Your guide will often make the difference between a great tour and a fantastic experience. Back-Roads Touring works with guides who have an unparalleled passion and enthusiasm for our style of travel and possess expert knowledge of the local regions to ensure you will unearth local gems that would otherwise be missed. A Back-Roads guide will organise every aspect of your tour and ensure you enjoy a fulfilling, safe and stress free experience. They hail from a wide variety of backgrounds so bring a vast range of experience – from botanists, policemen, geologists, ex-military personnel, business owners and are your expert travel companion, philosopher, driver and friend. They may not be Blue Badge Guides, however, they possess a good level of local knowledge and a huge amount of passion and enthusiasm for the region.
All Back-Roads guides are paid by Back-Roads. This means they do not rely on commission stops for their income. If you are recommended a local store or site, it is a genuine recommendation and we want to keep it that way! If you have enjoyed your experience with Back-Roads you may choose to tip your guide, however, this is completely up to you.
Polly ChapmanPolly enters her seventh year with Back-Roads Touring, and is one of our passionate botanists. Polly typically specialises in tours in the UK and Ireland and has run three of our Chelsea tours as well as having accompanied gardens tours of East Anglia & the Cotswolds. Polly's comes from a professional teaching background specialising in geography, history and English and she is married to a historical geographer who is also an expert ornithologist (we have been told it rubs off!).
2011 will be my fourth season with Backroads. In that time I have run tours throughout every corner of the British Isles and am still discovering new places myself every year. The great thing with this job is that no two tours are ever the same because each group brings something different so there's always something new . On the personal front , I'm very lucky in having homes in the beautiful Spanish province of Andalucía and also England’s own wild west region of Cornwall. Two of the most perfect places on Earth which I'm looking forward to sharing with Backroads Clients all over again in 2011. If you think you might escape me by picking somewhere else it’s only fair to warn you that you may also find me in Scotland , Wales , Ireland , the Heart of England or even La Belle France. My passions are English and European History , Literature , Music , and art and if all that sounds a bit highbrow , I should add that I also enjoy Beer , Motorcycycling , and Football .. (though I try to avoid combining the 3 together of course) I look forward to taking the road to somewhere wonderful with you sometime soon.
Mark BanningAs one of Backroads Touring’s regular battlefield guides, Mark is looking forward to sharing his passion and interest in all things connected with the Western Front with guests this year. Building on the experience of looking after many previous battlefield pilgrims who travelled with Backroads, Mark believes that this complex subject can be appreciated by all who want to learn and that everyone who visits the battlefields will take away their own individual memories of some of the most sacred places in Europe. He hopes you will be able to join him at some point this year.
Bryan LoveBryan Love is one of our France experts although by birth a Portsmouth man with a long history of work in Secondary and Further Education in Devon, where he was principal of a college. He spends half his time in southern France and is also an enthusiast for the Catalonia region. Looking at Bryan's 'mug shot' you can see a resemblance to famous 'goon' Peter Sellers. He's got a similar sense of humour to! He has lived in Paris, Perpignan, Barcelona, the Isle of Wight, Yorkshire, Devon and Surrey. He has detailed knowledge of these areas, but also of the Loire Valley, Merseyside, Hampshire and the English Lakes. Bryan speaks French and Spanish, so you can ask him to help translate the menu in the restaurant!
David BrookmanDavid originally qualified as a structural engineer, then moved into the world of distribution products as a director of several companies and finally retired after running his own manufacturing companies in 2003.His interests include English and British history, the Roman world, Architecture, Archaeology, Art, Music, Gardening and the natural world. He and his wife spent a 15 week holiday last year visiting 14 countries including Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia and Czech and he is looking forward to returning for his fifth year with Back Roads Touring.
Jeremy RoseEven though Jeremy spends most of his time in France these days, he still enjoys taking tours in mainland Europe and England for Back-Roads over the summer months. Jeremy is particularily interested in British history – especially the Tudor period and is also passionate about classical music and popular music of the 20s, 30s and 40s 'I know, I know – I should get out more...' Jeremy's favourite regions of Europe include: Provence, Cote d’Azur in France and Hampshire/Dorset and Devon and Cornwall in England.
Thomas BeggTom is one of our charming Scottish guides. He is now winding down from a senior management career in a number of industries as well as having had his own business and now prefers the more relaxed lifestyle of being a guide. His home has been in Scotland, England and Wales at different times in his career, however, Tom has also travelled widely in Western Europe as well as the UK. This will be Tom's fourth season with Back-Roads Touring, and he offers a wealth of knowledge of the UK (in particular Scotland) and a passion for photography and history.
Derek SmithDerek is married, with 2 children and 6 grand-children. He spent his working life in international service industries, including working abroad for the final 15 years, and has also devoted much time to charity through past membership of Round Table and current membership of Rotary. Now retired, he enjoys family, reading, golf, gardening, travelling (any/everywhere) and an active involvement within his local community. He joined Back Roads in 2007, and loves every minute of it. He is most certainly a local to the back-roads, and has extensive knowledge of the south of England, Kent and London and particularly enjoys our garden and literary tours as well as those itineraries which visit castles and stately homes.
Jay CookJay has been a guide with Back-Roads for over 12 years and has travelled extensively throughout the World and brings to us a wealth of Irish knowledge owing to his Irish heritage. Jay's professional background includes the ownership of a bookshop, management consultancy, university lecturing and he was a director of the London marathon - a talented chap! Jay has a keen interest in history, current affairs and literature and is a keen cyclist and motorcyclist.
Vivien RoddyVivien is one of our most experienced guides, having enjoyed over 10 years a Back Roads guide. Vivien has an Irish-Anglo heritage, an Irish mother, English father. She married a Welsh climber and has previously lived in Scotland, so brings a huge knowledge of the UK and Ireland. In addition she has lived in various places in Europe including the Costa Brava, Spain, Geneva, Switzerland, Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium and Paris but now calls London "home". She has a passion for seeing new places whether working or on her own. Back-Roads recommends that their drivers take the "Advanced Drivers" exam which she passed with flying colours so you will be in very safe hands.
Tony WadeTony is yet another retired policeman having swapped 23 years of Merseyside action for the more sedate setting on the Lambourn downs, amidst some 1500 racehorses. Prior to his police service, he spent 10 years in the Army travelling the world and residing in both Holland and Germany. Horses now dominate his spare time though his lifelong interest is British social history. Tony’s favourite tour is his Liverpool boyhoods “backgarden”, the mountains and Lakes of North Wales.
Gian Paolo Dell'ortoGian Paolo was born in Santiago (Chile ) however, soon after his family moved to Italy and he has spent most of his life in Milan. He has had a passion for travel from a young age and studied in the tourism school in Milan to learn more about other languages, running tours in order that he might travel the world. And he does! He spends most of his life as travel manager around Italy and all of Europe and take clients to all corners of the local region to tell them about the local culture and customs. His main interest are: history, geography, culture and political life and, obviously travelling. He has been working with Back-Roads for a number of years, leading some of our delightful Italian tours. Guests love his enthusiasm for his home country and he always likes to offer clients a real insight into the local regions so they can get inside the country they are visiting. Gian Paolo is always happy to help you during your holiday in Italy and his local knowledge will be apparent as he takes you to those little places away from the main stream tourist traps, where landscapes go together with food and old traditions are still alive. He, with Back-Roads, will offer you a slice of “another Italy!”
Back-Roads Touring Company Ltd.
Level 1, 107 Power Road,
London W4 5PY
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 208 9870 990
(Mon - Fri: 0900 - 1800 GMT)
Fax: +44 (0) 208 9940 888
info@backroadstouring.us
