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Visiting London and the UK in Summer: Weather, Events + Best Places to Visit · UK Travel Planning

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_05: Planning a UK trip this summer, in this episode I'm joined by five local experts from across the country to share what June, July and August really look like on the ground.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_05: From the breathtaking farm for Scotland all the way down to the stunning southwest coast of England.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: Each week, 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.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: 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.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_05: Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Walks and Devour Tours.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_05: If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_05: There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_05: That's where the right tour makes all the difference because you want experiences that are the best use of your time with more access, less waiting, and a deeper sense of the city.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_05: That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_05: They offer walk-in tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_05: You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_05: If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, walks and devour tours also offer private tour options.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: Now let's get into this week's episode.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_05: Hi everybody, and welcome to this week's edition of the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: I'm your host, Tracy Collins.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_05: Now, as with our recent spring episode, which you may have listened to at the beginning of March, I've brought together five local experts from across the country to tell us what summer really looks like in their part of the UK.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_05: And so today we're covering a lot of ground.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_05: We're heading to Devon, the far north of Scotland, London, the Cotswolds, and the Lake District.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_05: Now, a couple of practical things worth knowing if you're planning a summer trip.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_05: First of all, school holidays in England and Wales typically run from around mid-July through to early September, which means July and August are the busiest months for domestic travel.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_05: So if you have flexibility, June can be a really lovely sweet spot to visit.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_05: The days are long, the weather's warming up, and things are just a little bit quieter.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_05: And if you're travelling in peak season, just make sure booking accommodation and restaurants in advance is really, really important.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_05: We do recommend it, especially in more rural areas where options can be more limited.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_05: For example, Isle of Sky is one example I always talk about.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_05: So let's get into it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_05: We're starting in the southwest of England, down in beautiful Devon.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: So we're gonna start first of all with Devon, and we're gonna head down south to chat to um Alex all about um what uh the summer is like in Devon.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_05: So Alex runs unique Devon tours, and I will put a link as always to his um website, and you can book a tour with Alex if you are heading towards Devon.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_05: But um um Alex, uh great to have you on the podcast as always.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_05: Um should we dive into talking about summer in the lovely county of Devon?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_06: That would be marvellous.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you, Tracy, and thank you for having me on UK travel planning today.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_06: It's an honour to be here again and nice to speak to you as always.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_05: Uh well, as I thought following on from the spring episode, we had to start looking at what what the destinations that we covered a spring are actually like in summer.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_05: So for someone visiting Devon for the first time in summer, what are the absolute highlights?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_06: It's always a hard question to answer because there are so many highlights.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_06: Now, uh Devon is a very diverse county.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_06: We have a well, we have two gorgeous coastlines, the only county in England to have two coastlines, and we have a beautiful interior.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_06: We have what sometimes people consider it to be the gem of Devon.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_06: It's Dartmoor National Park, more or less in the centre of the uh county.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_06: But uh Dartmoor is an incredible area of history, nature, wilderness, and beautiful villages, thatched cottages, valleys, lovely old pubs.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_06: So Dartmoor is wonderful, but then you've got the inland, which isn't Dartmoor, which is just beautiful rolling green landscapes.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_06: A lot of my guests they uh watch Escape to the Country and they dream about this incredible place that they see on Escape to the Country in Devon when that when they visit Devon, and when they get here they say, Oh my goodness, we knew it was going to be beautiful, but we had no idea just how beautiful.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_06: So, yeah, the diversity of Devon is what I would say is is so appealing to people.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_06: And when people come with me as guests, of course I can tailor the tour to suit their wishes.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_06: So, whether it's they're into history, photography, arts and crafts, nature, architecture, geology, walking, whatever it is, we can tick the boxes.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_06: If they want to go to a vineyard, I can arrange a private guided tour at a vineyard.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_06: If they want to go to Exeter Cathedral and go into the roof of this 900-year-old building with the longest medieval vaulted ceiling in the world, we can do that.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_06: Uh whatever it is, I am here to show off the best of Devon.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_06: And and there's so much to see here in the summer, it's just beautiful.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_06: The coast, it's uh beautiful beaches, some with sand, some with these beautiful stones from the jur um from the uh what is it, the Triassic era.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_06: So it's just so much here.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_05: And um, so obviously you've talked about the beautiful coastline, you've talked about the beautiful countryside, um, and then obviously visiting in summer, trying to kind of decide or split up um how you would get the best of both.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_05: How would you do that if somebody kind of said to you, Look, I want to experience the best of both the countryside and the seaside and the coastline in Devon, how would you split that up?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_05: Would you kind of do that kind of an e say they had two weeks, would you say, or even a week, would you would you split it evenly, or would you spend a little bit more time in in one over the other?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_06: I think it really depends on the guest.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_06: Um, it's very individual.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_06: Uh I and that's my the strap line in my company is tailor-made for you.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_06: So it's all about listening to what my guests want to see and do.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_06: Um but I think I when I when I have guests maybe for three or four days, that gives me a great opportunity to spend maybe a day on the in Dartmoor National Park, a day on one part of the coast, maybe a day going to some uh historical sites.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_06: Um two of the tours I do are very literary focused.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_06: So Agatha Christie, the best-selling author of all time.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_06: Uh she came from Devon, so I do an Agatha Christie tour.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_06: So sometimes we'll do a day focusing on Agatha Christie, her and the places she was brought up in, the places she'd go wild swimming, the places that were inspired uh which became part of her books.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_06: I'd do another tour, which is the Hound of the Baskervilles tour, the the famous um Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book, which I have a family link to, just for interest's sake.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_06: My great-grandfather was a vicar locally, and he gave Conan Doyle the locations on Dartmoor to feature in the book.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_06: So um, so you know, I do a really nice Hound of the Baskervilles tour.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_06: So people might look to sign up to one of those and then on the other days do different tours where we sort celebrate other aspects of Devon's diversity.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_05: Fantastic.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_05: And there is, and that's that's the beauty of Devon, as you say, it's it is very diverse and uh appeals to lots of different interests.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_05: But I'm gonna put you on the spot here, Alex.