In April 2024, Carolyn and Bill landed in London to begin a journey through England and Scotland, two places that had been on their radar for quite some time.

They had traveled with R. Crusoe before, on a 14-day journey through China nearly a decade earlier, so when the UK finally moved to the top of the list, they came back to us.

During the first planning conversations, a few things became clear very quickly: they love museums, nature walks, lunches at local restaurants, and opportunities to talk with people in informal settings.

In other words, they were not looking for a race through Britain’s highlights.

London first, but not for long

Their journey began in London with a mix of culture and a little ceremony.

One favorite was afternoon tea in The Drawing Room at Brown’s Hotel, followed by an evening performance in the West End.

From there, they moved into the Cotswolds, where the priorities changed.

Carolyn and Bill prefer smaller hotels with character and, whenever possible, somewhere they can walk out the door to shops and restaurants. The Lygon Arms in Broadway fit particularly well.

The building has centuries of history, the village is right outside, and the hotel itself gave them the kind of sense of place they were looking for.

Then the journey really opened up.

A northbound train brought them into Edinburgh, where one of the memorable evenings was dinner by candlelight in The Witchery’s Secret Garden.

But the real heart of the Scottish portion came after Edinburgh.

From there, a private driver-guide took them through Perthshire, Cairngorms National Park and Inverness, then on to the Isle of Skye before finishing on the shores of Loch Lomond.

It was exactly the sort of route where having the right person behind the wheel makes an enormous difference.

And then there was Craig.

Carolyn and Bill became particularly fond of their driver-guide, Craig.

He was knowledgeable, of course, but what they remembered most was everything around the guiding: the conversation, the music chosen to fit the landscapes, and the Scottish poetry that occasionally appeared at just the right moment.

Apparently the accent did not hurt either.

By the end of the trip, Craig and his wife had an open invitation to visit Carolyn and Bill in the United States.

That is usually a pretty good sign that the guide match worked.

Getting out of the car mattered too

Scotland is spectacular from the road, but Carolyn and Bill did not want to experience all of it through a windshield.

In Cairngorms National Park, they joined a local guide, Katie, and her dog, Mac, for a private four-hour walk through the landscape.

That slower time outdoors gave them a completely different connection to the Highlands than the scenic drives alone could have provided.

Glencoe was another highlight, this time for exactly the opposite reason: the sheer drama of driving through that ancient Highland landscape.

The trip worked because there was room for both.

A route built around how they like to travel

Carolyn and Bill’s journey was not complicated because it contained obscure places or elaborate experiences.

It worked because the pieces fit them.

A walkable hotel in the Cotswolds. A London theater night. A good lunch. A long walk in the Cairngorms. A driver they genuinely enjoyed spending time with.

Those decisions often matter more than adding another famous sight.

And as for what came next?

The Greek Isles were already waiting, with Portugal not far behind.