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Uncover the Charm of Winter in the Cotswolds with Victoria of Cotswold Teacup Tours · UK Travel Planning

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Your host is the founder of the UK Travel Planning website, tracy Collins.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: In this podcast, tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Hi and welcome to episode 62 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: In this week's episode I have the lovely Victoria from Cotswold Tea Cup Tours here to talk all about the Cotswold in the winter.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Victoria has been on the podcast before, in episodes 33, 27 and 20, so once you've listened to this episode I know you are going to want to go back and listen to those episodes with Victoria if you haven't already.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: And obviously the question is why would you not want to visit the Cotswolds?
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I ask you because, honestly, it is one of my favourite places to visit, so really should be on your itinerary.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Anyway, let me introduce Victoria to you.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Victoria, would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself and your company, please?
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Oh, hello, tracy again.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: Hello, thanks for having me back again.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Oh, it was a pleasure.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: So yes, my little company is about a year and a half old now and I'm having a very busy summer and lots of booking booked every day at the moment Fantastic.
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: So off we go exploring all sorts of different areas of the Cotswolds and it's brilliant.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: I know quite a few people from their Facebook group and who've looked on the website and who've listened to the podcast have booked your tours and absolutely love them, and Doug and I were very lucky to meet up with you a few months ago when we were in the Cotswolds and had a lovely day out.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So I highly recommend it if you listen into this podcast and thinking I really would like to have a tour of the Cotswolds with Victoria, that you pop over to her website.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: There will be a link in the show notes and book because she is, as you heard, extremely busy.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: So even next year it's not too early to book, is it Victoria?
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: No, actually they're already coming in.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: There you go.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: You see so, but we thought we would talk about because we do get questions about the Cotswolds and in winter.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Okay, so you know, is it worth visiting the Cotswolds in winter?
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm going to say it's one of my favourite times to visit the Cotswolds, but the best person to really talk about the Cotswolds in winter is Victoria.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: So, first of all, I thought I'd ask you about when is winter in the Cotswolds?
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: Right, okay, so really winter time begins November, November, December, January, February.
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: Those kind of four months are the coldest.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: And what's it like?
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So what's the weather generally like during that time?
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Well, usually the temperatures drop down to freezing.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: I can never remember what that is in Fahrenheit, but it is freezing, it's cold, it's cold, it's cold, it's thick.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Coats, cosy jumpers, hats and gloves and base layers yeah, really thick socks, layers that's the key, do you see, yeah, it is, it is, and I have got photos of me standing in front of Arlington Row in January 2020, very layered up, yeah, good.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: So what about hours of daylight?
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Because, obviously, well, in the summer, so we don't have those great big, long, fantastic days of daylight.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: So you know, when does it start getting light and dark?
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's usually about sort of 7, 8 o'clock in the morning, I suppose, and then it gets dark by about 5 o'clock.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Sometimes the deepest winter it might even be 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Well, sort of 4 or 5.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but obviously the thing is about the coxswolds in winter is that it is less busy, is that right?
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Oh, yes, it is.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: It's completely different to the summertime, when you have somewhere like busy, like water on the water, which I might try and avoid at this time of the year unless I've got the timings right in the day.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: But when you go at wintertime it's transformed magically and all the little shops have fairy lights lit and they put a huge Christmas tree in the river, so all the lights and the tree reflect into the river.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: It's so pretty to see.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Oh well, I'm going to be going there this year, so I'm very excited about visiting, so that's obviously the run up to Christmas.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Are you aware that they have all those lights?
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: on.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: They keep that there through.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: I think it probably goes up beginning of December through after Christmas.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: You see, most Christmas decorations stay up through January.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: These days we all like to keep all the lights for longer.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it makes everything so pretty, don't they?
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: So it's really nice.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah it's actually.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: So it's a little bit quiet there.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: So that's an advantage, because I know how busy it can be in the summer, particularly in some of those villages like Bournemouth and particularly seems to get really crazy busy.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: We were in Stowe in June and it was busy, but it was okay, it was fine.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: The roads are crazy, though you can kind of sit and queues it for a little bit to get anywhere in some of those places, particularly around Stowe.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: I think it can get busy.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Yes, Okay.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: So if I'm planning to visit the Cotswolds and I'm thinking, well, I'm in the UK and it's going to be over the winter period and I want to go to the Cotswolds for sure what would I do and where would I go?
