Fantastic Feedback on a GeoCultura Private Tour!
At GeoCultura, we’re proud to offer a level of flexibility on our tours that goes beyond the vacation and holiday options on our Upcoming Small-Group Tours Page. If you’d like to take one of our tours at a different time of year than listed, or enjoy a dream vacation package of your own, read on to find out how one happy couple got on with a Private Tour.
Tom and Paula’s Experience
After looking for a tour of Southern England with plenty of extra stops, Tom and Paula contacted us in 2023 to see what could be arranged beyond the tours we were offering at the time. This led to us creating a custom itinerary for the couple, and arranging the services of not one but two expert guides to reveal the treasures of a beautiful part of the country.
We communicated closely with Tom and Paula, finding out what their interests were and how we could best put together a special and exceptional trip. At its core, this England adventure included elements of the original Southern England tour, along with extra stop-offs and explorations chosen specially for the couple.
In Tom’s words, it was “a fantastic experience, and I cannot say enough about how fortunate we were to have Seren and Jonathan as our guides.”
With their own distinctive backgrounds, Seren in British history, heritage and film tourism and Jonathan in geology, both guides brought something different to the tour, and “some of the best parts were the ones added somewhat spontaneously based on our conversations with Seren and Jonathan.”
After seeing prehistoric Stonehenge, Tom and Paula journeyed to the Cotswolds village of Lacock, taking in the picturesque houses and the abbey-come-manor house.
Bath brought additional interests, both ancient and more modern: “We enjoyed Bath greatly – the Roman baths are deservedly world famous. Seren also directed us to the astronomer William Herschel’s home and managed to get us in, even though they were officially closed!”
Following a trip to Wells, Seren passed Tom and Paula over to Jonathan for the second leg of the tour. Jonathan started off with Dorset’s incredible coastal icon, Durdle Door, adding in extra time for hiking too. Of other points of interest, Tom said:
“Beer Quarry was something we requested as an add-on – a fascinating place with a long history back to Roman times, and we saw its significance in so many of England’s great buildings. Especially fascinating was its use in secret Catholic masses. We had a particularly good guide in Jonathan for this.
“The following day, Jonathan, understanding our interest in short walks, included Abbotsbury. That was a wonderful stop with the solitary St. Catherine’s Chapel gracing a hilltop overlooking the channel. Lyme Regis lived up to our high expectations, and the ammonite pavement was spectacular!
“Our final partial day was remarkably efficient. Old Harry Rocks was a lovely morning walk, and the Etches Collection at Kimmeridge was really well done - I am very happy we managed to work that in. It was not only the fossils but the stories Etches attached to them that were splendid. Kimmeridge was quite a nice spot – text book geology, and I found my ammonite in the soft shale.”
After exhausting the delights of Southern England, Tom and Paula headed east to Kent, finishing their memory-laden journey with an exploration of the Battle of Britain Museum and St Augustine’s Abbey. In their words, “We look forward to doing another GeoCultura adventure”.
Tom and Paula stayed two nights in London at the Covent Garden Hotel, two nights in Bath at the Queensberry Hotel and their final two nights at Mortons Manor in Corfe village, Dorset.
If your imagination has been captured by this Private Tour, why not make an enquiry of your own and see where it takes you? Click for more details on our Private and Custom Tour options.