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_05: What would be the one and I know this is gonna be a hard question to answer, but what would be the one Devon experience you'd never let a visitor leave without doing in summer?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_06: Well, when I was thinking about this question, I I wrote one thing down and then I ended up writing several things down.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_06: So yes, it is a nearly impossible question to answer.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_06: Uh so actually one of the experiences that uh I love doing with my guests, and but the problem is I'm always the driver.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_06: So last year I did it, I did this experience with my girlfriend, my brother, and a couple of other people is going to one of the local vineyards and having a private guided tour and tasting.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_06: And we did it, we caught the train there, and uh uh and and it's the most gorgeous experience on a summer's day.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_06: First of all, you're in just a beautiful location.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_06: Second of all, the wine is very high quality.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_06: We've now got over 700 vineyards in in the UK.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_06: So we you know, we're not famous for our wine, but we do do some great wine.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_06: Not yet.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_06: No, no, that's right.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_06: And and we get walk we walk around the vineyard going to the different vines, and they'll talk about the history and and everything of uh of of the vineyard, and then you'll get to a place where there's a barrel, on top there's a nice bucket with a bottle of wine and glasses, and they'll open the w bottle there, and you'll be drinking the wine that came from those very grapes.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_06: Then you'll move on to the next area, the next bottle gets opened, and you have a very jolly time.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_05: That sounds like a lot of fun.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_06: It is, it's such a lovely thing to do, and it's just great fun.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_06: And and they feed you this in this beautiful platter of amazing local foods from cheeses to sausage rolls to quiche to pasties to fruit.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_06: It's just uh it's beautiful.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_06: So I would say that would be possibly one of the most desirable things to do.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_06: But if you're not a drinker, then there are lovely boat trips we can do.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_06: We can I can arrange horse-drawn carriage rides drawn by two shire horses through the Devon lanes, and the Devon lanes is this whole network of gorgeous narrow roads, and you're riding in this carriage drawn by these two magnificent beasts, going out with my shepherd friend Ken, and going and doing a sheepdog demonstration.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_06: All things that I can arrange.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_06: So there's a lot of magic going on in here in Devon, which I love to share with my guests.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, it sounds amazing, and um, I will be uh I'll be picking your brains for for our itinerary uh next month because hopefully Doug and I will be uh we'll be enjoying a a bit of uh a bit of uh summer in Devon ourselves, which we're really looking forward to.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_05: Um but Alex, you'll be back uh later in the year to talk about uh what autumn is like as well in Devon.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_05: So I'll be looking forward to to chatting with you about that.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_05: But um summer in Devon just sounds absolutely divine, I have to say.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_06: It's a special place.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_06: And what's lovely about it is that it's that bit quieter than some of the other more famous parts of England.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_06: We can do all the thatch cottages, the lovely country pubs.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_06: I've got one pub local to me, which I'd take my guest too often.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_06: In two years' time, they're celebrating their thousandth birthday, and he's g and Will, the landlord, is going to give away a thousand free pints of beer to celebrate.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_06: So so you know, we've got all these these wonderful gems.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_06: It's it's a it's a special place, Devon, no doubt about it.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_05: Fabulous.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks so much, Alex, for coming on and um and sharing all about Devon in summer.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you, Tracy.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_06: It's been a a real pleasure.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_05: We are now travelling to the far north of Scotland, to Sally Ann from North Coast Explorators, all the way in the beautiful far north of Scotland.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you, Sally Ann, for agreeing to come on and talk about summer in that beautiful part of the world.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's a pleasure, Tracy, as it always is.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, we'd be very happy to discuss what it's like here in the beautiful North Islands of Scotland.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_05: Now, if somebody's planning uh for a first time in the north of Scotland, go the far north of Scotland, in summer, what would you want them to know?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's a good question, isn't it?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, as I'm sure most of you listening know, we cover the the mainland of Scotland.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not talking about the the Orkney Islands or the Shetlands, which are farther north than us.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we're talking about north of Inverness, and the first thing I'd say about the summer is people always have this expectation that everywhere is busy in the summer.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, how busy does it really get?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I would say not that busy, really.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: It certainly doesn't get as busy as some of the cities that you might uh visit, uh, you know, London or Edinburgh, um, and it doesn't get as busy, I would say, as somewhere like the Cotswolds or maybe even Devon and Cornwall.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, although we do have an influx of tourists visit in the summer, and it probably is the most popular time, I would still say it's not that busy, and you can drive some of the roads up here and still hardly see a vehicle.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, that is something that we absolutely love.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, on top of that, what else would I say about the summer?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: From a practical point of view, although I say it's not that busy, because we're very scattered in terms of accommodation, in terms of sites and places of interest, I would still say you should book your accommodation ahead.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know some people like to kind of go on a wing in a prayer, and I do understand that.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it is possible to do that, but then you just need to be prepared that it might be a little bit harder, particularly on the west coast, where accommodation is quite spread out and not in great volume, shall we say, then I think you would be best to try and book ahead.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And also on that subject, and I think this is something Tracy's experienced recently.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: One thing we do on our tours is try and ensure that our guests' evening meals are also booked in advance because sometimes you might turn up somewhere and discover that actually it's not that big a place, it's fully booked, and you might be left wanting.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we wouldn't want that, would we, Tracy?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_05: No, and that's you you saw my Instagram, didn't you, Sally?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_05: And yes, I I did I I made the rookie area uh error of not booking a restaurant uh when I was uh recently on the Isle of Mall and um ended up with tea and biscuits for dinner that night.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so um, you know, these are just all little helpful hints that we try and put people's way, to be honest.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, during the summer, of course, most of the attractions, accommodation cafes, they're all open, which you know they may not be in some of the outer months of the season.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so practically it is a good time to come and visit, I would say.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess that the big thing in the summer is the amount of daylight hours that we have up here.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: Being in the far north of Scotland, uh, yes, we tend to see almost 24 hours of daylight in the middle of the summer.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_05: Um and you kind of jumped into my second question there, Sally Anna a bit naughty ahead of time because I was gonna talk about though.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_05: It's all right, it's all right.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_05: I'll let you off.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_05: I'll let you off.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_05: But I did want to actually talk about the fact that you have those amazingly extraordinarily long days.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's just they're endless, absolute summer days.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_05: And so what would you say to visitors that are gonna come on up to the far north of Scotland in summer and have all that daylight?
