27 DAYS

BIKING and SIGHTSEEING

This is one fabulous bike trip. You and your group will bike through the heart of England surrounded by absolutely gorgeous scenery. Most of the trip is on back roads and country lanes deep in the beautiful countryside, away from the usual touristy hotspots, allowing you to experience real life England at a leisurely pace. Much of this trip follows routes in England's remarkable National Cycle Network - 10,000 miles of well marked routes on back roads, bike paths, and cycle tracks.

You won't be bored: this trip is filled with variety! You'll bike past green fields and along leafy lanes, on the wide open downs and in valleys in the lovely Cotswolds. Around each bend is something new to see. You might stop to say hello to some sleek thoroughbreds in a pasture, or explore an old windmill. Your group might ask a farmer for the key to explore the prehistoric barrow in his field, or climb the well-worn stairs to the tower of a castle keep (or head the other direction, if you prefer, down to the dungeon).

In Wiltshire, you'll bike along sunken lanes and past hedgerows. Along the way, you'll relax at a riverside teahouse, stuffing yourself with cakes and other treats of high tea, and try your hand at cricket. Your group wll take a day trip to Salisbury with its inspiring cathedral and to awesome Stonehenge to wonder at why and how it was built.

Your group will have a day to explore Oxford and the University and try to keep the boat going straight (not as easy as it looks) as you punt along the meandering river. From Oxford, you'll cycle through the Cotswolds, a world-famous area of outstanding natural beauty. You'll bike through rolling hills and wooded coombs, past open grassland pastures filled with woolley sheep and stately manor houses. You'll pass beautiful gardens ablaze with riots of colorful flowers, and stop in quaint villages of mellow, honey colored stone cottages drenched with climbing roses. Your group will spend a day visiting all the Shakespeare landmarks and seeing a play before heading for London.

The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park are just some of the places you'll see in London. Your group will shop at Harrods, ride a double decker bus, and feed the birds in Trafalgar Square. You'll visit museums, take a break at an outdoor cafe, and visit the Parliament building before your group's final festive dinner at a London restaurant.

You'll return home fit from a summer of biking, with memories for a lifetime and a deeper understanding of the cultural and historical heritage that England has given to the world.