We had a private tour with Simon Whittaker to a small portion of the Cotswolds. Not only was he…read moreprompt for our pick up he was full of historical information about the whole area. We were able to see and walk through a few villages and really see what makes this area a wonder. Not to mention many of the villages we visited were used in filming a lot of television and movie productions. We were able to stop and have a coffee at an historical hotel and lunch at a lovely spot far from the beaten path. Very enlightening! Simon was very personable. I highly recommend a tour with this Company and with Simon.

We hired Simon to give us a private 2 day tour of Bath, Stonehenge and the surrounding area. He was…read moreexcellent; helpful, knowledgeable, organized and with the sweetest disposition. He picked us up at the Bath train station and took us straight to Stonehenge. From there we did a half day walking tour of Bath. The next day he took us to Lacock to show our kids all the Harry Potter filming locations, not to be missed if you're a HP fan! Then he drove us through a few quaint villages on our journey to Highclere Castle to live out our Downton Abbey fantasy. He even found a way to surprise us with a stop at Avebury on the way! We had the best time with Simon and learned a lot, but he also taught us there is so much more to see! We'll be back again one day and will definitely be sure to hook up with Simon again.

The castle is lovely and grounds are absolutely stunning. Although the structure and landscaping…read moreare lovely, our tour guide felt the need to weave her strong political views into most topics. Examples would be regarding a pitcher/jug that is displayed in one of the glass cases. She said the pitcher "should not be here" and if she had her way "it would be returned" because it was "stolen from a masque." She also said when referring to Dr. Edward Jenner being the first to develop a successful vaccination for small pox that "it really is a question if he were the first." She said he barely beat Africa and Turkey in this world altering vaccine. To which doctors to whom was she referring to in Africa or Turkey? She made a comment of, " My grandfather always said, 'Whatever horrible acts done have been done have been done by the English first.' and I firmly believe this." She was also railing against the decisions of the monarchs before the addition of the parliament. Then she went on to say she wished she could get rid of the current government. A guide should concentrate on the facts and remove biases. It is quite distracting and unnecessary.

What can you say about one of the oldest inhabited castles in the world which is still owned by the…read moresame family from 900 years ago. You have to go. Its where Edward II was murdered with a red hot poker up his fundament .

For the tourist interested in history or archaeology there is nothing like touring with an absolute…read moreexpert. We had the most wonderful experience touring with David. He is an excellent driver and a knowledgeable archaeologist who has a vast understanding of the landscape and culture of the southwest UK. We not only saw the popular Stone Age, bronze, iron, and Neolithic sites of the area with his interpretation, but also drove by the unknown gems that the layman passes unknowingly. We saw historic homes and archaeological landmarks with interpreted perspective one only gets with a local in the know. The added convenience of having a knowledgable guide is navigation of the lines and roads to optimize your time and avoid tourist roadblocks. Our day with Heritage Holidays was the highlight of our trip to southern England. It was a lifetime best experience.

Preface: A couple of the one-star reviews on Google were very unfair to Lion Tours. One of the…read morereviewers clearly never went on the tour (writing on behalf of others) and the other reviewer was merely repeating the former reviewer's review. It seems that the only person "lacking variety" is the latter reviewer. I usually don't call out other reviewers but something had to be said before someone stepped on either of these landmines. Now, on with the review. Paul was the greatest tour guide in the history of tour guides... maybe ever. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the surrounding area and we were completely blown away by his attention to detail. Did you know that Thomas the Tank Engine was conceived on this route? Wild! Paul knew. He also accompanied us to Stonehenge itself and gave us an in-person walk-through of the site, which I hear the competition doesn't do. The other tours just drop you off and wait in the cafe for you to be done. A bit impersonal if you ask me. Paul even keeps spare rain jackets in case you didn't bring one to the Henge. What a saint. Need recommendations for what to do in Bath? Surprise, Paul's got them. If the other tours are Bieber and Swift albums, then Lion Tours would have to be Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill, an absolute classic. Would book again!

We toured Stonehenge, Avebury, Lalock and Castle Combe. Paul was knowledgeable about the area and…read moreprovided us a unique and personal experience. He provided a special tour in Castle Combe that others could not show! We had a great day and recommend this tour

If you're looking for a tour of the Cotswolds, this is as good as it gets. For a full day private…read moretour, the price is quite reasonable especially if you have multiple people. On a recent tour Ian was kind enough to put together a custom itinerary that my wife loved and even spend extra time past 5:00 trying to get us to all the locations despite us being quite slow given that my wife was very interested in all the buildings and takes a lot of photographs. Lunch was in a beautiful English Pub which is just what you hope for and the food was great. They're quite busy from Spring to Fall so reserve your trip early and you'll be very happy you did. There's really no better way to see the Cotswolds than this. Bravo!

The Stonehenge Tour is operated by Salisbury Reds. After I reached at Salisbury station from…read moreLondon Waterloo, I was looking to the tour bus which I had already checked it by internet. The bus stop was near from the station. I found the bus and rode on it, at the time I bought the ticket from one bus driver sitting on drinking seat. I can't remember the price but maybe wondered if it was very cheap. After buying the ticket, the driver asked me of my language. Because of sudden, I quickly answered English languages, and the driver gave me an earphone that I can listen to explaining of Stonehenge's guide. I sat on a seat in the back of bus and plugged the earphone into a jack of the seat. If you want to get this tour ticket, you can use online on the website. All of their online tickets are valid for 6 months from the day of purchase.

