My wife and I had for years dreamed of a trip to England to see our favorite football clubs (Arsenal for me and Liverpool for her) play. On a whim earlier this year, I went ahead and booked our flights for a sixteen day trip in October to cover the dates when Premier and Champions League games were being played, figuring we would be able to secure hospitality tickets to see one or both teams play once the fixtures were released in the summer. We also wanted to see much more of England than just Liverpool and London, including some of the countryside and areas between the cities.
I literally had no idea how to get started in planning such an ambitious journey, so I started doing some research. KimKim was one of the one of the companies that kept coming up in my research with near universal positive reviews, so I contacted them to see what they could setup for us. I gave them the dates of our flights, our goals for the trip and a rough outline of what we wanted to see/experience.
Our England travel specialist, Carolyn Ransome, contacted us the next day and we proceeded to sketch out a rough outline of our trip. We eventually decided on a trip plan beginning/ending in London with Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds and Liverpool in between.
Carolyn was very thorough and diligent in assessing our needs and preferences while sketching out the details of our trip. This included our desires regarding accommodations, travel around England and sites to see/experience. Since it was a few months before I would know if/when we could secure tickets to the football matches, we left a rough outline of our trip in place to be finalized in summer.
After I was able to secure tickets to see our teams play and we had those dates set, I contacted Carolyn again and she set out planning our trip in detail. This turned out to be an ambitious undertaking beginning with the first 2 nights in London, renting a car to drive to Stonehenge and onto Bath, then to the Cotswolds and on to Liverpool, returning by train to London for the last 6 nights of our trip. Carolyn literally planned the entire trip for us, including all accommodations, car hire, train tickets and private transport pickups when needed at several points during our journey. She also arranged for our Stonehenge tickets, private Blue Badge tours in London for us to see the sites while there as well as securing tickets for the London Eye and a boat trip on the canal from Little Venice to Camden.
Once we paid and secured all our reservations, Brandon Williams of Routescape joined our trip as the Travel Care Executice to manage various aspects of the final details. He was very responsive throughout to my many questions and requests throughout the final stages of our planning. He sent us documents regarding travel practicalities, restaurant recommendations and even had a video meeting with us on the eve of our trip to answer any final questions/concerns. About 2 weeks before our trip he also sent us all the necessary trip documents including various tickets, accommodation confirmations and
contact numbers.
We’ve just returned from our dream trip and I must say the planning and execution of it was pretty much flawless thanks to Carolyn and Brandon. Only negatives I can think of were minor issues with our accommodations in Bath and one restaurant recommendation that was below our expectations.
Highlights of our trip included the games at Anfield and Emirates (our teams won both matches!), seeing and driving through the English countryside (Stonehenge, Cotswolds), canal walk in Bath and of course our Blue Badge tours in London. A very special shout out to our phenomenal Blue Badge guide, Sue Sturges. She was amazing.
I highly recommend KimKim for anyone contemplating an ambitious trip such as ours and will definitely consider using them again in the future.
Hotel Reviews
Hope Street Hotel
Liverpool
Very nice room (we had a studio suite). Separate sleeping and sitting areas which suited us perfectly. Comfortable bed. Nice modern upscale atmosphere.
Authenticity & Character
Upscale modern decor.
Location
Was abit removed from the central city areas of Liverpool (docks and city center), so we usually had to take an uber when we wanted to go anywhere.
Staff
Very helpful. Handled our 6 days of laundry we needed done upon arrival promptly and without issue. Very responsive to all our requests.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Comfortable bed. Only negative was the couch in the sitting area was abit hard and not comfortable to sit in for any period of time.
Our nicest room and stay of the entire trip. Luxurious and historic hotel We stayed in the Gordon Russell suite and it was amazing. Would definitely stay here again if in the area.
Authenticity & Character
Historic hotel and setting updated for modern comfort. The bar and sitting areas as well as the restaurant we had breakfast in were beautiful.