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_05: What should they do to make the most of them?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's right.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: It depends really whether your early birds or or your late night owls, I think.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, if you look in the middle of the summer, then sunrise can be around four o'clock in the morning and sunset about half past ten.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: But even between those times it doesn't get properly dark.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you've got that opportunity of yeah, 18 hours really of daylight if you want it.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: So there's all sorts of things that you can use that time for.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, if you're traveling around, you can stagger traveling times.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: You might want to start early or finish later, it gives you a lot more flexibility whilst you can still see all the scenery that's around you.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you've obviously got the option of seeing sunsets and uh sunrises as well.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: The sunsets, I would say, on the north and west coasts are really spectacular, and to see them late at night yeah, is something very special and it can be very, very peaceful.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're an early bird, you might fancy a sunrise on the east coast as well, and they can equally be very beautiful.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, find yourself a nice spot.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's lots of opportunities across the summer, obviously, to do extended beach walks, uh, you could do water sports, longer hiking for the more adventurous.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, we've got quite a lot of mountains or munrows, as they call them up here in Scotland, that you could go and investigate.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, because you've got longer daylight, it gives you much more opportunity for doing those sorts of things.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: There's all sorts of water sports activities around the coastline.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know there's a company up here on the North Coast, North Coast Water Sports, they do surfing and I mean they do lessons for beginners, and they I think they take people out on a boat, but there's boat tours around the coastline as well.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I know there's a sunset tour out on the west coast, so you know there's all sorts of activities you can do.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the other thing that you can also do in the summer is obviously just find a nice spot to sit and watch the wildlife.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's well, I know I often come back to this in my in my chats with you, Tracy, but uh April till end of July, beginning of August is obviously puffing season.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, and sort of early evening is a really good time to see puffins if you're out on the right bit of coast.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a good one.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_05: And they're magic, they're magic to see as well.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_05: I have to say that I um I, for the first time, even though I grew up on the northeast coast of England, for the first time actually saw a puffin last week.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_05: I couldn't believe how small they were.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_05: And they're so cute.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations! And yes, they are, aren't they, to see them in real life.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it is one of those amazing things, I think.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: I still get very excited about it.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_05: No, they're just so cute.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_05: They're just they I I just loved it.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_05: And the fact that they like they actually like humans being around because it stops the skewer birds and all the the uh the birds that would, you know, the predators coming around because they know that they they they keep um we as humans keep them away.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_05: Um so they were so curious and just I yeah, lovely.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_05: I've got some beautiful photos and some lovely videos of the puffins.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_05: Um so I'd highly recommend that.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's great.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean, it's not just the birds, obviously.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: We do have birds of prey up here as well, though.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you've got orca, um, dolphins, you find them around the coast.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, at the end of May, we have uh an event up here called Orca Watch.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: It runs for nine days, uh, working around the coast of Caithness, which is the fur the northeast point really of mainland Scotland.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's a that you'll see people standing with binoculars all around the coast, and they're monitoring for uh orca in the sea, and and we do see them, we do have them around the coast at that time.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, there's all sorts of wildlife that you will are more likely to see over those summer months than any other time of the year.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, and it's just beautiful, those long, beautiful days, and sitting just sitting outside with a glass of wine and just enjoying the view, as you say, the sunset is it is it's lovely.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: I d I don't think, I mean, if if you if you want some peace and quiet, if you want some fresh air, that open space, you know, big vistas and views, then yes, I don't think I know I'm biased, of course, but I don't think you can get anywhere better.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I will just put a caveat on that.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think I have to be sensible.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we are in the north of Scotland, and you can still get four seasons of weather in one day.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: So we just need to remember that, and I would just caveat it all by saying, do be prepared, you know, do come with the right clothes because you just don't know.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: It you may wake up and find it raining in the morning and then be able to sit and watch the most beautiful sunset later that day.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, but be prepared for anything, is what I would say.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_05: I think that that's true, and I'm gonna ask you, I think the third question, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to ask you about midges because I get just about them when you go up to Scotland all the time.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_05: So now I this now this is another thing that's interesting.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_05: Not only had I not seen a puffer, but I have not really seen any midges when I've been up at Scotland.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_05: So I don't know if it's just that I go at the right time of year or it's the right conditions.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but what just tell us a little bit about midges and what kind of advice you'd recommend to people if they're coming up um to kind of protect themselves or what to expect.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, midges.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people often ask us about midges, tall guests coming uh with us uh want to know all about them as well.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: They are real, that's what I will say first of all.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um but uh they are slightly different from mosquitoes.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if I just explain, they are slightly smaller, uh, but they can have the same effect.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I unfortunately.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the one that I suffer when I get bitten by a mosquito.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Robert is lucky, he doesn't tend to, but they do exist and they do have a quite can have quite a serious effect.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: But the season for them is basically anytime from late April through to the end of September, although peak months tend to be middle of the summer, so May, June through to August.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: But as you've just said, Tracy, you may not see them.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a guarantee just because it's the summer months.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: They need certain conditions in order to sort of appear in the air.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: They can't fly in sunny weather.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've got bright sunshine, it's nice and hot, then you won't see them.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And they don't like winds above seven miles per hour.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we get quite a lot of winds up in the north of coast of Scotland.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: So again, that's another time when if you look outside and you think, oh, it's quite breezy out there today, you're very, very unlikely to see them.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: What they tend to like is calmer weather, dull, overcast.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, particularly if you're near water, that could be, you know, locks, boggy areas, even the sea sometimes.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's where they are tend to be found.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also at dawn or dusk, you know, as that light is changing and the sunlight has sort of gone, that's often when you find them, particularly at dusk.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was my first experience was a dusk uh deluge on one of our very early visits to Scotland.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the sort of conditions for them.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_05: And then any practical advice to kind of like deal with them if you do come across any.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_05: So it's really interesting because I know the midges, but because I grew up in the North East we call them midges.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_05: That's a different, not a different word, but it's similar, same thing, just different versions.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um well, yeah, have the same effect, I think.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, uh the sense check says to wear light, long-sleeve clothing, obviously, try and cover yourself up.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um midge nets, and obviously midge nets can be slightly different to mosquito nets.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I should point that out again because of the size of them.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you might have a mosquito net, but midges still might get in that because they're smaller, and then cream, uh some form of repellent.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: Umidge is a name people might have heard of the smidge repellent.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's been uh produced specifically with midges in mind, but yeah, if you cover yourself with that, it pr it creates a barrier.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's a scientific reason behind it all, but it creates a barrier, and that's probably the safest thing to try and use.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Certainly, when we take guests out, uh Robert has got uh both midge nets and cream in the car so that we're fully prepared.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and yes, if we know that clearly there's a lot of midges about, then we make sure people don't get out of the car and and sort of face them all.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: But uh it's it's more I would say it's more exceptional than the norm, but you could get a spell when uh you come across them, and yeah, you just need to be prepared for that.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: But there is a I I haven't seen them update it yet this year, so it might mean that the midges aren't about very much yet, but the there is a a Midge Forecast uh website that you can look at if you really want to have an idea of whether you're going to be hit with them or not during your time travelling up in the North Highlands.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, it's uh it's uh a smidgeup.com midge forecast, but uh, I'm sure I can give that information to Tracy and she can add it on somewhere.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_05: I will, I'll put that in the show notes.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_05: That's that's really helpful.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_05: But as I say, I mean, so I I don't know how many times in my life I've been travelling up to to to Scotland, uh the islands, far north Scotland, wherever, and I've never come across any.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_05: So it's but um I just thought that would be a really useful.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_05: I did see a lot of smidge for sale in the shops, and it was one of the things I thought, ah, okay, I need to just uh just just mention it.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_05: But um don't let it put you off.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_05: Do not let them put you off at all because the far north of Scotland is amazing, it's a beautiful part of the world to explore.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_05: Um, a wonderful place to go is the any any time of year, but summer in particular because you get those long, long, long days.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_05: Um, so absolutely fantastic.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_05: So I will I will link um Sally Ann to uh to your website.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_05: Um it's Sally Ann and Robert who run North Coast Explorer Tours, and I'm sure um I will also link to you've done quite a few previous episodes of the podcast as well, Sally Ann.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_05: So we'll we'll link to those.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_05: Um so if you want to know more about the far north of Scotland, um I'll I'll link to those episodes so you can take your listen to those.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_05: But um, Sally Ann, it's always great to chat with you um and find out about uh things up in in the far north.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_05: I've just come back from up there, so it's uh it's I had a wonderful time.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_05: It's such a beautiful part of the world.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're very lucky, to be honest, Tracy.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: We're so lucky with where we are, and you know, we we love to share it with people, whether it's uh a few days of tours or or a single day tour in Caes, you know, we're here.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to take some of you out and share some of these wonderful long days with you.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_05: Well, brilliant.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_05: And uh you were back later in the year to talk about what it's like up in autumn as well in that part of the world.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_05: And we're going to talk about winter as well, because as we're talking about before we actually started recording, uh, we often get questions about what what's it like in Scotland in winter?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_05: What's it, you know, can I get to these places?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_05: What what you know what what are the conditions?
