Shakespeare Country and the Cotswolds Tour Reviews — 1 to 5 of 5

The ride from Kingham to Stratford on Avon includes a tall hill climb. On the for side are the best views of the countryside, framed by sculpted hedgerows. The downhill fide is visually dramatic, fantastic and well worth the effort.

The negative points: The Bear in Woodstock. The staff was less than accommodating upon our arrival. The village and surrounding area was overwhelmed by a huge car show. So we sat waiting from 1pm, in the courtyard. The staff did not bother to tell us, as we waited in the courtyard, 10 steps outside the office door (which was open). As the room became available, no notice was offered to us. We eventually asked and were surprised to see the room was clean and available one half hour after check-in time. In addition, they were the only hotel to leave us with less than satisfying accommodation for our bicycles. We eventually decided to bring our bikes into our room that had street level access. Woodstock was a blemish on a wonderful trip. The Bear staff seem unhappy and perhaps understaffed.

Billing up front of the trip was disappointing as $300+ was charged for the E-bike with not notice. We were never aware of the extra charge for the e-bike. This money was taken without permission from our credit card. I would likely have agreed to that charge but do not approve of charges simply taken without notice. Bad move Tripsite! Your need to settle the bill, after the final $$$ were agreed to and paid is not proper, in our opinion.

The Kingham Plough was the least fancy of all our rooms, but was well balanced by the accommodating staff, farm style of the room, and very nice pub.

All other accommodations ware fantastic. Staff was friendly and accommodating. We loved the Randolph, the Arden, Lygon Arms, Cotswold House and the Manor House.

We loved the trip overall. Great way to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. :-)

The cycling tour was excellent. We felt we got to experience the Cottswolds, which was our intention.

Most memorable was pushing our bikes thru ankle deep mud and meeting over 100 cows on a path we were suppose to be on. Also changing a flat tire with a pump that didn’t work. Even with the negatives, this was an incredible trip. Scenery was outstanding, hotels were lovely, gps directions were easy to use, and Carter company was responsive to our needs. We were scheduled to take a train from Morton on Marsh to Oxford but the trains were on strike when we got to the train station. Within minutes a car arrived to take us to Oxford and we were allowed to leave our bikes at a hotel that had been arranged by the company. The Carter company provided a phone charger so the gps would work for an extended time as well as a phone attachment for the bike. We were allowed to keep both.

The scenery, small country lanes,, the picturesque villages with houses with hanging baskets and window boxes full of colourrful flowers offsetting the Cotswold stone, these are the memories we will take with us from this trip.

Best trip I can remember in ages! Tripsite handled everything beautifully, well organized and did their best to accomodate everyone. My first bike trip abroad and I will absolutely do more. I could only suggest, since we were on the left side of the road coming from another country, mirrors. Also, the phone case did not stay on the bike, within the first few hours. We made it work, used caution at all times and saw some amazing country side by bike. A bucket list item for sure!