Location
Great access to most of the areas in Cotswolds.
Staff
Perfect in every sense of the word.
Cleanliness & Comfort
The suite we stayed in (Gordon Russell Suite) was large and personified comfort. Large sitting room separate from the bedroom as well as and separate entry room. Nice large bathroom with all the creature comforts.
No. 15 by Guesthouse
Bath
We were very disappointed in our room (Henrietta Jr Suite). The sitting area for the room was a tiny area between the bed and bathroom and was not a comfortable area to sit down nor relax. The floor was slanted and there was a step off between the bedroom and sitting area we frequently would trip over. Also, the bed was not a king size as requested. Certainly not a suite room in the traditional sense one could relax in for a few hours after a day touring. I had the feeling they had better rooms but we didn’t inquire further as we were only there for 2 nights and they appeared to be full.
Authenticity & Character
Historic building with very nice restaurant and bar areas.
Location
Central location with good walking access to most all of the areas we visited in Bath. Henrietta Park out the back door was nice for a quick relaxing stroll.
Staff
Very nice and responsive.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Room was clean but the suite we had was well below our expectations and frankly not comfortable at all.
Native Kings Wardrobe, St Pauls
London
Fantastic place to stay. Nice roomy apartments, very comfortable. Great location just a 2 minute walk from St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Thames. Short walks with quick access to Blackfriars and St. Paul’s underground entries. Excellent and very responsive staff. Would definitely stay here again.
Location
Perfectly situated for quick underground access. Close to St Paul’s and the Tube.
Staff
Very friendly and responsive to any requests.
Cleanliness & Comfort
It felt like our home away from home while in London.
Activity Reviews
The Churchill War Rooms Entry Tickets
London
Would recommend for anyone interested in Churchill and the history of England and WW II. It was crowded when we went so visibility was limited for certain areas and it was abit cramped with all of the crowds.
Westminster Abbey with a Blue Badge Guide
London
Must do experience at least once for everyone. Blue badge guided tour made this all the more memorable. We preferred St Paul’s due to its beauty but the history here is unsurpassed.
Moulin Rouge at Piccadilly Theatre. Fantastic show, set and cast. Would’ve like to have seen more shows in London if we’d had the time.
Tower of London Entry Tickets
London
Must see experience. One of the highlights of our trip made even more special by our Blue Badge guide, Sue Sturges. The jewels, ravens and Beefeaters stood out here to us. Would probably go again if possible and had the time.
Afternoon Tea & Roman Baths Visit
Bath
The tea was nice and checked our box for doing an afternoon tea experience. Would probably prefer doing a less formal structured tea in the future in another location though. The music they provided was good and provided the atmosphere for what they were trying to achieve.
The Baths tour was interesting if nothing more than the historic context and seeing the ruins. The walkthrough was well planned a laid out perfectly. Nice to see these once but don’t feel the need to do it again.
St Paul's Cathedral Entry
London
Absolutely beautiful. Would do this again whenever in London.
Stonehenge Entry
Salisbury
Great to see on of England’s iconic attractions in person. Would’ve been even better to have had the opportunity for one of the personal dawn or dusk tours where you can walk among the stones (they weren’t holding those tours the month we were there, unfortunately).
The posters around the perimeter encouraging and showing visitors how to take wacky photos seemed weird to me and spoiled our immersion in this iconic area.
Little Venice to Camden Market Canal Cruise
London
We did the London Waterbus tour. Boat was covered with windows and the visibility of sights along the canal was very limited. I understand on a rainy day this type of boat might be preferable but frankly we couldn’t really see much of what was talked about on our ride.
Half Day London Blue Badge Guide
London
Simply amazing. Personalized touring with exclusive access and insights. Our guide Sue Sturges was phenomenal. Would love to do more if these in the future if the opportunity presents itself.
Quality of Experience
Detailed tailored and personal touring.
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Sue was perfect for us and we quickly established a wonderful rapport with her. Would request her again for all of our tours if possible.