The driver was really kind and helpful! During the ride up to Stonehenge you listen to an…read moreinformative, interesting recording that will explain what you are driving past and what to expect at Stonehenge. My only complaint with the tour is I wanted a bit more time to see all of what Stonehenge has to offer. Overall, I highly recommend this tour and seeing Stonehenge!

This tour brought me so much joy! I originally wanted to do the cs Lewis/jrr Tolkien tour but I…read morewasn't in Oxford on the right day for that. I signed up for the literary tour and I turned out to be the only one on the tour. So My guide took me by so many places that were relevant to Lewis/Tolkien. What an unexpected delight! There was plenty of other literary history too! It was the highlight of my trip to England!

This tour is definitely worth it! Our guide actually went to Oxford, so his understanding is an…read moreinsiders'. I won't tell you all the things I learned and spoil it for you, but I can't keep quiet about two of them: First, students are NOT primarily lectured to as in most American universities. Instead, they have maybe one lecture a week on a topic. The rest of the week they spend discussing with a professor in their college (Oxford is comprised of 38 colleges). Is it any wonder most students leave there with knowledge firmly in their heads, rather than "I forgot. I learned it for the test and then forgot it"? Second, why is the grass in the courtyards so amazing? Because only professors are allowed to walk on it! Can you imagine what would happen if we told American students that they were not allowed to walk on the grass, but their professors were?!

If you are into art, then you know that the city of Bristol has really become synonymous with…read moreBanksy, an a funny, witty, political satirist who uses graffiti art as his medium. Full confession: actually my brother is a massive fan of Banksy and it he who introduced me to his art, and our whole reason to actually come to Bristol on a weekend getaway, was to check out the various bits of Banksy's artwork scattered around the city (the fact that we both just fell in love with the vibrancy and charm of the city of Bristol is a whole another story!) Banksy 'Love Cheat' Mural was the first Banksy we saw, and one of the tour stops during the Blackbeard To Banksy - Ultimate Bristol Walking Tour. The name of this artwork is "Love Cheat" and is a perfect example of Banksy's ironic sense of humor as the work is scintillated on the side-wall of a sexual health clinic. Our guide told us that Banksy apparently created a full scaffolding, pretending to be a construction worker and when the council wanted to paint over it, local Bristolians set up a petition that prevented the artwork from being painted over. The a few years back, the council decided to sell the building and what they did was genius - they listed it as an artwork with a building attached! The new owners have offices on the main floor, but the basement is a swanky cocktail club with a secret entrance. One things that took me aback was the size of the stencil - it's absolutely the size of a window in someone's room! Also, when I came in April 2019, it had been vandalized with blue paintball pellets - our tour guide told us those apparently appeared after a local radio interview in which Banksy admitted to a being a fan of Bristol football club with red colours (their rivals wear blue, hence the blue paintball pellets!). The second bit of vandalism is because apparently there is the local graffiti ''artist" called ''KAPE'' and he thinks its funny (ha-ha not!) to go around and signing his name over all the local area famous graffiti artworks! So when you see my photos, you can see both these vandalized bits of work too. Anyway, seeing this was just so amazing and super chuffed I got to see a Banksy artwork up close and personal. Yelp 158/ 2019

Five stars despite never having seen it in person…read more Many thanks to Qype for making this available.

What: 3 hour private tour of Oxford University. We were interested in a campus tour of Oxford…read moreUniversity and since Oxford doesn't offer that and there is no actual "campus" since it's made up of multiple schools and buildings, we did the next best thing. Arron was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable, funny and full of stories and interesting insights on college life and the application process as he is a current student. We highly recommend this company!

"It takes one to know one"…read more That playground taunt easily applies to my experience with Footprints Tours, an organization through which you can make advance reservations for free walking tours of Oxford. Why? Because I, too, lead a free walking tour albeit elsewhere on the planet. As someone who leads tours and cares greatly about tour quality I recognize a great tour when I come upon one. Chris, my Footprints Tour guide provided exactly that. He was animated, interesting, kept things moving, and told interesting stories. A couple of days later I saw another guide leading a tour - assumedly from a different company - and after hearing what he said at a particular stop all I could think was "I'm so glad we went with Footprints and so glad Chris was our guide". The tours are supposed to run 2 hours. Chris went a bit over which was my sole criticism of the tour. Attention spans are short and that two hour maximum is at the outer edge of how long people will engage for. Assuming you book with Footprints Tours you'll arrive at the stated location and find a ton of tour guides assembled. But walk into the Oxford Tourist Information Center to check in and they'll promptly tell you which guide you are assigned to. People who lead these free tours do conclude with an "ask". That is: a donation is sought and assuming Chris' tour is the standard, it is definitely earned. I understand the worth of someone talking - actually, "performing" - for two hours and I happily made what I felt was a generous cash donation. You'll likely be inspired as well. After I'd booked my free Footprints Tour I had begun to think perhaps a paid tour would be better and momentarily thought of canceling. I'm so pleased that I didn't. The Footprints Tour led by Chris (on June 22) would be quite difficult for anyone to top. Excellent.