London Tours from Ray Ruddick Tours

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DT7: THE THAMES VALLEY (5 hours)

Hambledon village on Thames Valley tour What Llamas on a Ruddicks Tour? Old English church on Thames valley tour

Why not explore the beautiful villages of the Thames Valley. Names like Marlow, Henley, Cookham, Hambledon and many more! It's a taste

of ‘old England’, yet close enough to London to make this delightful short tour possible.

DT7: Total Tour Cost - Mini-Van for 1-8 persons - £320

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R a y's L o n d o n W a l k i n g T o u r

For individual groups of up to 30 people - a fun way to see a great deal plus it's the least expensive way to tour London with a professional guide

This tour can cost as little as £7* (around $10) per person + expenses - see a fuller tour description here

*For your private group of (up to) 30 persons

You'll ride the London buses, cruise the river Thames, travel by tube (metro/subway), experience the new overhead railway ... Stroll some of the parks and hidden places that can only be seen on foot. You'll need to be able to walk reasonably well, and to cope with some stairs/steps from time to time, but it's great fun!!

(Wheelchair users are NOT prevented from taking this tour contact me for further information). Major Sights include full guided-visits to either historic Westminster Abbey or the impressive and 'newly-scrubbed' St Paul's Cathedral. You'll walk some lovely parks and gardens, visit the Royal Observatory, stand on the Greenwich Meridien (East/West Line), and explore Greenwich Village ...

Total cost for your group - £220 currency converter

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IMPORTANT! Before booking any tour and paying your booking deposit please check my availability using my online diary

Go here for more information about my London Walking Tour OR Read an account of a typical tour here

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Ray's Country Walks - in London's Countryside

For families or groups up to 8 persons

Our village base

Come hike with me around the lovely Chiltern Hills, a beautiful, unspoilt corner of England less than an hour's drive from London.

It's a great day out of town and the perfect way to get close to the real England.

You'll be surprised by just how beautiful the countryside can be so close to London, if you know where to find it, and I do!

The Chilterns are gently rolling hills covered in woodlands of beech broken by cleared areas of chalk downland which provide a haven for a wide variety of wildlife.

Wildflowers found on the downland in summertime include abundant orchids and the rare Chilterns Gentian. In the area we'll be exploring, the spectacular Red Kite, a reintroduced bird of prey, is often seen - and heard - for most of the year. In the valleys we discover attractive villages with their traditional brick and flint cottages nestled around a medieval church, village green and pub.

You'll be surprised by the great variety of terrain we'll be walking on: hilltop ridges with wide views; peaceful valleys sheltering those charming little villages and splendid tracks winding through magnificent stretches of beech and oak woodland.

Can anyone do these walks?

A basic level of fitness is necessary for the short walks, and a little more experience of hiking/walking for the longer ones. I always try to lead a walk at the speed of the slowest member of your group, however. (Which is why the times shown below are varied).

Special clothing?

A good pair of strong shoes or trainers and a couple of layers of clothing are all you need as I provide each walker with a small light rucksack containing waterproofs, a bottle of water and a treat or two for the journey!

So come breathe some fine country air, get lots of superb pictures, stretch those legs, hearts and lungs and go for it! The walks end at a charming, cosy local village Inn, complete with log fires in the colder months. It's a perfect place to reward yourselves with an excellent tasty traditional lunch - or just a sandwich, soup and a beer or coffee, the choice is yours.

What happens?

We leave London around 9am and are up and walking within an hour. You'll discover that all the noise and cares of modern life rapidly begin to fade away as we walk in the footsteps of travelers of the last few thousand years!

There are three hikes on offer, all personally led by me, and they all include rest stops at various points of interest along the way. All the walks begin and end in the same village, so if you are inexperienced hikers, go for the shorter walk initially and if everyone desires it can easily be extended as we make our way. As many of the tracks in this region overlap, the routes can be varied a great deal. (The Chilterns has literally hundreds of miles of tracks - known in Britain as public footpaths - and your writer has walked them extensively, so route variations 'on-the-hoof' are no problem!). If there are youngsters in our group I'll also be very happy to explain how to navigate using the large-scale maps and compass favoured by serious hikers.

We'll share stories about the peoples and history of the region at the stops along the way, at other times we'll be simply walking and enjoying the peace and quiet of nature at its' best.

