she would never tour with me again. So not only did I pay through the nose for really poor service, it cost me the trust of a loyal customer. I attempted to speak with Rob Wildwood during the tour about the situation, but he's not present and doesn't hear what is said ("You never said that."). He was also defensive, so it wasn't a pleasant tour at all. I have loved the UK for the last ten years. This was so unpleasant that I don't want to return at all. But, do let me give credit where credit is due. We got a flat in the van. Rob handled that like a champ. He took control- probably because it was in his best interest to do so. He didn't want to be stuck on the side of the road either. Still, I didn't have to do anything about that, so I want to be fair and give credit for that.

can't score it in negatives - I have traveled more than 30 years with & w/o guides. This was…read moreappalling, frustrating, disappointing & dangerous!! 1 ROB WILDWOOD FAILED TO DO HIS HOMEWORK! DIDN'T map out routes-in fact everyday asked "What's the plan?" Really? You received the itinerary months ago, oversold your skills & signed a contract...The plan? 2 Had more luggage than all 5 travelers. We LOADED/UNLOADED the van, as he sat inside trying to figure out where to go or rushed for a room. We MISSED SITES, because he wandered & backtracked every day. Offered sites that were hours out of the way without knowing they were even open. 3 I was car sick the 1st day. Vomiting on the side of the parking lot...Rob never asked if I was ok or needed help. No sense of awareness or concern for anyone. I was 1 of 3 who became carsick. I also was slammed into the seat in front by Rob's abrupt braking & turns at unsafe speeds. No courtesy for travelers or other cars. 4 He made others leave van to shut rear doors, open gates & close gates. No please or thank you. Never engaged us with folk tales, legends or shared his "knowledge". 5 When questioned at sites..."I've never been here" "Burial site" (got that from the sign) "I was taking photos" He was dismissive about our knowledge & places to visit. Rob verbalized that he was a "Shaman". WRONG!! He does NOT have the background, training or spiritual heritage to utilize this title! At best, he takes pretty pictures...ON OUR TIME & DIME!! His site states he will take us to "magical places" and spiritual experiences. Well, FAILURE ACHIEVED! 6 Rob's concerns was getting the best room. He pushed to the front, expecting his room first, as we unloaded our luggage; then tracked him down to lock the van. 7 Complained about food and expected his food issues to determine where we ate meals. 8 NEVER checked on anyone to gauge travel speed on trails. He loped ahead & wandered about in his own world. His misinformation caused many aimless walks that led nowhere. 9 At Puzzlewood, he stated he wasn't sure of entrance because he entered without paying by climbing in back of the property. WOW! JUST WOW! Great sense of honor as a "Spiritual" person. 10 The final example? Rob was informed that travelers were to be dropped off at Heathrow Hilton at Terminal 4. He started driving away from Terminal 4. When questioned, he responded "I'm going to my car." Again, ROB WILDWOOD came first in his mind. He wanted to leave the trip early, and let us try to negotiate the traffic and roads around Heathrow. Do I sound angry & frustrated? I am! I have traveled with this particular company on 8 different occassions. I know the level of time & details that are present in these tours. The consideration of which sites to visit balanced by travel time has NEVER failed. Never have I felt disappointed, frustrated or UNSAFE... even at 4am in the back streets of Cairo! ROB WILDWOOD NOT TO BE UTILIZED AS A GUIDE!! ROB WILDWOOD IS SUSPECT AS A "SPIRITUAL GUIDE!" ROB WILDWOOD IS NOT THE ONE TO FIND MAGICAL PLACES IN BRITIAN!! Rent a disinterested driver that has skills and courtesy.