Cotswolds Guided Tours - On tour with Nicki Chapman
Back in 2002 a television show started on BBC called ‘Escape to the Country’ I am sure you must have seen it! But for those of you that haven’t the show helps prospective house hunters find their dream home in the countryside. From the must far-flung northerly parts of Scotland, to the most southerly point of Cornwall & all the English counties in-between. The show is loved by those chasing the ‘good-life’. Back in 2009 Richard & I did exactly that, we left our hectic jobs in London behind and our cute little Victorian terrace in Southwest London & embarked on a lifechanging adventure. We had both been working for the Metropolitan Police. Richard on a specialist (Territorial Support) team. Where he would be deployed to the most violent calls, normally drug related or riots along with his highly trained colleagues. I worked as a Crime Scene Examiner & Forensic trainer. Looking back it was hard work, long hours & we had very little time together. Although one thing we both loved was escaping whenever we could to the ‘great outdoors’. We had a passion for hiking, kayaking, strolls along the beach & so wanted to create our very own ‘Escape to the Country’.
The owner of a cottage that my parents used to bring us to on school holidays called to say they were planning to sell. Richard had just sold his own house in Yorkshire, the timing couldn’t be more perfect & we jumped at the chance to buy it…..However childhood memories & the reality of owning an old creaky cottage lead us on a bumpy road of renovations & building works…through blood, sweat & tears we dragged our farm labourers cottage kicking & screaming into the 21st century! All the while, Richard was working for the local constabulary & I was commuting backwards & forwards to London….We had only achieved half of the dream, our work life balance still needed to be addressed! We had found that lots of friends from London were visiting us, we were showing them around the little villages & local market towns. As we had a love for history & quirky folklore we would share stories of the local area that we were swiftly & deeply falling in love with! Our happiness was shinning through & we thought…..could this be a business? Well there was only one way to find out…. Our little tour company was born with some money we had left from our building project. We brought a minibus & thought, hey if this doesn’t work we will convert it into a campervan! In 2017 we launched our website & swiftly became the leading tour company in the area, our work ethic is simple. To offer fun & friendly tours with a colourful splash of history & humour. Treating our visitors as long lost friends & having a true love for the region. Year on year we could easily expand, but we keep our business small & exclusive…and those magic ingredients stand us out from the crowds.
In the early summer of 2024, I answered a call with my chirpy ‘Cotswolds Guided Tours how can I help you?’ This was no normal tour enquiry, the production team had seen our business story & thought we would be a perfect fit for an episode of Escape to the Country. A couple were house hunting with Nicki Chapman in Gloucestershire & wanted to feature a local business (big tick) with a couple who had made the move from London (another big tick) and had ditched their careers & in the face of every challenge, created a local highly regarded business (tick, tick, tick!) At first I was a little nervous…..being on TV, the last time I was on telly was on the news, dressed in crime scene overalls & no-one but me, knew it was me. (Let’s just clarify that I was collecting evidence, not committing a crime!) Having a camera crew in your home, talking about your life’s story & meeting a celebrity did give me a moment to pause. Are we really that interesting, is what we have achieved really that impressive ? Not used to ‘blowing our own trumpets’, we realised that yes actually what we did was pretty brave! We were incredibly excited & very proud of ourselves.
The day of filming…..Ah the nerves! Really we had nothing to worry about, Nicki Chapman has that true ‘girl next door’ vibe, a smile that puts you at ease straight away & sun a sunny disposition. Plus, Nicki has great taste….I am always a big fan of her outfits! As soon as we met her, just before the filming started, we felt comfortable straight away. It was like having your girlfriend round for coffee, the filming went smoothly & before we knew it, it was all done & dusted! Now we just have to wait to the episode to air, sometime later this autumn……
Cotswolds Guided Tours
We have been lucky though to see Nicki again & meet some of her family! Yesterday was fun filled day of touring the Cotswolds, the damp autumnal vibe was very atmospheric! Everyone had a lovely time & enjoyed exploring the little villages of Lower & Upper Slaughter, having time for morning coffee in the famous Bourton on the Water, seeing the thatched cottages in the very pretty village of Stanton. Taking some time for a spot of lunch at The Crown & Trumpet in Broadway, along with some shopping before finishing the day in the gorgeous village of Snowshill. It was so lovely to show Nicki & her family around.
What makes our Cotswold tours so special?
Year on year new companies are popping up, how do we stand out from the crowd? Well we absolutely love the Cotswolds. We moved here & fell for the rolling hills, the cute cottages, the generations of stories & local folklore. We are part of the local community & take pride in the region we are lucky enough to call home. Sure, there are big coaches selling tickets at cut throat prices but they can’t take you to the smaller villages, they don’t know the local history or have fun stories to share. If you are researching then beware as there are also companies that use our business name ‘Cotswolds Guided Tours’ but they are just profiteering on our success, riding on the back of what we have created….hey, that’s okay. If you want a genuine Cotswolds experience then really there is only one company to travel with. If you want to dig deeper & understand the region from a locals perspective, see villages & hear stories not found in run of the mill travel guides. Having only one vehicle that we offer tours in creates an exclusivity, making your tour unique & special. It also means that you will only ever tour with the owners Lucy or Richard, this way we can guarantee the tour content & quality each day. If you want to truly experience what the Cotswolds has to offer then do reach out. There is a reason why we have quickly become the leading private tour provider with the most reviews…We used to say we were one of the region’s best kept secrets but after being featured on Escape to the Country we may need to rethink that! One thing you can be sure of; whether you book on a private tour with us on join us on one of our exclusive small group tours. We take pride in everything we do & can’t wait to meet you, be part of your holiday & create memory-making moments you will enjoy reminiscing on for years to come!
Just remember that everyday is an adventure, made more special by the people you meet along the way.
#cotswolds #cotswoldtour #cotswoldsguidedtours #cotswoldprivatetour #nickichapman #tvcelebrity #escapetothecountry #bestcotswoldstour #cotswolddaytrip #cotswoldtourfromlondon #cotswoldtourfromoxford #cotswoldtourfrommoretoninmarsh #bourtononthewater #theslaughters #snowshill #stanton #thatchedcottage #broadway #publunch
Comments