Burrr… Really Cold in the UK

BURRRRRR…..It can really get cold in England! 

Cotswolds

Last week I found myself in England and Wales during the Foot and Mouth outbreak. I was leading a group of students and educators from Florida. You probably know what SPRING BREAK is like in Florida…….sunbathing, hot weather, going to the beach, and taking a break from school. Little did we know that being in England was going to be such a drastic change.

 We arrived in the middle of the worst cold snap of the century! But that didn’t stop our adventures! We arrived in the town of Bath as it was being covered with six inches of snow. The villages of the Cotswolds were beautiful, their thatched roofed houses catching the pure white morning snow. Although we were most often chilled-to-the-bone, we were able to experience England in a way that most tourist cannot. 

The foot and mouth outbreak had “scared” away many would be tourist and left the snow covered countryside for us to enjoy. Just imaging traveling down the normally packed motorway from London to Bath. Miles of rolling snow covered pastures and farmland flanked either side of the roads. Then all of a sudden, as we crest the hill, there standing is a sea of white snow is the ancient wonder of Stonehenge!  Not a tour bus in sight to spoil our view. That’s a magic moment!

This was not your typical tour to England. We had arrived at a time where the people of England had been dealt big blow in the farming and tourism business. News reports in the USA projected a dismal spring for England. Our tour’s success was due to a flexible group of folks who were willing to adapt to the unexpected weather and the foot and mouth outbreak. What we found was wonderful people, great hospitality, and beautiful sights.