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_05: And it's um I know it's a quiet time of year for you guys, but it's uh uh in terms of touring, but it's it's just uh interesting to know what it's like in in different parts of the UK over the different seasons.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we'd be very happy to tell you all about it.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_05: Brilliant.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_05: All right, I shall speak to you again later on in the year, Sally Ann, but thanks so much for coming on.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure, and uh we hope everybody has a good summer.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_05: So from the far north of Scotland, uh we've just chatted to Sally Ann.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_05: We are now bobbing back down the country all the way down to London to talk to Becky from Walks and Devour.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_05: Now, what you don't know, listeners, is that I've just spent this whole afternoon with Becky on her on the taste, tales, and traditional ales uh food tour with DeVower, and it was fantastic.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_05: So I just want to say a huge thank you for myself and my friend Terry who came along on the tour.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_05: We had a absolute ball.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_05: Becky, it was fantastic.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you for coming and bringing Terry along as well.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: You guys were an absolute riot, and the group was just lovely, and it just really, you know, every everyone bonded.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: It was a it was just a good laugh.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was good fun all around.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_05: It was a brilliant, it was a really brilliant, brilliant tour.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_05: We absolutely everybody enjoyed it in the group.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_05: It was lovely as well because we had Laurie and Laurie.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_05: So hi to the two Lori's who um I did a consult with earlier on in the year, and um they've been on everything that I recommended.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_05: So they're actually going to also go on uh the walks opening ceremony of the Tower of London, and they're gonna go to the VIP closing ceremony this week as well.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_05: So that's so exciting.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, amazing.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: They get the best of both worlds with the tower.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's so cool.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the the lorries were brilliant to meet.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: So hello to the lorries as well.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you guys were so much fun, and it was great to have you on the tour.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, the the seeing the opening and the closing is just it's really special.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: And at this time of year as well, when the when it's still light in the evening and getting nice and dusky, it's very atmospheric.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's absolutely fun for them.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, and that's a great segue, thanks, Becky, into this.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_05: Um obviously we're gonna talk about um summer in London now.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_05: It's got a really London in summer has got a really unique energy.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_05: Um I um I mean everybody knows that I love uh London in December because I love all the Christmas lights and it's got a fantastic atmosphere, but also London in summer is so much fun.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_05: Um me personally, I quite like sitting with a Tim's with a Tim's with a PIMS in Covent Garden uh watching the tennis.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_05: That that's my personal favourite.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_05: But London has got a unique energy.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_05: So, what do you think makes it so special um to spend time in this city in the summer, Becky?
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're so right.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: It the energy comes from the people around you.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think everyone's got a little bit more of a bounce in their step, you know, and sunglasses are out, people are just enjoying the fact that it's sunshiny and warm and lovely.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if there's a green park or, you know, any kind of green space around, there will be people filling it.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um we do that in droves, and um, of course, on a nice, lovely, sunshiny evening, everyone, you know, flocks to a pub somewhere with a beer garden, somewhere with an outdoor space where you can enjoy a drink with friends or with colleagues at the end of the day and just enjoy the fact that we have all of this lovely extra daylight.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's it's a nice contrast coming out of the the winter.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: The winter is winter is fun and we get the lights of Christmas and all of that, but you know, we've gone through a few weeks of very, very short days, and it's just nice to feel the end of it as well.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the people and just the fact that we're all gonna be out everywhere just making the most of it for sure.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, yeah.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_05: And obviously, you've mentioned the the we'll we'll chat in a second about the fact that we've got these beautiful long days which are amazing.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and we've kind of just touched on talking a bit a little bit about um some of the tours that walks and devour do, but um I I think particularly we've just mentioned actually the VIP uh Tower of London tour is fantastic in the summer because it's light and you get to experience the Tower of London um, you know, at closing time.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_05: You're there after it closes, you get to see the whole closing ceremony, it's fantastic.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_05: But um, as well as the VIP uh Tower of London tour, what other tours do you think are absolutely perfect to take uh in in the summer months?
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, that's a great question.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think definitely our Kensington Palace and afternoon tea tour um on a nice sunny day, um, especially with uh Hyde Park in Kensington Gardens being a key part of that walk on that tour.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um just being able to take in the atmosphere, you know, people picnicking around you, you get to walk past the serpentine, uh, which is a beautiful body of water, which, you know, once you're done with the tour, if you want to go and take one of the paddle boats on the serpentine, you're not too far away from doing that.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: So um that's a that's a great tour for just enjoying the park and the green spaces, which we're so lucky to have um in London, definitely.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, also the the Buckingham Palace State Rooms tour, I have to say, because it's only available during the summer months, so you can only um visit the staterooms between uh July and September.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a very small window of opportunity, but if you're lucky enough to be travelling during that time, you get to spend a wonderful, um, you know, reasonably paced short walking tour around Royal London with a guide who will then get you into the fantastic staterooms.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: And when you finish the staterooms, you exit through the garden.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: So you get to enjoy Buckingham Palace's garden, which you know people very rarely get to do.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: You only really ever get to do that if you're invited to a lovely posh summer garden party by the royals.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: So you get the chance to do this without the invite, so it's it's kind of perfect for a lovely day.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_05: So you've got me thinking now, when does that start?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_05: Is that gonna start when does that start in July?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_05: Do you know the date, Becky?
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm like, I want to go on the from uh we've got dates starting from the 9th of July onwards, and we are very lucky to have four different time slots, so two morning time slots and two afternoon time slots.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: So there's tons of availability.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I'd say, yeah, definitely definitely we'll have a chat about getting you on a tour.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: And and um, yeah.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna have to unfortunately I'm gonna have left by that point in July.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_05: But honestly, if you guys are listening to the to listening to this podcast and thinking this sounds amazing, let me know.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_05: Go on the tour with walks and let me know.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I've been to Buckingham Palace before, but I have not been to the gardens.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_05: So I'm gonna be extremely jealous if if you guys do that that get to do this tour, because uh that's something I'd really like to do.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_05: So next time I'll have to make sure I extend my time a little bit further into the summer, Becky, for sure.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely, definitely.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um be lovely to have you.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, it's it's a ri it's a really special treat.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, definitely, definitely one to do if you're here.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_05: And well, another reason I do like to stay when I can further into July and August is the the but in those summer months we have wonderful long, long summer days.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_05: And so it doesn't get dark until quite late in the evening.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_05: So how would you how do you spend your evenings in July, in June and July, Becky, when it gets light?
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_05: What sort of things do you like doing?
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_05: And what would you recommend uh to people visiting London to make the most of those long days?
