Seymour Travels Small Group Tours

My Itchy Feet I was 17 years of age when I first realised that travel was life changing.  Until then I had taken the family vacations to camp sites and holiday camps all over Britain. I had enjoyed traveling to farms, cider presses, and mountain trails with my grandfather in his caravan. I’d spent 6 weeks every year in London with my grandparents. and I always learnt from my vacations and the people around me...   but life changing... No ! At the age of 17....nearly 18, I had already lost both of my parents and a sister, in very close succession. I’d fallen in and out of love... as you do at that age. ..and my spirits were low. My best friend asked me if I’d like to go on a bit of a trip with him. I asked him ‘where to ?’ He said that it was going to actually be a big trip ! I agreed to his plan and we got prepared to hitchhike across Europe and into North Africa !…a trip that was scheduled to last 6 months.! Our preparation involved cutting up 4/5 sheets of cardb

Saxon Shore Forts If you’ve ever toured around the coast of England, you may well have discovered one or two, strange Roman oddities, called Saxon Shore Forts. Indeed, you may even have come across one or two along the coast of Northern Europe. Portchester Fortress During the middle of the 3rd century, Rome deemed it necessary to set up a separate strategic command, in order to control and protect trade through the English Channel. As the Empire proceeded to collapse, the shore forts created along England’s coasts were separated and out under its own command known as, ‘The Count of the Saxon Shore’. Just the name, should give you a clue as to why these formidable fortresses were built. Being coastal, they were essentially military ports AND garrisons. However, as we have very few mentions of these places from Roman sources, their use is somewhat clouded. Were they fortresses which protected against Saxon incursion or were they built on territories already settled by t

Walking Amongst The Standing Stones Of Brittany in Western France Sorry for not blogging anything yesterday, but I was on a mission to create a short video.... nearly an hour long,... a video tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Carnac, in Western France. I set out early, as it’s an hours drive from here, and beating the traffic, I arrived at the exhibition centre in Carnac at about 9.00am. Not knowing anything about virtual tours or videoing for Facebook and YouTube, I had to learn on the spot.  Trust me when I say that it was a big learning curve. As I loved to do, I extolled the virtues of standing stones, gave some background and history about them and began piecing together what little we know about them. The first video, there will be three, will air on Saturday morning and will be available through my Facebook feeds, so tune in to watch. However, I must first of all put out my disclaimers....   the audio isn’t good.... it’s OK,.. just not studio quality.

English Landscape Gardens. Because I’ve created a new Cotswolds small group tour, that will include a couple of very special gardens, I thought that I should write a little piece on England’s gardens....landscape gardens in particular. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some great gardens scattered all over  the British Isles, and I have to say that the Brits are justifiably proud of this aspect of their culture. The predecessors of the landscape garden in England were the great parks created by people such as Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor at Castle Howard (1699–1712), Blenheim Palace (1705–1722), and the Claremont Landscape Garden at Claremont House (1715–1727). These parks featured vast lawns, woods, and pieces of architecture, such as the classical mausoleum designed by Hawksmoor at Castle Howard. At the center of the composition was the house, behind which were formal and symmetrical gardens in the style of the garden à la f

The Horses of Britain - Are they wild ? As a young man, I lived near to both Dartmoor and Exmoor. These are two National Parks that sit nicely in the SW peninsula of England. At weekends, I would often head out to one of the moors with friends, to go and try to find the ‘wild’ horses...    It was never a difficult task. Because they have no natural predators they roam freely and are found in ever increasing numbers, all over the moors. Growing up in the British Isles, I was fully aware of the fact that there were other horses, roaming freely all over our islands. In the Shetlands, you will find short stocky horses, wandering amidst the heather. In North Wales, you’ll find the gorgeous Carneddau horses, and only about 240 of them left in existence. In the South of England, you’ll find horses grazing in moorland areas, contentedly. It really is a wonderful thing to see. Imagine driving through the gorgeous moorland areas of Britain, and as you turn a bend in the road, ther

Creativity is a strange thing.  Office work can sometimes be tedious, particularly for an active tour guide. You know how it is... sometimes you’ve gotta get up and leave the office behind in order to make a little space in your mind for creativity to creep back in. I need creativity when I’m dreaming of a new tour itinerary. This may sound mundane to you, but to me a new itinerary is a new Christmas present that an intrepid traveller can unwrap. It’s a dream being fulfilled or an experience that will be gained and remembered for life....it’s a very special thing. I’m a tour guide with a passion for giving these things to people, but I need to create them first. The process starts with a simple question....    ‘where do I want to go next’ ? The next question is, ‘how do I want to do it’? And the final question is, ‘how long will I need to explore this place’ ? With those things resolved, I then need to imagine what I’ll do from the moment I meet my small group of tour members,

