Short Breaks & Mini-Adventures in England

  Recently did one of the Cotswold self-guided walking tours through Active England. The itinerary was excellent, as was Jago Hartland who met with us for orientation and kept in touch... read more with us every morning through WhatsApp confirming that day's plans. Every trip like this will have the odd issue crop up, but, what few minor hiccups we had Jago took care of quickly and efficiently. All-in-all it was a very positive experience, a great deal of fun and we would certainly book future adventures with Active England.

  Super helpful, friendly and amenable team at Active England helped us have a brilliant experience. We are a late 50's Australian couple and not super fit, but the ebikes ... read more make it possible to go the back roads and find the treasures with plenty of " rehydration stations" along the way, ranging from tea to beer. The bikes were strong and reliable, and the team was on hand if any assistance was needed. We took the higher accomodation package and the hotels were charming and comfortable, in exquisite towns. We also took all their advice on restaurants and didnt regret it. Had a wonderful time. Will be in touch for the Lakes district next year.

  Our Cotswolds bike trip was Amazing!! Thank you to our fantastic guide, Conor.
The countryside was picture perfect with great little villages and sites to take in all along our... read more rides. Each day was so rewarding. The historic sites are so incredible to see and learn more about. The B&B's were perfect! The people so welcoming and friendly.
Loved our bike tour. We highly recommend taking the tour!

  I loved the freedom and flexibility of Active England's self-guided Short Walks in the Cotswolds tour. It was easy to use the provided routes, the hotels were very nice,... read more and the luggage transfer allowed us to enjoy our walking experience without worry. I was traveling solo, and never felt the least bit unsafe. I loved the fact that the days were planned but with plenty of time for personal exploration. I will definitely do another tour with Active England in the future.

  Had an amazing 4 day bike tour in the Cotwolds with our guide Amanda, tour director Jago and support from the wonderful office staff. We have nothing but great things... read more to say about the whole experience from the wonderful, funny and interesting guides, the amazing routes and scenery, and cozy inns and restaurants. We have been lucky to do guided trips in various parts of the world and this trip was with out a doubt one of the best that we have experienced. Don't think twice.....just book this trip!
Thanks for the amazing memories folks.....Lisa and Jacques

  The perfect way to experience the Cotswolds was on a bicycle. Four days of lovely countryside, interesting inns, old churches and charming towns. Rick did an awesome job of supporting... read more our group as we navigated our way along quiet country roads. Highly recommend this adventure!

  From the planning stages of our fabulous self guided walk in the Cotswolds to our transfer and tour of Oxford and Bath, the Active England team were excellent. Jago took... read more excellent care of our needs, was always in touch along the way with recommendations and advise.

  Can't say enough about Jago and the team. Walks were stupendous, inns were stunning, and the pub/restaurant recommendations were spot on. Transportation always punctual. Jago even gave us a bonus... read more tour of Stowe on the Wold.

  What a fabulous few days! Our guides, Tatty and Chris looked after us incredibly well. We didn't have to look at a map/check tide times/book restaurants/drive. Great... read more swims in both river and sea. Felt totally safe with our guides at front and rear of the swim group. Loved the other guests - laughed loads! Came home a little sunburnt and exhausted but very happy!

The walk up to Sharrah Pool was a good hike (which we enjoyed), but anyone with slight mobility issues might have struggled. Otherwise - perfect!

  So many different secret and semi-secret swimming places that I could never have found on my own - and even if I had found them, I wouldn't have wanted... read more to be doing the drives to get there ! I didn't know the rest of the group and was on my own, but this didn't matter after the first few minutes - credit to Will the guide for all that. I also hoped to improve my stroke and the day after the trip I went swimming in my usual lake and found my speed had doubled from the week before, I'm sure due to the tips on technique that I hoped for and was given. The age range was 21 to 69 (me) but that didn't seem to count. We had excellent food in basic rooms above a pub, which was absolutely the right way round and we were all completely exhausted and exhilarated at the end of each day, and the whole trip.