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, definitely.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for me personally, being by the riverside, being anywhere by the Thames is kind of a must for me.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's just so something so nice about having a very leisurely stroll uh down a section of the Thames, particularly the South Bank, um, because a lot of the time during uh during the summer months, sometimes they've had an um a beach um kind of thing set up uh where sand is bought in.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that's becoming popular in many areas to you know bring bring the beach to the city.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but just being by the waterside as the night sets in, as the sun sets, um, there's stalls where you can pick up a bite to eat if you fancy eating by the river.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you can even grab a pint and have a stroll uh along down the riverside uh towards the Tate Modern.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um and if you're in any area where there's you know a gallery open late on a Friday night, that's also a personal bonus for me.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, I might walk a little bit up from the riverside, head to um either, you know, the the Tate because they're open late on a Thursday night, or the National Gallery because they're late on a Friday night.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, usually till nine o'clock in the evening.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: So to tie that in with a nice cheeky little drink somewhere afterwards, um there's um a fabulous wine bar near the National Gallery for anyone who's coming called Gordon's Wine Bar.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of the oldest wine bars in town, and they do have lots of lovely outdoor seating near the embankment gardens.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's a very it's a very nice way to while away in the evening over a glass or two for sure.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_05: It is, it's actually a lovely place to go.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm I'm actually gonna be visiting in the next couple of weeks, actually.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_05: Hopefully the weather will perk up a bit and uh sit and enjoy a uh a drink because it's it's getting later in the evening, so that is lovely.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, it's a wonderful time of yet to visit London.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_05: Um and it's wonderful as always to talk to you, Becky.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_05: And I know you're gonna be uh back in a few months' time with Charlie as well to talk about London in in the autumn, and we're gonna do also a London in the winter episode and um and hopefully a little bit more about um different things that happen in uh events than things that are going to be happening on a monthly basis in London as well.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_05: So hopefully we're gonna be doing that with you guys soon as well, which would be great.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_05: But as always, thanks so much for Becky for coming on and expressing your love for London and uh just what a wonderful city it is to visit.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_01: Always a pleasure, thanks, Tracy.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_05: So from London, uh where we're chatting about summer, we are heading not too far out of London, actually, to the Cotswolds to chat with our favourite Cotswold expert, Lisa from Go from Go Cotswolds.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_05: Hi Lisa, welcome onto the podcast again.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_05: It's always great to talk to you.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_05: And um, I'm particularly excited to talk about summer in the Cotswolds because it's um it's one of my favourite times to visit, uh, because I'm a particular fan of the gardens.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, and I I'm getting very excited about visiting next month already, actually.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_05: Um and I do every time I I um I'm in the UK and it's the right time of year, I I head to the Cotswolds for some particular garden.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_05: So the first question uh I'm gonna ask you is about which gardens and blooms?
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_05: Because I know it's not just the gardens, there's other other things to see in the cotswolds as well, are at their peak in in the summer months of June, July, and August.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_05: What should visitors make sure they don't miss?
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you're spoiled for choice, honestly.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I've talked about the the sort of the formal gardens, the sort of visitor attraction gardens that you can go to.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_04: So Hidcut is always my number one absolute favourite.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's a national trust property with absolutely beautiful gardens.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_04: They look stunning at any time of the year, but some are incredibly so.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um, beautiful planting, really um interesting architecture of the gardens, is if that's the right word to describe a garden.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_04: Um sort of done in an arts and crafts style, which uh people may have heard about that sort of particular style.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and it yeah, it is just stunning.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so that is my always my favourite, and I've said it before.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_05: It's mine too, it's mine too, Lisa.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_05: I absolutely you cannot go, you can't go to the cottage without going to Hidkit.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_05: It's kind of it should be a rule.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it should be absolute, you have to go.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you have to go.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm hoping you're gonna mention the one that's opposite Hidkit next, which I think you're gonna because you're nodding vigorously.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so you can't really go to Hidkit without going across the street, literally across the road, to Kiftskate.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_04: And I always trip my tongue over that word kifftscate.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but uh yeah, Kipskate is absolutely beautiful as well.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_04: We've actually got, as we speak this week, um, a private tour group.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_04: They're spending four days with us, and we're driving them to lots and lots of different gardens around the Cotswolds.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_04: So I can't I can't I've lost which uh which they're visiting on which days, but they're over the course of the four days.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_04: They're going to Hidcott, Kifskate, uh, Miserdon Gardens, it's actually one I haven't been to, so I'm gonna have to check that one out myself.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Bourton House Gardens, just outside of Morden Marsh as well.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_04: They're going to, and they're going to have um a tour and afternoon tea, I believe, at Highgrove, which again is another one on my bucket list of things to do uh to go and visit actual King Charles's garden.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_04: So that'd be um that'd be wonderful.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_05: I haven't done that one either.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_05: My mother has.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_05: Uh she as she keeps telling me she's she's been to see King Charles's garden.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_05: I don't think she actually met him, which I think she would have liked to have done, but uh but of course, yes, the Highgroves is is in the Cotswold.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_05: So lots of choice, and also um there's something else that you can go and see fields of.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, yes, of course, yes.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_04: Um, for a few weeks in the summer, um, there is the Cotswold Lavender Farm, which is absolutely stunning as well.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so it's a working lavender farm.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_04: The lavender is grown as a crop, um, so out you can only visit it during the peak flowering time until the point that it is harvested.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_04: So, unfortunately, because it is a crop, it's uh harvested at the point when it's probably its most beautiful, but in the run-up to that, you can go and visit the lavender farm.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's not very expensive, only costs a few pounds to go in.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's a great place to take families because there's a lovely um activity trail through the woods that you can do with your children.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, my daughter absolutely loves it, as well as just kind of running through the lanes of lavender and sort of taking all those classic Instagrammable pictures that people like to take in flower fields.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_04: Um, you can have uh lavender cakes, I think, and lavender ice cream as well.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_04: Ice cream.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_05: I'm actually I'm actually laughing because I I don't know how many um posy uh photos I've got of me in the lavender field the last time I was there.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_05: It's just you you can't go there without taking, I don't know, a million photos because it is it's beautiful.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_04: The floaty dress and floppy hat is a must.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_05: I don't think I think I had crop trousers on and a blouse, but um, but yeah, maybe I should try the the floaty dress and and uh and the hat next time.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know, but it but it is beautiful and um it's a real treat.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_05: If you love gardens, it's just a fantastic place to go and visit.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_05: And also some of the um I'm thinking about uh Sudley Castle, the gardens there are also beautiful.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_05: I forgot about Sudley Castle.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_04: Our Green going to Sedley Castle as well this week.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and that's also a wonderful place to visit.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_04: It's got the ruins of the old castle, which is very atmospheric and lovely.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's got a they've kind of recreated a Tudor knot garden, I think it's called, um sort of with original Tudor planting and kind of like uh the little hedges that look a little bit like a maze.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and it's yeah, it's just stunning.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_04: And there's lots of sculptures again, so it's a really great place for families as well to go and go on a sort of a sculpture walk and you can spot different animals in the trees, and yeah, it's really, really adaptive.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_05: Sounds amazing.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_05: I'm just gonna ask you a little question about your private tours as well, because that's interesting.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_05: Because if uh we often get families who are planning, you know, an extended family of maybe six of them or seven in a family who are coming to visit.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_05: So, what sort of numbers do you have on your private tours?
