Guided Tours
Comments
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"We can't judge the success or otherwise by our own leanings it will be bums on seats that will be the final arbitrator"
Correct on both counts, I reckon. One assumes CAMC did some market research before launching this scheme so they will have grounds for thinking it will be a success. Time will tell.
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We have only ever done one organised package, a fly drive to Majorca over 40 years ago. The organisation by Thompson was abysmal and we decided that in future if things went wrong with holiday planning there would only be one person to blame. However, I think we have to accept that not everyone wants to organise things and are happy to let others do the donkey work. Personally I think it is a very good move by the club and I suspect it will catch on and be extended. I’m sure the prices are competitive for this sort of thing, however I can’t help thinking how many thousands🤔our 30+ day tour of the south of England would cost, given the number of visits to attractions etc we are going to pull in.
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Looking at it from a purely business perspective, it’s possibly more future proofing. It’s a transitional phase these next few years, whilst lots of long standing Members move on for various reasons, and lots of other new Members coming along and embracing a different type of Club.
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We have a very similar view, Guided trips abroad can be an easy way of seeing some of the sites especially if there are difficulties with language and/or transport but on many occasions we have simply used local transport. Boat trips with English commentary are always a good way to see the natural wonders and also be informed where famous residents live etc.
However I can't see any reason why we would ever take one in this country. We don't need to see every "must see" attracton at once as they will still be there to view another year and a revisit to the area will not cost much.
One of the main drawbacks of guided tours is it is dificult to balance the requirements of everyone,whilst I can appreciate the architecture and incredible feats of buiding of York Minster, I have no particular interest to know how many Kings of England may be buried there ( there might be none!). It is much easier to visit on your own and spend as much or as little time as you want.
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It's so easy to walk into a local tourist office and ask about guided tours etc and then book yourself in or even book ahead on line for all sorts of visits. We've done excellent guided walks in places as far apart as Dublin and Cambridge. If you're not very able bodied there are good bus tours (double decker/mini bus, individual car guides.) Yes I'm sure there will be some who take up these offers but there are alternatives and you can drop out and change plans too if you're doing it yourself.
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I agree Mikey. But perhaps the tours will attract overseas tourers with their own outfits, so this might be a target market. Many overseas visitors like to do stuff like London, York, Edinburgh, often Oxford or Cambridge. We have come across a few overseas visitors who seem quite happy doing the length and breadth of mainland Uk in 2-3 weeks.
(York Minster has no regal burials (only a baby son of Edward III). It does however have a Quire Screen made up of carved stone statues of England’s Kings from William the Conqueror to Henry VI. It’s the stained glass and stonework that is York Minster’s glory.😁)
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I struggle with these & similar posts🤷🏻♂️-you aren’t engaging in ‘ice climbing’ in the depths of winter in the Scottish Highlands or tent camping in -10c conditions, you are driving around in a centrally heated mobile bungalow with on board toilets & full cooking facilities. You truly are not hard core travellers & to think anyone wanting to group tour is not an adventurer is poor form. For someone starting from scratch-it is an adventure. Way to go them, get on board & do something to challenge yourself with expert guides, embrace different👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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TDA
It sounds to me that you have been recruited as one of the guides for these tours
I suppose overseas visitors would be interested in the same way we are when abroad but outside of London and Edinburgh and perhaps York and Cambridge, you rarely see them on other campsites.
David
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Haha, I have done some voluntary guide work with EH, alongside being a gardener. 😁 History is a passion with me, particularly anything to do with churches, castles, battles and before the direst dynasty ever to rule these Isles, the Stuarts.🤣
Local guides are the best, they usually have all the little anecdotes, tales and tiny little stories of interest that can make or break a guided tour. OH is always on edge with me when we go anywhere, I like to poke around where the public can’t usually go🤣 and always carry a torch🤣 Blagged my way into the Sacristy at Tewkesbury Abbey to get a good look at the armour from the war of the Roses battle. It’s on the inside, not the outside🤗
Lot of overseas visitors start off on the Cornish sites, then wend their way North, we have handed numerous maps over to Dutch and French visitors. You tend to forget that what we as Brits find maybe a tad mundane as we live with it, overseas visitors are fascinated. I have never seen anything like Bourton on the Water pre COVID, dozens of huge coaches full of Japanese, Americans, etc… all wandering around a chocolate box village, cameras at the ready. Locals have signs in their gardens in Japanese🤣
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Well some members must like the idea of UK guided tours. The Edinburgh Tattoo tour is sold out.
