It has been a week since we returned from our Road Scholar Quintessential Britain adventure, and it is time to put down our final thoughts on the trip. We have nothing very profound to offer here, just some brief observations about different aspects of the program. Obviously these are just our opinions, and many of the group may feel differently about some of the things mentioned.

Group leader: Ros was an excellent group leader. She always seemed cheerful and incredibly patient with the multitude of questions and strange requests from the members of the group.

Trip Directors: Our two trip directors, Kevin in London and Peter for the rest of the journey, were both superb. Their depth and breadth of knowledge was amazing. It seemed that they could come up with answers to some of the most arcane questions, although they might have been making stuff up for all we knew–but I don’t think so.

Weather: The weather was practically perfect. We did have several overcast days with light mists, but we were actually rained upon only one time–at Stratford-upon-Avon. We were assured by many natives that this was not the norm.

Hotels: Based on our previous experiences with foreign hotels, we were not expecting a great deal for our accommodations; in general, however, the room sizes were adequate. Probably the biggest negative was that, outside of London, none of the rooms were air conditioned. To our surprise, it was actually fairly warm for most of the trip, and the heat in the rooms at night made sleeping a little difficult.

Food: Our meals were much better than we expected. In fact, many of us probably ate more than we should have: it is hard to walk away from good food when it is sitting on a plate right in front of you.

Activity Level: We did a lot more walking and standing than we were expecting. A couple of days we walked over 5 miles. It should be noted that many of the walks were “optional”, but, nevertheless, you are still on your feet a lot when visiting museums, cathedrals, and ruins. Having said that, we must admit that short hikes on the moors and in the Scottish highlands and clambering around castle ruins were special highlights for us.

Countryside: The beautiful countryside–with gently rolling hills, well-tended farms and lots and lots of sheep–was sort of a surprise to us. There was much more open and picturesque land than we were expecting to find.

Favorite Places: Naturally, we enjoyed visiting such world-famous sites as the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Roman Baths, and Stonehenge. On the other hand, we also liked the small town of Mickleton, with its friendly hotel and the change of pace it offered from our early days in London. Because of our fondness for Shakespeare’s works, we considered it a special treat to visit his birthplace and his grave. Linda especially like being serenaded by the bagpiper as we entered Scotland. Perhaps because we had no previous expectations–in fact we had never even heard of them–two of our favorite stops were Chesters Roman Fort at Hadrian’s Wall, with its 2000 year-old stone foundations, and the magnificent abbey ruins of Rievaulx, with its towering walls reaching proudly to the skies in its lonesome valley far away from anywhere–a very moving place.

Program Participants: We have participated in several Road Scholar programs, including a 17-day Lewis and Clark  journey in 2011. What often seems to surprise us–although by now it should no longer be a surprise–is how much we enjoy meeting and getting to know the other folks sharing in the adventure. We always learn a great deal from the formal programs, but the comments, observations and good-humored remarks from the other group members add tremendously to the over-all experience. Seeing new places and learning new facts with such intelligent and congenial people always makes for a wonderful adventure.