WALK 1: 3.5 miles (two to two and a half hours walking including stops).

I meet you at your hotel just before 9am, so that we can be on the road leaving London by 9am, thus minimising traffic to arrive at our Chilterns village base around 10am.

This village is much-loved by movie-makers and you'll soon realise why. We park in the car park of the village pub, and if desired we can enjoy a quick coffee before setting out. Then I'll issue each member of our party with a light-weight rucksack or waist pack (fanny pack to some) containing waterproofs, a drink and an energy snack. We should be on our walk by 10.30am.

A gentle climb away from the village soon produces fine views and an opportunity to see the Red Kite, before we enter mature Beech woods for a dramatic contrast, in views and light where thoughts of the days of Robin Hood are perfectly natural. However, I'll also tell you about another group of forest dwellers, the Bodgers, who made their living in these woods until very recently ....

The first of our rest stops comes up 35 to 45 minutes into the walk when we emerge from deep woodlands to climb a hill and discover a remote and very beautiful medieval church. A couple of benches in the churchyard will give us some ease and I'll briefly explain some of its features and history. On a cold day we'll do this inside. (The church is never locked!). I'll give everyone a chance to make their own exploration of the place then we're back on the trail again with more fine views in open country.

A final climb brings us to fresh views and a look at a grand Country Estate, followed by a look at the former home of Henry Ford II, and finally the home of Supermarket chief, Sir John Sainsbury. Then it's a gentle descent with another stop or two at points of interest before a final stroll along a woodland path returns us to our village.

The walk terminates at the village inn around 12.30pm to 1pm. We either lunch here, or if desired we'll take a short drive to a neigbouring village for an alternative choice. We leave for the drive back to London around 2.30pm and take a different route to enable us to check-out the attractive Thames-side towns of Marlow or Henley (a short stop is possible) before arriving at your hotel around 4pm.

Cost: £320 total (Note: The cost is the total for your party, not per person. This includes transportation, my services as walk-leader, water/snacks/loan of waterproofs - if required.

WALK 1: Total Tour Cost - Mini-Van for 1-8 persons - £320

IMPORTANT! Before booking any tour and paying your booking deposit please check my availability using my online diary

WALK 1A: 3.5 miles (two to two and a half hours walking including stops plus a fine afternoon tea in elegant surroundings).

This great option to extend your experience is to enable you to spend an hour or two visiting Henley (famous for its annual Royal Regatta) after the walk, followed by afternoon Tea** at a beautiful Thames-side Country House Hotel before returning to London early evening.

Cost: £360 total - if you're sharing the trip with your family or friends it can work out at less than £45 per person! (The van carries 8 passengers plus me).

Total Tour Cost - Mini-Van for 1-8 persons - £360 **The cost of the Tea is NOT included. (Aprrox. £14 a head)

elegant place for afternoon tea Henley Royal Regatta

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WALK 2: 5.0 miles (two and a half to three hours walking including stops)

Chiltern chalk stream

As above but with a longer walk - all other detail applies .. and more ...

Depart London 9am. Commence walking at 10.30am, terminating at the village around 1.00 to 1.30pm. Lunch break of 1 to 1.5 hours. Departing the village around 3.00pm to 3.30pm, returning to London by the above route, around 5pm.

Cost: £360 total (for your group, not per person. This includes transportation, my services as walk-leader, water/snacks/loan of waterproofs - if required.

WALK 2: Total Tour Cost - Mini-Van for 1-8 persons - £360

IMPORTANT! Before booking any tour and paying your booking deposit please check my availability using my online diary

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The rare Chiltern Gentian

WALK 3: 6.5 miles (three and a half to four hours walking including stops)

As above but a longer walk - all other detail applies .. and more ...

Depart London 9am. Commence walking at 10.30am, terminating at the village around 2.30pm to 3.00pm. Lunch break of 1 to 1.5 hours. Departing the village around 4.30pm to return to London by the above route, arriving around 6.00 pm.

Cost: £400 total (for your group, not per person. This includes transportation, my services as walk-leader, water/snacks/loan of waterproofs - if required.

WALK 3: Total Tour Cost - Mini-Van for 1-8 persons - £400

IMPORTANT! Before booking any tour and paying your booking deposit please check my availability using my online diary