A Long Winter Is Calling !……

As the months have rolled by, in what has been a very ‘eventful’ year, I’ve decided to do little more writing, even though I often find it hard to do.

A long Winter is calling me to write more, and so I shall!

I thought that perhaps I should put a focus on more of my travels, but rather than tell you more stories about my own travel adventures, I thought that some of you would like to hear about my life as a tour guide….. during some guided tours that I have led within the British Isles.

I will of course change all names, although I suspect that in places some of you will recognise yourselves.

I’m not going to give you the ‘glossy’ untarnished version, either, as I find guiding to be extremely emotionally challenging and physically taxing……. you will be able to read about the ‘nasty’ stuff that goes on, very often, behind the scenes, as I lead 25 (ish) people through Britain.

Fortunately, I love……really love!, what I’ve done for ten years now. You ‘The People’ have always made my career path a joy and I love waking up to your company and being able to provide you with new adventures and experiences…… as well as being given new experiences by you the ‘traveler’.

So, please join me this Winter, as I travel around the United Kingdom with you….. I hope you learn a little bit about what makes ‘this’ tour guide tick, and I’m sure that I’ll learn a little bit about myself as I do this. I shall start with Day one of a Best Of England (and Wales) tour, 9 years ago.

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Day 1

It was hard for me to wake up this morning. Although I love Bath, I’m not a fan of this little hotel. I guess you could say that it’s adequate and certainly, as a starting point for this, my first tour, it works well. This morning, my stomach is churning with hunger and I really need a cup of coffee. My flight was late into Southampton last night, and by the time my train arrived into the station at Bath Spa, I had spent eighteen hours traveling from my home in France to get here to my new base in Bath. I didn’t eat anything last night so I have a quick and very tepid shower and run down to the breakfast room. Its empty!…. hurrah, I get to choose where to sit, so I plonk myself down on a table that should seat four people, right next to the kitchen door. My intention is to greet the servers, chef and waiting staff and let them all know that I ‘The Guide’ has arrived…….it sounds very important doesn’t it…..lolol

Paul the head waiter immediately popped his head around the kitchen door and, seeing me, he came over and we reacquainted ourselves quickly. Because I had been on a training run, the previous month, I had stayed here before and they all knew me…. but now was my chance to win them over, a little, and bring them into my team.

My entire life, I have been a team player, and I really value the ability of a few people working in harmony together. I didn’t know or really care how ‘staff’ treated other guides or even tour members, prior to me embarking upon this career path, but I sure as heck wanted US all to play together, in the hope that a better experience would be gained by the tour members I would be traveling with for two weeks.

Paul and I had a good chat and he called the chef and another staff member to my table. Teas and coffees were served as my breakfast of ‘eggs Benedict’ was cooked. It was a lovely moment, and it appeared that we could all get along well in the future.

I sat and finished my breakfast whilst reading up on some tour logistics notes. Heading back upstairs, I made a quick detour and went to the front desk. No-one was there to ‘check’ me in last night and I wanted to see who was there this morning…. It was Magda !! She and I had met the previous month and it turned out that she was a Polish woman who came from the same small town as my uncle Alphonse had….. we had lots to talk about. As we chatted, she printed off the tour documents that had been emailed to me and I discovered that almost all of my new tour members had arrived and were billeted in different rooms in the hotel.

I took my documents back up to my room and checked them quickly to see if we had any late cancellations. I also checked online to see if there had been any flight delays, as this could mean that my last two traveling companions may be delayed for our tour briefing later on this afternoon.

All was good, so I hit the streets of Bath.

I’m not someone who gets nervous. In fact I thrill at the prospect of doing something new and of meeting new people, so the prospect of leading a group of twenty two tour members on a wonderful trip didn’t fill me with anxiety, as I know it does for some guides. For me the excitement was so powerful that I had to go and walk it off.

Bath had been my home for many years when growing up, and it felt good to be back once again. I headed to the bank and withdrew several thousands of pounds in small denominations and put it into my money belt. This was to be my financial lifeline whilst on the tour. I then went to a little coffee shop that I knew specialised in some South American coffees for a caffeine topup. Out came my cell phone and iPad, and I stared to call vendors….hoteliers, restaurants, guides, sites, I order to confirm ( for the third time) numbers. This took an hour or so, but it meant that I could consume two more very strong espressos, whilst sitting there.

I then wandered Bath, but with a mission!…. I wanted to do what other British guides weren’t doing and that was to offer a nighttime tour of the city! I had a good idea of where I wanted to take them and so I traced that walk as I ‘wandered’, grabbing a pastie as I walked.

With my research and lunch completed, I headed back to the hotel where I picked up our audio systems…the ‘whisper system’. I took the to my room and checked every piece of equipment out before taking them downstairs to the breakfast area. Magda had laid out the chairs and cleared the table so that I could hold my tour briefing there…. I had also asked and paid her to lay on some simple refreshments. I placed the ‘whispers, along with my business card onto everyones chair and sat down to drink yet another cup of coffee….. I hoe you’re counting how many coffees I have already consumed….lol

At this moment, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and as I turned to see who it was, an unfamiliar voice said ‘Hello…are you Mark?’

I smiled outwardly and held out my hand to MY very first tour member! (twenty one others were waiting upstairs). I was thrilled.