'Stonehenge & Secret England' Private Full-Day Tour from Bath for 2-8 guests

On our way back from Andalusia, Spain, we stopped in London for a few days to enjoy that fantastic city. On one of the days, we took an early morning train to Bath and joined two other travelers on a tour to Stonehenge AND as our gifted and talented guide called it, “Secret England”. The latter turned out to be a visit to several small villages in Somerset to explore their beauty historical significances. Our guide, Jules is a former history teacher and so he was able to really bring the history and importance of Stonehenge (luckily in late September there aren’t hordes of tourists) and the weather was glorious! After Stonehenge, we had a delightful pub lunch at The historic Bath Arms in Wiltshire (naturally ordered the fish and chips). Our next stop was at the village of Mells and St. Andrews Church and cemetery. The church has a long history, dating back to the 15th century and has several significant decorative features including memorials to some who die in World War 1. I really get a thrill out of visiting old cemeteries, especially to connect with people who evoke emotional memories from my early life (I have visited Pére Le Chaise in Paris three times to pay homage to Jim Morrison!). So, I was really intrigued when Jules led us to the cemetery at St. Andrews. We stopped at a gravestone that brought back so many memories of my days at Lawrence School, Lovedale and our classes in English Literature, reading First World War poems by Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. I was standing at the grave of Siegfried Sassoon as Jules played a recording of Sassoon in his own words. I was 14 years old when we studied these poems about the horrors of war and at this time, I felt profound emotions that I had never felt during any travel visit or tour. Sassoon had experienced the horrific trench warfare of WW1 when chemical weapons were commonly used, and he became a fervent antiwar activist till his death. Hats off to Jules and In and Beyond Bath Tours for this moving yet wonderful experience. Overall, our visit went great and visiting Stonehenge and the countryside of Somerset with Jules was a fantastic day away from London.

Just got back from a wonderful day of touring with Simon. Our family of 4 (2 adults, 13 year old and 18 year old) had a great time seeing Stonehenge in the AM and some of the English countryside (Mells and Nunney) in the afternoon. Simon was easy to talk with and clearly knows a ton about the region (and beyond). Really neat stories about the history. Communication was also excellent, including a call the day prior to confirm pick-up details. Very attentive. Really a wonderful day. Thank you!

Could not recommend this tour company more - Jules was incredibly helpful in our booking and we had the most lovely day with Max, our tour guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable and tailored the day perfectly to our family (which included three children ages 14, 12, and 8). We toured Stonehenge, went to a lovely pub for lunch, walked through a beautiful castle ruin, and learned so much about the history of the area. Thank you, Max!!