What has English Victorian Novelist Thomas Hardy got to do with touring safely after the Covid-19 Corona Virus crisis? 

Here’s how to explore the UK Safely and enjoy Britain, with fun socially distanced tours and visits to lots of hidden gems in the Great British Countryside.

Exploring the UK has always been possible avoiding the busiest places and the Corona Virus outbreak has made that even more important than ever.  Here are a few ideas to help you explore the very things on our own doorstep in safety. Stay Alert, Stay Safe and enjoy the summer. 

Socially Distanced Tours

Socially distanced guided tours are a great way to explore a new place safely and we hope that after lockdown, you can enjoy a more quality experience., spending slightly longer in each place, rather than rushing from one to another. 

Rather than just jumping in the car and driving to a city and driving back again on the same day why not plan a staycation?. With even more hotel rooms and apartments available at the best prices for many years, it’s a great time to spend a few days holiday in a quality hotel or apartment and takes guided tours and excursions especially to the countryside and national parks to explore & relax in safety.

Walking Tours

One type of tour, which you might not have considered is a walking tour. These fun tours with a local tour guide are safe and socially distanced. Britain has a huge variety of countryside and parks, as well as beautiful villages, pretty towns, coastline and historic cities. Well trained tour guides can take you on either shared outdoor walking tours in small groups with plenty of room between you and the other guests or for those wanting a really personal experience on a private tour. Liverpool Beatles Tours have created lots of Beatles and other tours with a special focus on social distancing, and you can book with confidence at Beatleswalk.com 

Walking tours in small groups can be arranged easily and usually involve meeting the local tour guide at a particular time & place, along with other guests (these days saying hello with a wave of the hand at a safe distance) or meeting your guide at your hotel or accommodation. The tour guide will explain what you will do, how long it will take and what you will see as well as offer you lots of advice and ideas of how to explore safely on your own and get the very best out of your visit.  

If you have arranged a private or personal tour for you and your family or friends, this will also be socially distanced and safe with the guide.  Private tours are usually tailor made for you and can include free time for  refreshments & to buy refreshments.

With small numbers on walking tours, the guide will fire your imagination suggesting you look up to see things on the buildings and in the ancient streets, that you might not have noticed if you were just walking by. In the UK, thousands of years of history is literally all about you in the trees, castles, lakes, streets, buildings and objects and sculptures and a good tour guide will bring the whole area to life. Kings and Queens have ruled for centuries, lived in castles, fought battles & their noble people are celebrated through-out the towns, villages and remembered in Churches and Cathedrals.

History

History has often been defined by the countryside or seaside as Britain is an island. London’s River Thames helping the Romans set up a trading Port, which then became the capital of the nation where Kings and Queens still have their palaces, and many people flocked to see if the streets were lined with gold and to get a job. In the 1960s places like Carnaby Street were the fashion capitals of the world where bands like the Rolling Stones would hang out in the latest outrageous fashions.

In the North of the country, places like Liverpool and Manchester saw thousands of Irish immigrants settle to try to find jobs at the Port of Liverpool and adventurous migrants leaving for the New World. The Irish, Welsh, Chinese and Lancashire accents mixed in the docks to create the "Scouse dialect" or Liverpool accent creating a community with a great sense of humour. The 1960’s saw bands such as The Beatles, write brilliant but often also quite comic and insightful lyrics bringing a new energy to a region which had been devasted in the Blitz .  Merchant Navy sailors brought pop records from America influencing local schoolboys to form Skiffle Bands during and after the second world war all helping to shape the city and which a good fun tour guide will totally bring to life. 

 

Staying safe on tour is always important, and there are lots of ways to explore the countryside and hidden gems avoiding the busiest areas. Pretty villages have pubs with outdoor seating areas to enjoy the local beer and food. It’s also possible to enjoy picnics in country parks or in very small attractions with outdoor cafés. The national picnic speciality has to be scones and cream for dessert, otherwise known as a ‘cream tea.’

Food

For some people who love a restaurant, it’s possible to organise private dining, to avoid the crowds, where an area of a restaurant is set out exclusively for your own personal use. New types of accommodation are now widely available in many places, where you and your family can enjoy a luxury apartment with its own kitchen so you can feel safe and cook your own food. For those who want to experience a restaurant, without leaving the safety and comfort of their home apartment, private chefs can come a cook a menu, so you enjoy Fine Dining In.  

Brilliant Tours Ltd are experts at creating tailor-made tours and have lots of well-designed unique experiences with safety and social distancing at the front of mind, and they have wonderful hygienic new luxury Mercedes people carriers for seven private guests with wipeable leather seats and a panoramic roof for you to really appreciate the countryside. 

There is plenty of self-catering accommodation in the UK, in the beautiful countryside, so it’s easy to use this as a base to see historical sites and have a private driver-guide pick you up each day for a social distanced and safe road trip, to see all things you had dreamed of or wanted to see.

At your hotel or apartment, you can also enjoy an introduction from a local visitor host or guide for your trip, meet and greet you and welcome you to the area, and give context and colour to things that you will see on your trip & answer questions, give out maps and explain the very best way to enjoy yourselves safely. It’s also possible to enjoy a “Take Out” at the apartment with the national speciality being Fish and Chips.

It’s now even more important than ever to ask the help of a qualified local tour guide who knows the area as they really can make sure you see all the places that without their help you would never have even considered. Even if you don’t want a full day with a guide, it’s well worth booking their services for an hour or so when you arrive to help you plan your visit. Blue Badge Tourist Guides are top-end guides and have studied for two years and are also great fun. 

Wherever you decide to visit, the UK has wonderful uncrowded places to explore, in a socially distanced way, and remarkable history to share with experienced and enthusiastic hosts to make your trip not only safe but build memories with the family for the rest of your life. 

Remember my question at the beginning? 

What has English Victorian Novelist Thomas Hardy got to do with touring safely after the Covid19 Corona Virus crisis?

as the English Victorian Novelist, Thomas Hardy put it “Far from the Madding Crowd.”

Enjoy the UK, stay safe and if you need any help or ideas for safe tours in the North of England or North Wales, please contact Claire or Neil at https://www.brillianttours.com/contact-us

They are also experts at private guided Beatles themed tours and tailor-made tours of Liverpool https://www.brillianttours.com/tour-services/liverpool-beatles-walking-tours

Private Guided Luxury tours of the UK and Liverpool Beatles Tours - May 2020.