Driver Guided Tours

Devon with its moody and wild moors, sparkling estuaries, dramatic coastline, bucolic river valleys and historic towns and cities is truly a feather in England’s cap! Search for Arthur Conan Doyle’s hound on Dartmoor, try and catch a glimpse of a magnificent stag on Exmoor, discover the historic heart of Exeter or stand where the Pilgrim Fathers set out on their voyage to a new world and where Francis Drake protected an old one!

Cornwall with its dramatic coastline, golden beaches and ancient moorlands is unlike anywhere else in Britain, after all it even has its own language! 

Follow in the footsteps of the legendary King Arthur by visiting Tintagel, feel like you could step off the end of the world at Lands End

Cornwall has a wealth of local produce and has deservedly become a gastronomic destination; with chefs like Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ainsworth and Rick Stein there's a wealth of choice. We'll show you the less well-known gems too.

The county of Dorset is one of the jewels of southern England. Known for its famous UNESCO World Heritage coastline – The Jurassic Coast – Dorset has so much more to offer.

It is, after all, the landscape which inspired the novels and poems of nineteenth century novelist Thomas Hardy. Literary associations don't stop there with Jane Austen a frequent visitor, even setting a key scene in her novel Persuasion in the county.

The landscape of rural Dorset is one of magnificent hills, wide open vistas and tiny, thatched villages.

With rolling green hills; rough hewn churches, barns and cottages made from the distinctive honey-coloured local stone and a myriad tracery of dry stone walls the Cotswolds fulfil many people’s idea of the perfect English landscape.

We have avoided tying the Cotswolds to one particular county. The term is applied to an area characterised by a particular building style, constructed from the distinctive oolitic limestone. The vast majority of the Cotswolds falls within the county of Gloucestershire, the area spreads into the neighbouring counties of Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire.

The county of Oxfordshire is perhaps most famous for Matthew Arnold’s “Dreaming Spires” of Oxford with its 39 colleges making up the University of Oxford; but heading out into the countryside you discover there is much more variety to this wonderfully rural county! You can visit the only non-royal or ecclesiastical palace in Britain given as a gift by a grateful nation and where Winston Churchill was born and walk the grounds where he proposed to the love of his life. Walk along the River Thames and visit a Saxon Abbey or find inspiration in the home of William Morris. Hear stories of witches and treacherous knights at the Rollright Stones or see where Charles II stayed with his most famous mistress Nell Gwynn. 

Wiltshire is world-renowned for its prehistory; it is, after all home to the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Stonehenge and Avebury, but it has even more to offer. Wiltshire has a unique ecology, huge areas of calcareous grassland - that have never seen a chemical – famed for its wildflowers and birdlife. Wiltshire has one city, historic Salisbury, home to the ‘Medieval skyscraper’, thirteenth century Salisbury Cathedral. Wiltshire has more thatched cottages than any other county in England and some of the country’s most attractive villages. Wiltshire also has a great tradition in the brewing of beer and there are some splendid pubs to explore

Somerset with its beautiful ridges of hills, dramatic moorland, spectacular caves and historical cities is an often overlooked corner of the south west of England! Spend time in the Georgian city of Bath and discover its Roman roots, enjoy a drink at William Penn’s favourite ‘watering hole’ in Wells, wonder at the architecture of England’s first ‘Gothic’ cathedral or look upon the same view as Coleridge when he wrote Kubhla Khan. Stand atop Glastonbury Tor and survey the mystical Isle of Avalon! A day out will put you in the mood for some local Cheddar cheese and cider.

The ancient county of Gloucestershire splits neatly into three areas; the Cotswolds (see the Cotswolds page), the Vale of Severn and the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean. The county’s one city, Gloucester has a heritage dating back to the Romans in the first century and one of Britain’s finest cathedrals. The early Norman kings spent Christmas at Gloucester which points to its early significance and the cathedral’s magnificent cloister will be instantly recognisable to Harry Potter fans. Gloucestershire other major town is Cheltenham, a spa town with elegant buildings built in the Regency style of the early 1800’s and home to a famous school.

Warwickshire is best known for being the birthplace of the bard himself William Shakespeare. With the historic market towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, where you can visit the birthplace or the grave of Shakespeare or visit Warwick and its famous castle with its trebuchet and jousting tournaments. Visit the town where Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) was born, the castle which withheld and won a siege lasting six months in 1266 or even the beautiful Regency spa town of Royal Leamington Spa where the world’s first tennis club was formed. 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire are two of the most rural counties in England both with its own unique cathedral city; at Hereford Cathedral you can see the largest medieval map in existence and at Worcester you can visit the tombs of King John and a prince who would have been king! Here the farms are ruled by Plums, Hops, Apples, Pears and Asparagus giving a beautiful display in spring. Stand on top of the Malvern Hills where Elgar and Guerney took their inspiration or visit the grave of a Swedish Nightingale. When you have done all this you may be thirsty… Cider and Perry is one of the area's main industries, you can even visit a museum all about it! 

Shropshire is full of variety it is one of England's more rural counties with the dramatic Heather Moorland of the Shropshire Hills and the Long Mynd and the peat bog land of the Meres and Mosses. It is also famous for its beautiful and historic market towns where you can stand where Charles Darwin caught the stagecoach to start his voyage to the Galapagos or visit a church that holds the heart of a prince. It has in its history been a hugely contested county being on the Welsh Marches the border between Wales and England.Because of this turbulent past, Shropshire abounds with magnificent and imposing castles and ruins, such as Ludlow. You can also stand in the cradle of the Industrial Revolution or buy sweets at a Victorian Chemist shop!  

The West Midland’s is one of the country's most metropolitan counties. Visit Coventry Cathedral with its blending of modern and historic architecture and learn about its fascinating history from Lady Godiva to Chuck Berry recording a number one; or even learn how to be sent to Coventry! 

Visit Birmingham ‘the city of a thousand trades’ and hear about the man who suggesting towing icebergs to the equator, a man who made himself a wooden hat, why the assay office has an anchor symbol or see the place where the first white line on a road was painted! You could also visit the city of Wolverhampton and get under the skin of the ‘Wulfrunians’, see the place where the first automated traffic lights in Britain were placed, hear about the first car which hit 200mph and broke a land speed record or why Queen Victoria liked it so much. It also contains the Black Country with its industries such as nails, glass, leather work and coal production.

Staffordshire is a county of contrasts; perhaps the most famous thing about Staffordshire is its ceramic industry  and the famous potteries of Spode and Wedgewood ( which you can still visit today) in Stoke-on-Trent but it is also famous for brewing beer with the town of Burton-on-Trent containing England's largest brewery. Staffordshire  has some beautiful and historic towns and cities, notably  the city of Lichfield with its dramatic cathedral,  the birthplace of Dr Samuel Johnson. Visit the hilltop textile town of Leek. Some of Staffordshire sits within the Peak District, the first National Park in Britain; visit the Manifold Valley or Dovedake, the place where Izaak Walton was inspired to write The Compleat Angler