Postcards: JUST BACK FROM ENGLAND
In April, Ross and I spent several weeks in England scouting for future tours, including our tour next May. We started with a few days in London, followed by a week driving through the countryside of the Cotswolds and southern England.
The Flight. We flew Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic from New York-JFK to London Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic is one our favorite premium economy products and for this relatively short flight (just over five hours) we were quite comfortable and happy with the nicely padded leather seats and extra legroom. Virgin’s Premium is an excellent value for the price and is definitely a step up from a First Class seat on a domestic Delta flight. Champagne was offered before take off, the food was perfectly decent, but the real star was the Mile High Tea Service with scones before landing. As always, the service on Virgin was excellent and we loved having the lounge area for when we needed to get out of our seats and stretch our legs. Good to know: premium economy cabins are not created equally. They vary widely not just between airlines, but also depending upon the type of aircraft used. On some planes, premium is just an economy seat with more legroom. On others it is an entirely separate cabin with a different seat type and upgraded meal service. Always check not just the airline, but also the *type* of plane used to see if premium economy is a good fit for you. If you want all the perks and a lie-flat seat, you should still stick with business class.
What We Packed. England had a chilly spring this year and we found ourselves wearing jackets and even turtlenecks most days. An umbrella was a must, as were boots that we could get muddy (some of the gardens have paved or gravel paths, but at others you walk through grass). The English countryside is less formal than London and we found that jeans and a sweater or button down were appropriate most days.
We always love spending time in London. For this trip, we based ourselves in Chelsea (not far from where Laura used to live), exploring the neighborhood’s shops and restaurants. We found a wonderful new Indian restaurant in a Georgian townhouse and another day we walked to the Tate Britain museum. We love this museum (it has all the Turner paintings!) and we were able to catch the Gabriel Rosetti and Pre-Raphaelites exhibition. Of course, we were here mere weeks before the coronation of King Charles and we (well, Ross) could not miss an opportunity to buy historic ‘tat.’ Tea towels, coronations biscuits, chocolate coins, Ross bought it all! On our last day in London, we scored tickets to the Crown to Couture exhibition at Kensington Palace. This blockbuster show was admittedly VERY crowded, but we loved seeing centuries of trailblazing fashion, and Kensington Palace itself (the former home of Princess Diana) is a fabulous venue.
We then picked up our car and headed in the countryside! Our first stop was the Kent and Sussex region, just south of London. This area is home to two of the world’s most renowned gardens: Vita Sackville West’s Sissinghurst and Christopher Lloyd’s Great Dixter. This is a very calm and beautiful part of England, full of old forests that give way to larger towns and cities along the English Channel.
Laura is something of a Vita Sackville-West disciple: she has read all of her books and avidly follows Vita’s gardening advice. Any chance to visit Sissinghurst is therefore a special pilgrimage for her. Even in April, when most of what one sees are tulips and primroses, there was still a calm and simple opulence to the garden. We also really enjoyed our visit to Petworth, one of England’s largest country house estates. Unbeknownst to us, Petworth also has an adorable little town (and we do mean little - like two streets!) full of antique stores that we both loved exploring. We look forward to giving travelers on our tour next year time to explore Petworth, as well as the art-filled country house and the expansive estate grounds.
Kent and Sussex are straight south of London, while the Cotswolds are just west of the city. Leaving Kent and Sussex, it took us about 2.5 hours to drive to the Cotswolds. We had not been back since before Covid and what a treat it was! The Cotswolds really are the charming, picture-perfect region that you imagine it to be. Every road is scenic, every village is adorable, and the pubs are aplenty!
We visited many historic homes and gardens in this region, but we both agree that Highgrove, the gardens of King Charles, were the absolute highlight. Highgrove is open for private tours at only certain times of the year and reservations have to be made far in advance (especially in the spring and summer). We had wonderful guide who so kind and so knowledgable about the property. Charles was very hands-on in the designing of the gardens, and even today (so we were told) can be found pulling weeds on the property at weekends!
It is always tricky to know how commercial a sight like this will be, and Laura in particular had some concerns about the tack of some British tourism. Luckily, we felt like welcome guests and when the tour ended and we entered the shop and restaurant, it was like stepping into the home of a friend in the countryside. A small country store, a cozy little restaurant - it was the complete opposite of the opulence of Buckingham Palace.
As more and more of England’s historical properties are turned into miniature theme parks, scouting each site becomes increasingly important for us. We were sad to see that Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn, had succumb to this fate. We know that historical sites have to make money to keep up with the large financial obligations of running these estates. Sadly at Hever the historical home is a mere backdrop to the merry-go-round and donut truck parked in front.
What is scouting? Scouting is a key part of the planning that goes into our tours. Hotels and restaurants can change management, decoration, or chefs frequently and we like to always be as up to date as possible in the places we take you. Scouting also lets us check out new properties and visit historical sights that we may not have been to for a while, or not at all. These are long days for us - we usually work from 7am to 7pm, meeting with hotel owners, bus operators, figuring out the places for group lunches, and visiting as many historical sights as we can. We come home with a rolodex full of hotels, restaurants, and sights that we cannot wait to return to on future tours.
While the internet can do a lot of work for us, there is still no substitute for seeing things in person. For example, before arriving in England we had our hearts set on a historic, charming-looking hotel in Sussex. However, as the sun began to set we quickly realized that the rooms had no overhead lighting (the ceilings were over 12 feet high) and weak lamps: we actually had to use our phones to look into our suitcases at night. The mood of the hotel was also just off for us. We still love the bones of this property and hope that one day it will undergo some modest design improvements so that we can take you there.
Cheers to future travels!
Laura & Ross