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_04: So we only have 16-seater minibuses, so we're probably not the best fit for a private tour for just one or two people.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_04: Um, we typically say if you've got more than six people in your group, then that's that's a good number.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_04: Um, basically any any sort of group size where a normal sized car would is going to be too small for your group.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but yes, we do we do have our range of small group tours, which are priced per person, but we also have we also can do private tours for groups as well.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, um you do need to book in advance for those, especially in the summer, because our availability does is is quite limited.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I was gonna say that's taken one of your mini buses off the road.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_05: Road, I guess, to do that.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_05: So if you're interested in a private tour with Go Cot Swoles and you know we should visit me with your family, then get in touch with Lisa, I'm sure she'll be able to do that.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_04: We've done quite a few different ones, lots of um large families.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_04: We get um sort of multi-generational families joining us for a group tour, uh for a private tour.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_04: Um and the ladies that are joining us this week for the all the gardens, they're from a gardening club, gardening club in Concord, Massachusetts.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_04: So they've come over ending up at the Chelsea Flower Show.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_04: And they're visiting.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_05: So am I, so am I on Friday.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_05: I'm so excited, Lisa.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_05: I'm so excited.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_05: Um and it's you know, often I we do actually get emails with people who are interested in the gardens, and I'm on my I always say go to the Cotswolds, and I actually have got some of uh some other gardens on my on my to visit list this year, which I'm quite excited about.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_05: But anyway, we can talk about gardens forever, couldn't we?
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_05: What would be your top tip though for making for anybody who's planned to visit the Cotswolds in the summer, what is your top tip for making the most of it without feeling rushed or overwhelmed?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_04: That is a good point, yeah.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_04: Um in the summer, summer is obviously our peak season, it's the busiest time of year for tourism in the UK because it's when the weather is, she says, most reliable, uh as it's pouring down with rain outside.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_04: Um but it's um yeah, it's uh summer, particularly August when the schools are off here in England and Wales.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_04: Um it does get busy with domestic visitors as well as international tourists.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but when I say it gets busy, this is an interesting point because people say, Oh, I get so busy in the cot world, it's really, really round.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_04: When people say that, they're usually only talking about two or three villages.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_04: And those villages, I can name them on my hand, is Bybury, Borden on the Water, and Castle Coombe.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_04: Those are the three what we call the honeypot villages, the ones that people have heard of, the ones that people have seen on Instagram, the ones that the influencers all twirl around with their floaty hats and fluffy dresses.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_04: No, the other way around, floppy hats and fluffy dresses.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and uh so they're the places that people have heard of and they're the places that they want to go.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_04: But they're not the only people that have heard of them, and they're not the only people that want to go there.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_04: So I think some people do get or are surprised when they arrive in Bald on the Water or Biber or Castle Combe and they find that there are coach loads of people there as well.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and it can it can ruin the vibe a little bit um to have so many tourists everywhere.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but there's a reason it's busy, and it's because they're so so beautiful.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_04: Um, if that's not your thing, if you want to kind of stay away from the crowds, then there are a hundred and fifty odd other villages in the cotswolds, it's a massive, massive area, it's over well, about 800 square miles of the cotswolds, and those three villages I mentioned are by far the most popular.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_04: But all the other villages are much much quieter, and some of them, you know, people haven't even heard of.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_04: So, my top tip, therefore, for visiting the Cotswolds in the summer would be get off the beaten track a little bit.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um, you can visit the honeypot villages if you want to, but don't be surprised that they'll be busy.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but don't just stick to those places, get out into the countryside, see some other little villages that you maybe haven't heard of.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_04: Our secret Cotswolds tour is a great uh way that you can do that.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_04: Um, we visit uh some villages that are less well known, less busy, but equally as beautiful.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and also get out for a walk as well.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_04: While the villages and towns can get busy sometimes, the trails, the footpaths, the the countryside is largely empty.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_04: Um and that's the other thing that really the Cotswolds is known for, not just the pretty villages and chocolate box houses, but the stunning countryside as well.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_04: And we have miles and miles and miles of public footpaths that you can walk through, um, through beautiful woodlands, through meadows, fields, all kinds of different terrain, and it's absolutely stunning and largely empty.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_04: So there's um and you offer a tour as well.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_04: You've got a walk and tour?
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_04: We have, yeah, it's only available on a few specific dates.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but yes, we have it's our Cotswolds Walks and Villages tour, and on that tour, yes, you can have a taster of um a lovely countryside walk.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, perfect.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, and a lot of people who head to the uh Cotswolds to do the Cotswold weigh in and uh and enjoy, especially when the the days are lighter and it's um sunny, warm weather, it's really nice.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_05: Now, are there any summer events or festivals in the Cotswolds that uh visitors should know about?
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_04: Um the biggest one, I suppose, in the summer, um, which I believe is at the end of August on the August Bank holiday weekend, is um a big festival, big music and food festival called the Big Festival.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_04: Uh that takes place in Kingham, just outside of well, not too far from uh where we are at Morton and Marsh.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_04: Um and uh yeah, it's it's based on the farm of Alex James, who was the bassist in the the brick pop band Blur, if listeners have heard of him.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um sort of moved to the Cotswolds and opened up a cheese farm or cheese shop and a cheese farm, and um and also hosts a massive music festival on his land.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_04: So um yeah, it's kind of part music festival with you know big big name bands and also part food festival.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_04: So it's a really nice one for families again as well, lots of family entertainment, um, and it's yeah, that kind of classic music festival vibe.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_04: You can camp there and and uh enjoy enjoy some great music and great food.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_04: So around that time of that festival, it can get busy around that area as well because there are thousands and thousands of people heading to that festival.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_04: Um, other than that, I think the the fun ones for visitors is stumbling across kind of little village fates.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and I do know that uh the village of Snows Hill, um which is one of the villages we visit on our cutsels in a day tour, uh they have their summer fate on the 4th of July.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_04: Um and it's very, very Twi, very, very English.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_04: You can you know go go along to a Marquis and um buy some cakes, get a cup of tea, uh, buy some maybe some garden plants um and try your hand at the raffle or the tombowler, um, and it's uh all to raise money for the local village.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_04: So that that those sorts of uh local community events which you could just stumble across on any summer summer weekend in the Cotswolds um are really great.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, that sounds that sounds like a lot of fun.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm just gonna throw a bit of a curveball in because it was a question that came up on our Facebook group, and I know it's uh it's a steam train that Doug hasn't done, but somebody was asking about in the summer about a steam train that you can get in the Cotswolds.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_04: So it's um a heritage uh steam train line, um, and it goes between I'm gonna get this wrong now, but it I think it goes between Broadway and Cheltenham with a couple of stops along the way.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_04: Um yeah, it's a nice little afternoon or any time of day experience that you can do.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_04: I think it takes a couple of hours um and you can hop on and hop off it, I think, as well.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_04: Um I haven't actually done it myself, um, but yeah, my daughter is desperate to do it.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_04: My nine-year-old would would absolutely love that.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_04: So, yeah.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_05: Well, so so would Doug.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_05: Doug's did I know Doug wants to do it.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_05: He's he keeps saying about the steam train, so I thought I was like, oh, maybe we'll we'll add that into our itinerary next month and uh and and go and try that out.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_05: But um, as always, it's great to chat with Elisa and we'll put links um to Go Cotswold's um in the show notes, and we have a um we have a code as well for a for a uh uh reduction, a little discount on uh Go Cotswolds tour, courtesy of you guys.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_05: So thanks very much, uh especially for um our listeners and our uh UK travel planning community.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_05: Uh so thanks very much for that.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_05: And I know I'm I'm gonna be taking a a tour with you guys out of Oxford um next month, is your your new kind of tour out of Oxford.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_05: So to some of the other Cotswolds villages that I haven't done before before on your other tours, so I'm looking forward to that.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so we we started this, um we started doing a couple of tours from Oxford.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_04: Most of our other tours start from Stratford upon Haven and Morton and Marsh.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but yeah, we launched an Oxford departure tour of the Cotswolds, and then also one that goes to Stratford upon Haven as well.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um yeah, they're doing really well, actually.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, you all are we're here in for a good day.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_05: Perfect, excellent.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_05: Well, I shall speak to you soon.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_05: Uh Lisa, I'm sure you'll be on the podcast again to talk more about the Cotswolds, because we can talk, we can wax lyrical about the pot Cotswolds for for forever, I think, because it's such a beautiful area of uh of England to visit.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks so much again, Lisa, for coming on.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_05: You're welcome.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_04: See you soon.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_05: Bye.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_05: So we're traveling now from the Cotswolds and to a beautiful area of of England.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_05: So it's it's last on this episode, but not least, that's for sure, and we're heading to the lake district.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_05: So today we've got Asia who um did come on and chat about spring in the lake district.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_05: So she's here today to talk about beautiful summer, what you can experience summer in the lake district.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_05: Now, Asia is um works with Mountain Goat Tours.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_05: So, Asia, would you like just quickly introduce yourself and chat a little bit about mountain goat tours?
