In this, the first of a new series of blog posts that expand upon some of our Frequently Asked Questions, and with it being English Tourism Week, Lisa tackles a very British subject: the weather!
A national obsession
“Ooh, what lovely weather we’re having!” “Did you hear the rain last night? Awful!” “I hear there’s 6 inches of snow forecast for this week!”
Us Brits love a good chat about the weather. It’s almost a national obsession. Barely a day goes by without someone passing comment on the heat, the cold, the rain or the wind. Some of the tabloids virtually rely on over-exaggerating predicted extreme weather to sell their newspapers!
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- Despite what the tabloids say, the weather in the UK is rarely extreme – especially here in the Cotswolds!
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- I think some of our foreign visitors must fall over laughing to hear that 100°F (37.7°C) is considered a “heatwave” here!
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- The Daily Express is particularly fond of over-exaggerating a weather story
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- This same newspaper printed “Heatwave to last all summer” a few weeks later!
But the truth is, the weather in Britain is often changeable, but rarely extreme. When Tom, Zoe and I arrived home from our winter break in Spain in February, the weather was very cold and icy (certainly compared to sunny Andalucia, where we’d just been!), yet fast forward just a couple of weeks and we were eating lunch in a pub beer garden on a very sunny and warm March day.
Doesn’t it always rain in Britain?
Britain is somewhat infamous for being a wet and grey island – and it’s not wholly undeserved. Yes, it rains here, fairly often, but unlike those countries that are familiar with monsoon seasons, the rain here is far less consistent. Ironically, at the time of writing, heavy rain is lashing against my window, but just a few days ago it was gloriously sunny with fabulous blue skies and a wonderful sense of Spring in the air!
What about snow?
Contrary to what the movies may suggest, heavy snow in winter (in our part of England, at least) is pretty uncommon and never guaranteed. Some of our foreign visitors arrive in Winter expecting to find the Cotswolds covered in a beautiful blanket of snow, but are shocked to hear that in the 30-something years that Tom and I have been alive, we have never experienced a “white Christmas”!
This snowy scene from the movie Bridget Jones’ Diary – shot on location in the Cotswolds village of Snowshill – was filmed in the summer and all the snow is fake!
That’s not to say it *never* snows in the Cotswolds…
Do you cancel tours because of bad weather?
This picture was taken just a couple of days after the tour we had to cancel. Snow doesn’t stick around for long here!
We have only ever cancelled ONE Cotswolds Day Tour because of bad weather – and that was in 2017 when the Cotswolds WAS covered in a beautiful blanket of snow. Unfortunately, the deep snow and treacherous ice meant that it wasn’t safe to drive our minibus (in fact, we couldn’t even get it off our driveway!).
In the unlikely event that we do have to cancel a tour, customers will of course receive a full refund. We do not provide refunds for anyone who chooses not to come on a tour when the tour is going ahead.
Generally speaking, unless the weather is exceptionally severe and it would be unsafe to travel (which is rare!), our Cotswolds Day Tours depart whatever the weather. The Cotswolds is beautiful in any season and in any weather, and if it’s raining we do provide umbrellas to help keep you dry if you haven’t brought your own. We recommend you adopt the typically British obsession: check the weather forecast on the morning of your tour and dress appropriately – remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!