If you love wild swimming, this is a brilliant short break. I'm even thinking about booking again for next year.

  Chris and Jago were flexible, fun and incredibly helpful during our three-week bike journey in England. Chris was amazing at 'making changes on the go,' including showing us and delighting... read more our children with a waterpark and a lake in the midst of a brutal British heat wave! (It wasn't brutal to us, we are from very hot parts of the U.S., but we loved the water!). Jago was EXCEPTIONAL at giving us news, being where we needed him to be, and showing us the best food and best ice cream of any of our lives!

  My son (30) and I (69) has a splendid self guided trip arranged by Active England. The bikes were first rate, the routes were gorgeous and mostly empty of cars,... read more and the recommended coffee stops and sites along the way were perfect. The team took care of everything (dinner reservations, car pick up at the end, and other bookings we desired). I highly recommend this company if you want to experience the Cotswolds as the area should be seen - on a bike. The slow road is the best way to see the world and Active England makes that possible in this very special part of England.

  I really enjoyed my self-guided cycle tour of the Cotswolds with Active England Tours. Iago was a very knowledgeable guide who was very kind and accommodating. I am so grateful... read more we rented the E-Bikes as the hills--even for a someone who is physically fit--are quite steep in spots! I recommend bringing cycling shorts and bike gloves for greater comfort on the seat. Our mileage probably averages out to 30 miles a day, with a range of about 8-43 miles. We were able to have flexibility to have our route modified and amended as needed which was so helpful! We saw so many beautiful towns along the route, including many familiar to those who watch Downton Abbey, Father Brown and Poldark, among others. Iago was so helpful in suggesting the best attractions along our route as well as cafe recommendations. It was very helpful to have an overview meeting at the beginning of the trip as well to get familiar with the various routes on our GPS app, tools, charging units, bike bag, etc.
One of the best things we did was to modify the last day of our 6-day tour to include a light cycling day with walking tours of Lower Slaughter, Stow-in-the-Wold, Bampton and Cirencester. I really appreciated learning the history of each of the towns we visited as well as experiencing their unique beauty.

  Our arrival was a bit bumpy due to the train strikes. This incredible company immediately responded and were very diligent to get to us. Jago our Host for the tour... read more was so friendly and very helpful. He immediately attended to us and settled us in. He explained to us really easy directions and information for the bike tour. He made sure we were comfortable with the GPS , the bikes and their use along with our accommodations. He was available when we needed him through any questions or obstacles we faced while on the bike tour. I had such a great time and learned to much about the history and land. It was beautiful.

  Imagine tree-lined paths, peaceful moments with sky everywhere, and closing the day in a cosy pub- it was everything we imagined it would be! We did a six day... read more self-guided tour in the Cotswolds. Jago was our contact and was there for us with great tips and even talked us through a tricky tire change :) Would highly recommend this experience!!

  My son and I just completed a three week LeJog tour through Active England, and were impressed with all the guides' professionalism and caring attitudes. They also made it... read more a helk-uv-a-lot of fun, which is very important on a fairly strenuous tour! I'd use them again in a heart beat!

  We are a Bliss of four wild women who love wild swimming and have just completed an amazing weekend of open water swimming with our wonderful guides Tatty and Laura.... read more The trip was brilliantly organised and we all felt so beautifully looked after all weekend. The swim locations varied from remote river spots, stunning sea swims and a classic lido experience. The swims were pitched perfectly to our ability and wishes and we rated them all 10/10 finding it impossible to agree on a favourite. We are returning home completely relaxed with a bucketful of happy memories and mermaid stories. Thank you so much Laura and Tatty for looking after us so well. We all thoroughly recommend Active England.

  The LeJog tour with Active England was a bike tour of a lifetime. 19 days of riding averaging 60 miles per day. The guides were outstanding... read more and were most attentive to details. The routes kept us off the main roads as much as possible. It is a fabulous way to experience England and Scotland. There was a nice balance of visiting cities and villages. This is an epic bike tour for the passionate cyclist!