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_05: Because you're kind of one of our most recent um partners in the UK, so it'd be really good to introduce yourself.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thanks for having me um on the podcast again.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_03: It was great to be involved um previously.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm Asia, I'm the sales and marketing manager at Mountain Goat Tours.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and if you don't know who Mountain Goat Tours are, we are a small um tour operator based in Windmere, and we cover northern England with scheduled departures from Windmere, Keswick, Ambleside in the Lake District, but also from York, Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_03: We offer a variety of different uh day trips uh to North Wales, the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, and the Lake District and Hadrian's Wall.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_03: We also offer an array of different private tours as well.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_03: We do cover the whole of Britain, so England, Scotland and Wales from Lansend to John of Groats, and we can do private services.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_03: Our vehicles are all 16 seat to Mercedes sprinters, so ideal for small groups and um perfect for small generational groups.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_05: Perfect.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_05: Um so today we're going to focus on the lake district, um, which we're just talking about because it's it's you're lucky enough to live there.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_05: It is another beautiful part of uh part of England to visit.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_05: So just just describe for us, Asia, what a perfect summer day in the lake district looks like on a mountain goat tour.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I'm very fortunate that um I live in the heart of the lake district in Windmere, and that's where our head office is based in in the Lake District.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_03: So my ideal day in the Lake District, of course, it would be the sun would be shining, but we can't always guarantee that.
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um and you'd be heading off on one of our departures, our most popular tour, which is our Ten Lake Spectacular Tour, and that takes in Ten Lakes in the Lake District.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_03: It visits some of those honeypot locations which you may have heard of, such as um Keswick and Grasmere, and you'll be taken to go explore some of the hidden gems by our knowledgeable driver guides.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_03: So on the route, you'll be drip-fed information, anecdotes, and local stories from our driver guides, and you'll head um through the national park over one of our highest uh mountain passes, Kirkston Pass, to Ulswater, which is England's second largest lake, and then over to Keswick, which is a market town, where you'll be able to get your lunch.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_03: So you can either have a browse of the local shops, get some souvenirs, grab a delicious local lunch in a country pub, or head down to the lake shore, which is just a 10-minute walk.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_03: And it is a market town, so every Thursday and Saturday they have a local market as well.
• 55:44
  SPEAKER_03: Onwards after lunch, you'll head over Honister Pass, and at the very top of Honister Pass sits Honister Slate Mine, which is England's last working slate mine.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_03: So we do stop there as well for photo opportunities and the chance to head into their local shop and get some slate.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_03: And then you'll visit Buttermere, which is really one of the idyllic places in the Lake District, is so tranquil and beautiful.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_03: And then we'll visit Grassmere, which is very famously known for Grassmere gingerbread, which is a local delicacy.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_03: Sarah Nelson's recipe has um continued over hundreds of years, so that's definitely a key thing to try whilst you're in the Lake District.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_03: And Grassmere also has the grave of William Wordsworth in the church as well.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_03: So that's a full day tour, you'll be out from 9.30 to 5.30.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_03: But the fantastic thing is your driver isn't just um driving you around, you'll have the opportunity to get off uh the vehicle and explore some of the locations um in the national park.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_03: And then hopefully come back again and explore a little bit deeper uh the next time you visit.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_05: Sounds sounds amazing.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_05: And uh, hopefully, Doug and I will get onto that tour in the in the next month or so as well, so we can feed back on our experiences.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, Lake District's just one of my beautiful like places to visit in England.
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_05: So the chance to go and experience a tour there is just is going to be absolutely fantastic.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_05: And I know our listeners are the Lake District comes up again and again and again as an area that people want to go to.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_05: And um doing it on a tour, so not driving yourself, is the perfect way to do it.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_05: So you can sit back and enjoy it and kind of learn about the the area as well and and experience it.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_05: Um and hopefully, fingers crossed, the weather is good now, which I'm gonna kind of ask you about now, because obviously June versus July and August, because uh the Lake District is very popular with us Brits as well.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_05: We like to head there, don't we?
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_05: We absolutely love to go there.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_05: So, is there a sweet spot between kind of June versus visiting in July and August?
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_05: Is there kind of a sweet spot for people to consider to visit?
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so um June is slightly less crowded in the lake district than July and August, um, and that's due to the school holidays falling um mid-July to the end of um August, beginning of September.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_03: So, like you said, um it is a lot busier in July and August.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_03: June tends to be a little bit quieter, that is when a number of our international visitors do travel, and maybe some of the uh retiree domestic market as well.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_03: Although you will see that it is um tends to be quieter.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and my suggestion for kind of visiting during the summer months, whether that's June over July, and some of the reasons to do so would be um the spring blooms are still uh looking beautiful in early July.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, there's numerous gardens in the late district which are absolutely stunning.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_03: As we've mentioned, the weather it is hit and miss, but we um we do tend to have good good weather in June, and because it is so um so wet in the lake district, we um we do have luscious green fells and wild meadows, so yeah, the the landscape is just just beautiful.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um mid-July sees uh the longest day of the year in the UK, which is the 21st of June, and we can see up to kind of 15 to 16 hours of daylight on that day, and um for the period kind of running up to and afterwards, so that gives you more time to plan your itinerary and uh and travel.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_03: And summer in the lake district, you can um see that most attractions have a full schedule, so you'll be able to again visit maybe earlier or later in the day, whereas they do tend to have shorter hours over the winter.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_03: But I definitely suggest um pre-booking any attractions to avoid any disappointment in the lakes.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I was gonna ask, I was gonna ask that as well about Asia about your tours as well.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_05: Like how far in advance do people need to think about booking?