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: What would be your top places that you'd recommend?
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: Well, so I always recommend going to places where you can.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: If it's cold, you can make an amount of cozy shops, warm up or pop into a cozy pub, and you don't always have to drink alcohol in pubs.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: It's completely fine to go in and have a non-alcoholic drink, and often they'll serve tea in hot chocolates or a little tea rooms, and so we will often pop into those.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: So then, burford and Stowe and Winchcombe, sirencester all the small towns are great place and bar great places in the winter time, because there's lots of little shops to go into and tea rooms.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, so nice.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: And I think about when we stayed in, bought in the water in January 2020 and go into the mousetrap in and they have the fire going and, oh, it was so lovely.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: And then we went out to a restaurant pub I can't remember, it was now just outside bought and got a taxi oh no, we had the car, that's right.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: We drove out there and there was, I remember, a lovely black Labrador sitting in front of the fire at that pub.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: It was just so cozy, lovely and cozy, and that's what I miss actually about the UK, so it's lovely to have that.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: I know I think that is a unique quality that maybe the Cotswolds has is that there are all these gorgeous little country pubs with the logfires going and we're so open here to having dogs in pubs.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: Now that you know you've got all these dogs lying down by the fire side or at the feet in the pub and it all adds to the atmosphere.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: And there's people standing around the bar having a little chat, the locals and the barman's chunking away and it's friendly and it's like.
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: It is like that film the holiday yes, yes, I have Now I'm talking about and where you've got these beautiful countryside cottage scenes and then the cozy pub and um.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: But that you know, I think, I think, um, I think we've seen exist, I think they are real.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely, and if you get a bit of snow it's all the better.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: Now I know you.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Last year you sent me some photos of a Broadway tower with beautiful snow scene.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: It's a Broadway tower, so yeah, that's right yeah.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so fingers crossed.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: It snows when I'm there.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: I always love it when it snows.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: How's it, you know?
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: So I mean, obviously we can't guarantee snow, but it kind of is even more magical if it does snow.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: What's it like for driving around the Cotswolds when it's in winter, especially if it's kind of icy or snow?
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Is it the grip?
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: I guess the grip the roads, or is it a little bit.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: You just have to be careful.
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so the big gritters go out on the main roads, but on the smaller roads they're less likely to be gritted.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: So you need to take it easy.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: And you know often if it's this particularly bad area where there may be black eyes, often there's a sign by the road that's permanently there warning you.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: So you just got to take it easy.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, oh, a book to go with you because you know the road, yeah, In Big Red I've got a vehicle, Big Red who, and she's geared up for that kind of weather.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: But also if it's not snowy, because often people always ask me you know how often does it snow in the Cotswolds?
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: And really it's about one or two days a year and then the snow melts pretty quickly and it just becomes slush.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: But on a bright, sunny day, you know, when it's frosty and cold, it's just, it's so beautiful.
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: It's not always gray and raining.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: Well, I love that.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: The blue sky is a cold, crisp air and the blue skies, that's also absolutely.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: And actually the last time I was in the Cotswolds in winter and in January 2020, it was like that.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: We had beautiful blue sky and it was cold, wrapped up, and I've got my hat on and my scarf on and my gloves on and you know my boots and I was very wrapped up for the cold weather, but it was lovely and it is very it is magical to visit at that time of year, for sure.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: And what about Christmas markets?
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: I'm thinking about in the run up to Christmas, if you're visiting kind of December time, other, I know there's Christmas market and Bath and there's one in Oxford.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: Can you talk about that?
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, bath's got a lovely Christmas market.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: They've got about 200 stalls there now, wow.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: So that's quite fun to go and spend a decent amount of time, maybe sort of half a day, perusing the market.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: Oxford has a that has a Christmas market smaller than Bath's, but you know, you're in, you're in Oxford and you're exploring Oxford in the old city and then you go to the Christmas market and you have a hot chocolate and you sort of wander about those amazing old buildings.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: That's a really nice thing to do.
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: Some of the little towns are creating their own Christmas markets now.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: So Broadway Village has a Christmas market and I think they do like a late night shopping.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: I think it might be on Thursdays, and so that's quite fun.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: All the shops open up and soap until late and they're all brightly lit.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, lovely, lovely, yes.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: I'm adding that into my itinerary for this year.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Definitely a lovely place to visit, and I know, obviously, being to Stratford.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Stratford's also pretty nice with the lights and everything in the room up to Christmas.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: Yes, I know, my mom took my daughter there because they lived not too far from Stratford.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: When she visited last year, I think it was probably the one day that they got over that it wasn't raining.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: Actually it was a bit rainy last year.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: I remember what my daughter was saying it's just raining all the time.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: But that is the English weather.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: It's one of those things, isn't it?
