Right, folks,” exclaimed Mr. Pratt when we had settled into our tour bus seats or had gathered around awaiting his instructions: twenty-four travelers, ranging in age from 7 through 64 years, waiting to hear what next awaited us to experience on our “Springtime in England” adventure. After our great send-off from the school parking lot at noon on April 15th, we continued to be the twelve sub-groups that made up our travel party through to our arrival in London the following morning. Many knew each other, some knew some, and a few knew no one besides their own family members. By Monday afternoon, however, the twelve sub-groups slowly morphed into one and by the end of our 10-day trip we were all ‘family!’ It was such a diverse set of people but a set that meshed very well. “An easy group of people,” as Ashley Carrington noted.  

It took little time to appreciate that Mr. Pratt was not kidding when he warned us at one of our three pre-trip meetings that we would be doing a lot of walking. He did a marvelous job of blending traditional sightseeing destinations with places to which most typical tourists would never venture. This is the beauty of traveling with a seasoned guide who is also a native of the place one is visiting! But, over the ten-day trip, walk we did! Maybe 2 miles on a low distance day and 10 miles on our highest day, but, on average 4-5 miles per day! However, on our first morning in London Mr. Pratt had kindly arranged for us to be chauffeured around the city on a bus we would come to know intimately later in the week as we rode it from London to the English Channel coast, then to Bath, and, finally, back to Heathrow Airport for our departure home.

Our bags loaded onto the small trailer attached to our bus and properly introduced to our "coach" driver Keith, we left the airport to pick up our first “Blue Badge Guide.” Liz gave us an excellent overview introduction to the areas called London and Westminster that make up what we all think of as London, the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She was just the sort of guide this sleepy group of travelers needed to stay awake after a 7.5 hour transatlantic flight. Thus began our first of four full days of sightseeing in London and the surrounding area: Hampton Court Palace , the British Museum , nearby Greenwich to visit the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark tea clipper ship, and the National Maritime Museum . We had a leisurely boat ride back from Greenwich to downtown London , where we attended a performance of the “Lion King.” Finally, we spent our last day in London with two visits to the Tower of London (for kids): one in the morning to explore the infamous British prison and again late at night to witness the Ceremony of the Keys, the official locking of the Tower of London and its holdings of the Crown Jewels. In between these tours we went to St. Paul ’s Cathedral for an informative tour of this national symbol of British endurance (virtual tour).  

We had escaped the – what we thought was - typical rainy weather of London , but as we departed the city on our bus on Thursday morning, we got our fill of wet weather. It followed us as we drove to Winchester and visited its beautiful cathedral. Back on the road, we made a stop in the New Forest (“new,” that is, in the 11 th Century!) (another site) and were quite surprised to see two sets of native Brits picnicking in the rain – now, there you have people who are serious about picnics! After a damp but enjoyable ‘nature walk,’ we climbed back on our bus for the ride to Christchurch where we took a small boat across a small mass of water to Mudeford Sandbank. Mr. Pratt assembled us, as he usually did when we reached some place new, and told us about the small vacation houses we could see along the beach. We were all shocked to learn that although these tiny dwellings had no running water (and, therefore, no indoor toilets!) they, nonetheless, sold for 100,000 pounds ($175,000) and more! In typical Pratt fashion, we got the “Right, folks. It’s now 4:15 , so we’ll meet back here at 5:30 .” Hmmmm? We thought. An hour and 15 minutes, eh? And just what ARE we going to do on this deserted stretch of beach in misting weather with the temperature, maybe, sitting around 50-55 degrees? No one looked at anyone else, but we all bolted for the small beach restaurant and immediately ordered hot chocolate, tea, and coffee!  

The highlight of the trip for some came next: boarding the small ‘train’ of wooden cars pulled by a wooden motorized “engine.” Costing a mere pound and taking us maybe a mile back to meet our bus, this train ride stands out as one of the many fun things we did on our trip. Everyone enjoyed his/her dinner of authentic Fish ‘n Chips that night in Bournemouth (well, almost everyone)!  

Though it was a bit strange the following morning to see tomatoes and beans served along with eggs and ‘bacon’ (sure did look like slices of ham, though!), we were all glad to have a full breakfast before heading off in the bus to Swanage to catch a vintage train to Corfe Castle (another site) on the Isle of Purbeck (Dorset coast). After touring the castle ruins (dating from 1643), Declan treated us all to Dorset cream tea and scones. "Because these are proper scones, sir," I was told when I inquired why the scones were soft and not 'hard' like I was used to. Most of us turned this treat into a lunch, which, apparently, Mr. Pratt doesn’t fully recognize as an organized and scheduled ‘event’ in his daily touring schedule.

Mr. Pratt had two surprises for us as we returned to our bus to head to Bath. We made a coach stop by Lulworth Cove, a beautiful shell shaped cove, formed over millions of years on the Isle of Purbeck. The more memorable surprise was Durdle Door (another site), a massive rock arch located on the Jurassic Coast . Though memorable for its beauty, it was more memorable for the incredible climb down to it….and back up to our bus. Most took advantage of the opportunity to shed shoes and dip their toes (ok, some dipped all the way up to their thighs) in the cold water of the English Channel . A warm bath before dinner in our beautiful old Pratt’s Hotel (no relation to our leader!) in downtown Bath was a welcome event as was our 3-hour dinner in the hotel’s wonderful dining room.  

Once again Declan had planned a city overview tour by bus led by another excellent Blue Badge Guide. Felicity met us at our hotel at 9 AM on Saturday. (Is it Saturday already?!) Ending our guided tour at the Roman Baths, we entered the bathhouse for a self-guided tour. When we had finished our tour, we road to the Costume Museum for another self-guided tour of an excellent collection of period dress from the 1600s through to the 20th century. After that we were free to wander the streets of Bath and shop or sightsee on our own - or, have lunch!.

On our last full day in England , we departed Bath en route to our last night stay at a hotel at Heathrow Airport and stopped by the famous Stonehenge stone circle. The weather was perfect for a visit to this eery place: overcast, chilly and misty. Our next stop was Blenheim Palace near Oxford . Sitting on grounds seven acres in size, Blenheim Palace is the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, of the Churchill family. Sir Winston Churchill was born here in 1874 and was a frequent visitor to his uncle’s and cousin’s home.  

Though sad to have our trip end, all were ready to board our Virgin Atlantic flight the following day on Monday, April 24th. Not looking forward to a 3.5 hour bus ride after our arrival at Dulles Airport, we found it was a good time to decompress and rest up for quite an exciting arrival back at JRDS’ parking lot at 9:15 PM. The Springtime in England adventure had come to an end. Carol Bolling, in an e-mail a few days after our return, wrote, “I am homesick for everyone. The time went too quickly, but it always does when you are having a good time.” And, as Ashley Carrington put it a day or two after our return, “Re-entry is a killer!”

Bill Booz