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, we generally have um quite a short booking window, we see.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_03: So we do have good availability kind of in those 48 hours before the tour departs, but of course that's not always the case for some very popular tours.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so I would at least a week beforehand try and and get booked on um if you are visiting to avoid any disappointment.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, perfect.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_05: And so, what about the highlights of the lake district that are the absolute best in the summer?
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_05: What do you say you really should do?
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so the lake district does change kind of dramatically with the seasons, and although we're a year-round destination, um personally my favourite season is summer in the lake district.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_03: You can enjoy long um daylight hours, like I said, the full attraction schedule, good walking conditions, wildflower meadows, uh, outdoor swimming, and pub gardens and live music opportunities as well.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_03: So, my first suggestion in the late district during summer would be to get on the water.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_03: So, whether that's a lake cruise or paddle boarding or a lakeshore walk, um Windermere has England's largest lake, Lake Windermere, and you can join a Windermere Lake Cruise which departs uh every 20 minutes from Boness, Ambleside, and Lakeside.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_03: Or you can rent a self-drive boat so you can experience that and see the lake at your at your leisure.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, alternatively, if you're visiting the Eastern Lake District, then you can visit Allswater and travel on one of the heritage steamers, and that's England's second largest lake.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_03: Or bring your swimming gear and dip your toes into Rydal or Grassmere if you fancy or cool off.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_03: Um there's plenty of um opportunities for hiring kayaks and paddle boards.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_03: Um, Derwent Water is uh beautiful for paddleboarding.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_03: I have done that myself on many occasions.
• 1:02:01
  SPEAKER_03: Or, like I said, just a lakeshore walk.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_03: So Ulswater has um the Ulswater Way, which is 20 miles completely around the lake, um, or some for something a little bit um shorter than Catbells above Derwentwater is stunning as well in Keswick.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um and speaking of walks, we also have um English high England's highest mountain in the lake district, Scarfell, which is accessible from either Butomere, uh Waswater or Langdale.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_03: So ideal conditions um in the lakes, but please do make sure you're prepared, plenty of water, correct uh hiking equipment, etc.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but if you are looking for something a little bit lower, one of my favourites is Loughrig, which is above um Ambleside.
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_03: That's uh quite a short, steep walk, but you get fantastic views over Windermere and Rydall and Grassmere as well.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_03: And then, as I said, there's plenty of attractions um to visit in the Lake District.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_03: So um we don't have just one, but we've got two heritage steam railways.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_03: We've got Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway on the southern shores of Windermere, and uh Ravenglass and Estell Railway, which takes you through the beautiful Estell Valley on the western side of the lake district.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_03: We have Moncaster Castle, which is a medieval castle with over 70 acres of beautiful gardens, and for those adrenaline junkies amongst us, we've got Honister Slate Mine, which I previously mentioned, and they have a Via Ferrata, which is um, and an infinity bridge, which is suspended above Honister um Pass.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_03: So that uh that is really one for the adrenaline junkies.
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_03: That sounds interesting.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I must say I have done that myself, and then I went to do it a second time, and I thought, why am I doing this again?
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_03: It was uh yeah, quite um stomach dropping at some points.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_05: Not good for anybody fear of hate, then.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_05: No, definitely not, definitely not.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_03: But they do alternatively have a mine tour, which is also fantastic and gives you all the history um of the working mine and uh yeah, the history of the slate in the lake district.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, we've got beautiful gardens which flourish over the spring and summer.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_03: So a couple of my favourites would be Holherd, which is just outside Windermere.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's a Fellside garden managed by Lakeland Horticultural Society.
• 1:04:34
  SPEAKER_03: We've also got Levens, which is home to the world's oldest toperie garden, and Holker Hall, which is a tranquil formal garden as well in the South Lakes.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then I touched on earlier kind of some live events and live music.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_03: So we've got everything from um kind of pub beer garden festivals to traditional uh late district sheepdog trials.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_03: So we've got um fantastic hound trials and sheepdog trials at Ambleside Sports, which is the 30th of July this year.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_03: We've got ride or sheepdog trials on the 13th of August, uh, Grassmere Sports on the 13th of August, which is uh Lakeland Sports, traditional Cumberland and Westnaland wrestling, and uh a dog show.
• 1:05:24
  SPEAKER_03: So they're very traditional to to the area and just a bit of fun to visit if you're uh if you're in the area during those times.
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_05: So loads, loads of things to do and see over the summer on the lake district, Asia, absolutely loads.
• 1:05:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:05:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there's um you could easily fit kind of three to four days um in the lake district with with things to do and see.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_03: We are England's largest national park, so there is, yeah, there's plenty to do.
• 1:05:53
  SPEAKER_05: And as I say, it's a a popular destination for our community.
• 1:05:57
  SPEAKER_05: As I say, it comes up all the time.
• 1:05:58
  SPEAKER_05: People want to fit in.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_05: visit to the lake district and it is a beautiful beautiful part of England to visit.
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_05: So we do have a discount code for Mountain Goat as well, which I'll put I'll link to in the show notes, which is exclusive for our uh podcast and UK travel planning community.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you so much to to Mountain Goat for sharing that with us as well.
• 1:06:16
  SPEAKER_05: Now Asia I know you're going to be having a bit of time off um over the next so so it won't be you coming to um to continue this series because we'll be talking about um uh autumn and winter in the Lake District.
• 1:06:29
  SPEAKER_05: Um so but I will wish you luck with your uh short time off um and um yeah thanks for coming on the podcast again.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah thank you it's been fantastic to be um included in in this episode and the spring episode and uh hopefully you'll hear from one of my colleagues in autumn and winter.
• 1:06:46
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah thank you so much Asia thank you so there we have it summer across the UK through the eyes of five people who know their regions better than anyone.
• 1:06:57
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks so much to Alex from Munich Devon Tours, Sally Ann from North Coast Explorer Tours, Becky from Walks and Doa, Lisa from Go Cotswolds and Asia from Mountain Goat Tours.
• 1:07:08
  SPEAKER_05: From Vineyard Tours in Devon to almost 24 hour daylight in the Varn of the Scotland, long evenings on the South Bank in London, lavender fields and village fates in the Cotswolds and lake cruises and wildflower meadows in the lake district there really is something for everyone across the UK this summer.
• 1:07:25
  SPEAKER_05: I will link to each of the guests' websites in the show notes at uktravelplanet.com forward slash episode two zero three and don't forget we have discount codes for both Mountain Goat and Go Cotswolds so do check the show notes for those.
• 1:07:38
  SPEAKER_05: If summer is in your plans would love to hear what you're gonna get up to where are you going to visit?
• 1:07:42
  SPEAKER_05: Send us a message via speakpipe and as always if you've enjoyed the episode a review on your favourite podcast app goes a long way in helping others find us.
• 1:07:51
  SPEAKER_05: But as always that just leaves me to say until next week happy UK travel planning thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 1:08:03
  SPEAKER_05: As always show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com if you've enjoyed the show why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app.
• 1:08:13
  SPEAKER_05: We love to hear from you and you never know you may receive a shout out in a future episode.
• 1:08:18
  SPEAKER_05: But as always that just leaves me to say until next week happy uk travel planning