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: You can't guarantee it.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Hopefully you're going to get beautiful those cold, crisp days, but you have to pack for potentially having a little bit of rain as well when you're out and about.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: But it's all part of the fun of visiting the UK, though.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: I know it's what keeps it green Tracy.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Absolutely so how are your bookings looking for the winter?
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Obviously you're going to be taking tours out over the winter.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Is it going to be daily, every day you're offering tours?
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: Or obviously I assume you won't be doing that on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and New Year's Day, but otherwise, how are you looking?
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so you're right, I'll be taking off time over the festive period with my family, but I am running Christmas shopping days, or just I like to take people to all the independent businesses in the area.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: There's so many little shops with little.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: They make their own chocolate or they have their own homemade blankets and things.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: There are just all sorts of products that are unique to the area or just unique to England, and so it's fun to take people from those kind of little shopping experiences as well.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Ok, so visiting the Cotswolds obviously in the winter, is a wonderful thing to do, Whether you want to go and sit in a pub around a cozy fire, whether you want to go and do some of the shops with Victoria and buy some fantastic Christmas presents or presents for yourself, or whether you want to do a lovely walk through the countryside, because there's some lovely places to walk, aren't there, Victoria?
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, there's so many great walks and I tailor walks depending on how long people want to walk, for, yeah, how cold it is, but five minutes for me.
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe not for you, tracy.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm determined to do the walk from Lower Slaughter to Borten.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: That's on my list to do.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: I need to do it, it's not very long.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: No, that's a good walk.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Fine, yeah, I'm going to dare myself, because I'm not a hiker in any way, shape or form.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to dare myself that I'm going to do that walk this winter.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: That's a lovely walk.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe you'll join me, or I'll see you in the pub at the end OK.
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: That way, Go that way.
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: All right then.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: You can drop me off at one and meet the other side.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Say, there's a drink waiting for you at the other side when you get there, tracy, around the roaring fire, so we can sit and have a chat.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: That sounds good and you're on for that.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Definitely so if people want to book a tour with you this winter in the Cotswolds, victoria, how do they go about that?
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Well, my website please.
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: So my bookie page is all there with my availability on it.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: Excellent, and that's by far the easiest way to do the book on it.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: And would you like to share the URL for your website?
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, that would help, wouldn't it?
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: Wwwcotswoldscom.
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: Cotswalticuptorescom.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: Perfect.
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: And if you didn't get that, don't worry, because there will be a link in the show notes and, as Victoria is one of our preferred partners, you'll also find a listing for Victoria in our directory on the website.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: So don't worry.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: The only thing I would say to you is that if you want to do a show with Victoria and why wouldn't you you need to pop over and book, because she is extremely popular and gets booked up rapidly, don't you?
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: You do, you do yeah.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Because people love going round the Cotswalticuptores and their love is ting with you, because you know all the places to go, you know lots of people and you are able to do the driving for them so they can relax and enjoy the scenery without having to worry about any of those little lanes to get down or find a park in anywhere.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: And you can introduce people to shop owners, For example when I went to Stowe and popped into the chocolate shop.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: but I know Victoria and they were like oh, she's so lovely.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: So you know, people know you, so that'd be brilliant.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: So, and also, I'm going to be visiting the Cotswalt this winter.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: So look out for in our Facebook group and on our Instagram and hopefully YouTube, if I can get to it, for some videos, and obviously we'll be meeting up with Victoria again so you'll be able to see some pictures and some helpful videos of Victoria when we're there, if you don't go out on a tour with her.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: But, as I say, I guarantee that you will have a fantastic day.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: So do book with her.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: I love it.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: But thanks so much, victoria, for coming on to the podcast again.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: It's always a pleasure to talk to you.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much, tracy, for having me.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us on episode 62 of the UK Travel Plan and Podcast.
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: As always, all the information to different places that we have talked about and Victoria's tours are in this week's show notes, so do pop across there to uktravelplanandcom.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Forward slash episode 62.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: That just leaves me to say for this episode happy UK travel planning.