Tour departs 8 August 2023, prices from £849 for an outfit plus 2 people* - this tour has now sold out, please email us to join the waitlist
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Looking at the Edinburgh trip the club must have set aside pitches in anticipation of an uptake.
At that time of year the site is usually full as is every site in the area, due to festival.
They also must have secured tickets to the Tattoo, we've been several times as both our sons have performed there. Tickets are like hens teeth, not easy to get, not sure if this year will be any different but they are usually sold out by now.
I couldn't see us doing a trip, home or away. We much prefer to do our own thing. We have on occasion joined excursions when we've been on cruises which I find tiring enough. I doubt I could endure a 3 to 8 day organised trip, especially if early mornings were called for.
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I had wondered about the pitch allocations too TG as I noticed there are none available for those dates. However there are tickets still available for the tattoo starting at £75, well worth seeing. It's quite an intensive tour of Edinburgh isn't it, anyone going would need to be fit, up and down to the castle, the Royal Mile etc. Much easier to take it at a slower pace over and maybe see a bit more of Edinburgh too, the museum and galleries, Arthur's seat, the gardens or the Royal Yacht. I'm also wondering if there'll be pitches available for anyone wanting to extend their trip, in August the site is usually busy.
PS as this tour is sold out hope some of the alternative info has been useful....
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Surprised that there are still tickets available brue, I agree it's a great thing to see first hand but it's a long and late night. Getting away from the castle then home or back to the site will be a late night. As you say you need to be fit just to get to/away from the castle.
I agree there is so much to see and do in Edinburgh, we can go by bus for the day should we feel like it, parking a car in the city isn't easy or cheap so FREE bus travel is great.
We've visited the castle many times as OH used to look after the guns at one point. I saved up Tesco vouchers for lots of the other attractions, the Camera Obscura is well worth a visit.
EDIT, just saw your edit. Sold out wow, I don't think they will be disappointed just hope they have comfy shoes 😅
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And what happens if it didn't work? Yet more of our membership fees going on an unnecessary project, just like the rebranding!!
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But it looks like it has worked, Nellie.
If the tours don’t fill up, all CAMC has to do is release any reserved pitches into the booking system and sell any purchased tickets on the open market. Alternatively, they could apply DP and attract buyers that way.
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Yes despite all the forecasted poor, if any, take-up and why people should want to holiday in this way, at least the Edinburgh tour has proved a success. I must admit the Edinburgh one was the one that caught my eye a little on further reading. If it's offered again next year I'll certainly give it serious thought.
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The thing about these type of tours is that you travel at a pre-defined speed. You can't linger over stuff that interests you and fast forward the stuff that doesn't. I was surprised how quickly many passed by the Bayeux Tapestry whilst we lingered for a considerable time for example.
Having done a number of cruises, I've seldom done the excursions as they are generally over-priced and prefer to 'do my own thing'. The exception is where DIY is either impractical or too much hassle/equally or more expensive than the 'package'.
Some years back I did the 'Western Front' on a guided tour with my brother and nephew. Given the time constraints and my companions, it was easier/cheaper than DIY although I have subsequently visited some spots during my motorhome meanderings.
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Furthering your analogy of cruises. We only cruise on Cunard, but never book as soon as the cruises are announced as its foolish to pay top price. We generally book within 8 weeks as the prices tumble as low as 50%. Similarly the excursions are silly money if booked through Cunard. We generally pay a quarter of the Cunard price, plus we often get more fitted into a shore visit.
We delight in discussing the difference over second sitting at dinner with other table guests who don't realise there are options, often with the same operator without the middleman extortion.
The advent of the internet makes it easy to sort an itinerary before leaving home.
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