Gin, Seaweed, Doc Martin and Pooh Sticks! 

Welcome to the inspired world of Custom GB where we can distil these themes into a pre or post cruise extension, a proposal for a Public Broadcasting Station and a south of England tour that your green-fingered gardening contacts will not have seen before.

Intrigued?  Take a look at the stories in this week’s Inside Track which highlight a Cotswolds-based Gin-themed tour, England’s only seaweed festival and Doc Martin and Poldark in Cornwall.  I’ve also added details of a new Adventure programme based on the North Devon coast and the Guildford Book Fair which runs at the same time as the internationally famous Cheltenham Literature Festival which book-loving clients may not have been offered before.

My final story highlights 6 destinations that will appeal to customers who will like the idea of parking their jet lag in the English countryside so that when they get to London, their rooms are ready and they are fit and able to deal with the hustle and bustle of London.

ImaGINe This

An intoxicating press release from a Cotswolds Distillery coincided with an Inside Track reader’s gin-themed request for a small group pre-cruise extension. My response? A Cotswolds-based tour with some wonderful attractions and each day finishing on a gin-infused note!  It also works as a 3-4 night tour before heading into London for the next 3 days.  Take a look.

England's Only Seaweed Festival

Clovelly has always celebrated its close links to the sea and in May the annual celebration of all thing’s seaweed begins. Ancient Clovelly recipes included throughout the year are seaweed butter, breads, pasties and many seaweed fish dishes. Clovelly’s own soap makers create wellbeing ranges.  All highlighting the 200^th anniversary of Charles Kingsley resident writer of the “Water babes and Westward Ho!”

England's Adventure Coast is Launched

Northern Devon is nature’s own playground, some say it’s “Scotland with Sun” with the World UNESCO Biosphere stretching across the whole region from Lundy island to Exmoor and Dartmoor national parks then down to Cornwall. It’s the perfect destination for everyone to create their own special adventures and memories, from sports, culture and food to simply becoming one with nature. 

Doc Martin and Poldark

If your clients are fans of Doc Martin and Poldark, this tour will take them to Cornwall for a close encounter with the myths and legends of King Arthur and the On Location worlds of Poldark and Doc Martin.  Add some upstairs/downstairs stately homes visits, some superb river valley gardens, the inevitable Cornish Cream Tea and you’ve created a winner.

The Guildford Book Festival

This annual event brings together a vibrant mix of authors and artists from around the world and this year they are celebrating their 30^th anniversary. Running from 6th to 13th October it will host more than 50 bestselling fiction and non-fiction writers speaking at different venues throughout the town, from internationally renowned historians to top crime writers, bestselling novelists to well-known entertainers and influencers. 

Pilgrimage, Paintings, A Pompeian Wall and Pooh Sticks

With more of you starting tours of Britain with the first three to four nights in the English countryside, these Britain Insider columns will give you an exciting mix of attractive market towns and cathedral cities which provide the perfect base for clients who’d like to park their jetlag in rural settings before tackling the hustle and bustle of London.