At last! We are DELIGHTED to announce that Go Cotswolds is now open for Cotswolds Day Tour bookings for tours from Sunday 9th August 2020!
We’re Good to Go!
This mark assures you that we have conducted a thorough risk assessment of our business, and will be implementing enhanced health and safety measures to help safeguard our customers, ourselves and our community, against COVID-19 infection.
What to expect on a Cotswolds Day Tour
Although we are making some necessary health and safety changes (see below), our Cotswolds Day Tour will remain essentially the same as advertised, making stops at 7 beautiful Cotswolds towns, villages, landmarks and viewpoints. With social distancing measures still in place, it’s not quite “business as usual” in the Cotswolds yet, but the Cotswolds are still beautiful, and there is still plenty to learn, see and do!
Unlike some tour companies, on a Go Cotswolds Day Tour the majority of your day will be spent outside in the fresh Cotswolds countryside air. In fact, during the tour, the longest time you’ll be on the minibus at one time is just 30 minutes.
Book a tour today!
For more information about our Cotswolds Day Tour, please click here. To book a tour, please click here.
Changes to keep us all safe
In accordance with Government advice, we are making some changes to keep us all safe. These changes will be reviewed as and when advice from the UK Government is updated.
Fewer, but better tours
From August until the end of the year, we will have only 3 (instead of 5) Cotswolds Day Tours per week. These will be on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, per our normal winter schedule.
Why? Well, with continuing international travel restrictions and a general reluctance to travel, quite honestly, we don’t expect to receive too many bookings for the rest of this year. So, to keep our business viable, we’ll consolidate our customers onto fewer tours so that we don’t operate tours at a loss.
We’ll be back on our normal schedule next year, which we expect to be busy, so if you’re planning a trip in 2021, book early so you don’t miss out!
Private tours also available!
However, we are also taking bookings for private tours! Any date that is not already booked for a small-group Cotswolds Day Tour is potentially available. Please email us to enquire!
Super-clean minibus
We like to keep our vehicles spick and span at the best of times, but in the wake of COVID-19, we will be raising our cleaning game.
In line with Government advice, we’ll be deep-cleaning and disinfecting our minibus in between every tour, wiping and sanitising all surfaces and allowing fresh air to flow throughout the vehicle. We’ll also disinfect common touch points, like door handles, seats and seat belts, throughout the tour.
Before you board the minibus at the start of the day, we’ll take a quick check of your temperature using a non-contact thermometer, just to be on the safe side. Of course, it should go without saying that if you, or anyone in your household or social bubble has, or has had symptoms of possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection, then you must let us know, and you must not participate in the tour.
You will be asked to use hand sanitiser before boarding the minibus at the start of the day, and every time you re-enter the minibus after a stop.
Smaller groups
To help us comply with current social distancing guidelines, we are limiting the number of passengers for now to a maximum of 10 per tour (usually 16).
Smaller group sizes will help keep everyone safer, but you’ll still get the great small-group Go Cotswolds tour experience!
Safe social distancing
All passengers should keep a responsible social distance from other people – this means: other members of the tour group (unless they are in your household), your driver/guide, and members of the public. Currently, the guidance is to stay at least 2 metres away from other people, or 1 metre if you are wearing a face covering.
Face coverings
On the subject of face coverings, our 16-passenger seat minibuses are considered to be “public transport” – therefore, in accordance with Government advice, all passengers over the age of 11, who are not exempt for medical reasons, must wear a face covering while on board our vehicle.
Please bring your own face covering where possible – we will have some disposable face masks available if you forget, but we prefer you to use your own face covering to help reduce waste and any risk to our staff from collecting and disposing of used masks. A face covering can be a disposable or fabric surgical-style face mask, or just a scarf or buff – as long as it covers your nose and mouth, it’s suitable.
If you are using public transport to get to our tour pick-up points, you will need to wear a face covering on trains, buses and in taxis. Face coverings are also required in shops and other enclosed premises, so bear this in mind during the tour.
The driver/guide will maintain a responsible social distance so will not be wearing a face mask – it’s a guided tour after all, and we think it’s important you can see and hear us properly!
What about your Brewery & Pub Tours?
For now, sadly, we will not be running our (usually weekly) Brewery & Pub Tours.
The reason for this is simple: Purity Brewery and most of the pubs we visit are still closed to visitors or are operating at greatly reduced capacity, so these day tours are not currently possible.
Don’t worry, our Brewery & Pub Tours will be back! Stay tuned to our website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) – we’ll update you as soon as we can.