It’s been almost a year since I’ve moved to London and up until now, I’m still so excited about all the things this city has to offer. Yes, I’m still a tourist even after a year. It’s just hard not to be when you’ve got so many places to explore and things to do around you.
The latest adventure that I’ve had here was right around my neck of the woods, a Hampton Court Bike Tour by Coddiwomple Tours. I do love exploring the city on my own but I also love joining organized tours specially if it promises you a unique experience. I found it in my ever so handy Groupon App where I get ideas of things to do for a very reasonable price. The Hampton Court Bike Tour was being offered for £9, a hefty 64% discount from the normal price of £25. I had to book it immediately of course.
Booking process was through their website and extremely easy. Coddiwomple Tours’ replies come almost immediately as soon as you’ve requested for the booking. It’s no different as well when I asked for the date to be changed. That left a very good impression on me, it only shows how very organized they are as a company and it made me more excited about the tour itself.
The tour started from Hampton Court train station and from there we all went to a nearby pub to take our bicycles. We had a quick practice around the pub’s parking area (I needed that as I’m not a very good cyclist) before we headed off to the entrance of Hampton Court Palace.
Hampton Court Palace is my favorite place in London, I’m a bit biased because I live very near it. It was the very first place that I visited when we moved to Kingston and I’ve been numerous times afterwards ever since. What I didn’t know is – Hampton Court is not only the palace, it’s a HUGE area and I haven’t even explored most of it.
This tour gave me an overview of how beautiful the rest of Hampton Court is. I can’t believe that after 11 months, I am only exploring all these places which are all just a quick skip in the bus from where I live. The Bushy Park is a personal favorite of mine. I made a mental note as we explored the vastness of this park to buy my own bicycle so I could cycle around this place anytime I want to. Also, did you know that the D-Day landing was planned here? I found that bit of information extremely interesting as I had no idea about it until this tour.
We had a quick pit stop at a local pub for a pint before we continued our cycling journey along the Barge Walk. Our tour ended in front of the Tudor side of Hampton Court Palace before we went back to the pub where we started to return our bicycles and bid farewell to each other.
This is my favorite tour among all the other tours I’ve taken in London and that’s definitely saying a lot because I’ve taken quite a few tours since I arrived. I love the fact that we’re cycling and because of this, we were able to cover a bigger area as opposed to a walking tour. The scenic beauty of our route made it an enjoyable ride as well.
Our tour guide Tricia was fabulous, she was knowledgeable not only of the the stops that we made but of the whole area itself. I also love the fact that she puts our safety first and makes sure that we’re all crossing the streets together and safe from the motorists.
We’re also not riding our bicycles on major roads which is another thing that I love about this tour, Tricia will ask us to walk our bicycles when we’re crossing the streets and will only ride it on proper cycle paths. As I’ve said, I’m not very confident with my cycling abilities so this was a good fit for me. Bushy Park is a cyclist’s heaven as well, it’s flat and very easy to navigate on a bicycle.
I absolutely loved this tour and I plan on taking it again with my husband, this is the kind of tour he’ll definitely enjoy – specially with the stop at a local pub for a pint after cycling. 🙂
This is NOT a sponsored post.
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Hampton Court Bike Tour by Coddiwomple Tours
£9 per person through Groupon (valid for a limited time only)
£25 per person is the original price
info[at]coddiwompletours[.]com
Tel No. +44(0)7471860445
Nice photos. I have never been to London before it seems like a great place particularly for bike lovers. I love to visit and explore different places by bike. It is such a good way for us to see nice views. Thanks for sharing!
I would love to see London this way next time I visit!
Yep, one of the best ways to explore the city. 🙂
I love Hampton Court Palace, but I also had no idea there was so much more to it! Might have to spend a day there soon. Would it be worth taking a bike and just doing cycle alone – are there any signs along the way about significant parts?
You do have the map in Bushy Park, I plan on getting a bike so I can go around it on my own next time. 🙂
What a wonderful idea to see it by bike. I’ve visited a fair few of London’s palaces but not made it to Hampton Court yet – looks like I’m missing out!
Hampton Court Palace is my favorite amongst all the palaces I’ve seen here, you definitely should give it a visit. 🙂
Wow, I love Bushy Park and cycling. I used to cycle every day, then I moved to London… not the best place for cyclists. But around Hampton Court Palace it looks lovely and peaceful! I must give this a go and what a bargain with the Groupon deal.
Lol, London is definitely not the best for cyclists! It’s suicidal! 🙂