Afootinfrance - 2014 Personal Guide and Escorted Tour Season in France ! Afootinfrance - 2014 Personal Guide and Escorted Tour Season in France We are offering these destinations for our personal and escorted guided tours during the 2013 travel and tour season in France. Your travel party (family friends etc) have a choice of the following destinations in France.  Prices quoted are in US dollars and are for 1 person per day. They include pick up from your hotel, personal English speaking escort and chauffeur, who will also be your tour guide, liquid refreshments all day, fuel, tolls, insurance, and taxes. On these destinations within France we can provide a fully chaffeured and escorted tour package, that can be for a single day or for a week. Plan your itinerary and contact us for your travel needs, whilst in France. Our personal tour guides will do the rest. Brittany and Normandy - With the aid of your own personal tour guide, Vis

Personal Small Group Tour In Brittany This personal and guided tour of Brittany is 8 days long. We pick you up in Nantes, Dinan or Rennes and take you to your hotel. We spend 2 days in Dinan and will give you a walking tour of this superb medieaval town and its walls. An excursion up to the ruin of Fort Latte and the lighthouse at Cap Frehel will give you chance to stretch your legs and enjoy the great view across the North Atlantic. and a seperate visit to the amazing island abbey of Mont St Michel is included. We then drive over to the ancient seaport of Roscoff, on the Western tip of France. Spending 2 nights in a lovely hotel 'with a view', we will explore the megalithic cairn of Barnenez and the wonderful and enchanting Pink Granite Coast. Onwards to Josselin via Belon (famous for its oysters and seafood.) and the standing stones of Carnac, and chance to stay for 3 nights in a lovely hotel adjacent to the magnificent fortress of Josselin, home to the Rohan

WELCOME TO " AFOOT IN FRANCE " Personal Tours and Guides WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS SITE AND ARE MOTIVATED BY IT ENOUGH TO COME AND EXPLORE FRANCE AND SOME OF THE VISUAL AND CULINARY DELIGHTS THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY HAS TO OFFER . FRANCE HAS A WONDERFULLY RICH HISTORY, AND ALSO A DEEPLY ROOTED LOVE OF FOOD AND WINE. ALLOW US TO HELP YOU ENJOY SOME OF THIS INCREDIBLE CULTURE. COME AND SOAK IN THE SIGHTS AS WE PERSONALLY ESCORT AND GUIDE YOU THROUGH ANCIENT CITIES, AND WALK AROUND RUGGED AND WINDSWEPT CLIFFTOPS AND CHATEAUX. PERHAPS YOU WOULD PREFER TO BE DRIVEN THROUGH SOME OF THE FAMOUS VINEYARDS OR WINERIES OF FRANCE. LET US CHAUFFEUR YOU TO ONE OF THE NUMEROUS PRODUCE MARKETS, FOUND IN EVERY SMALL TOWN AND VILLAGE SO THAT YOU CAN TRY SPEAKING A LITTLE FRENCH, WHILST PURCHASING FOOD FOR YOUR LUNCH OR DINNER. WE ARE ABLE TO FULLY CUSTOMIZE A PERSONAL GUIDED TOUR IN FRANCE FOR YOU AND YOUR SMALL GROUP. Come and visit. We'll customize a tour in France for you, lastin

THE 2013 Personal Guide and Escorted Tour Season in France ! We are offering these destinations for our personal and escorted guided tours during the 2013 travel and tour season in France. Your travel party (family friends etc) have a choice of the following destinations in France.  Prices quoted are in US dollars and are for 1 person per day. They include pick up from your hotel, personal English speaking escort and chauffeur, who will also be your tour guide, liquid refreshments all day, fuel, tolls, insurance, and taxes. On these destinations within France we can provide a fully chaffeured and escorted tour package, that can be for a single day or for a week. Plan your itinerary and contact us for your travel needs, whilst in France. Our personal tour guides will do the rest. Brittany and Normandy - With the aid of your own personal tour guide, Visit the World War 2 beaches in Normandy, Mont St Michel, the standing stones in Carnac, and the Pink Granit

2012 is already heating up. We have several great tours lined up with our private clients. Afoot In France will be visiting Mont St Michel in Normandy, the ww2 D-Day Beaches, as well as Carnac in Brittany and the Pink Granite Coast. In the coming weeks we'll post links to some of our specialised tours, which will include our very succeesful and interesting Megalith tours of Brittany, as well as our Castles and Fortresses tours.