Jonathan Thomas (00:00) Welcome back to the Anglotopia podcast a long time listeners will know a few weeks ago that we announced that one of the big changes we will be having this season is that we're gonna have our first guests and Today we have our first guests and so I would like to welcome Laura curtain from English cottage vacation English cottage vacation is a new type of travel company They own a cottage in the Dorset countryside and when you book a stay with them, they kind of handle everything for you Laura Kurton (00:17) Thank you. Jonathan Thomas (00:27) and give you a full immersive travel experience. And they'll take you from the airport, they'll take you to see the sights, they'll feed you your meals. Laura is an award -winning chef. And I've invited Laura to be a guest on the Anglotopia podcast so she can talk about their offering, as well as talk about travel in England and how Americans can make the most of it these days. Full disclosure, English Cottage Vacation is an Anglotopia sponsor, but they have not paid to be on this podcast. So... Laura Kurton (00:27) Me too. Jonathan Thomas (00:53) Welcome, Laura. Laura Kurton (00:55) Thank you very much Jonathan. It's great to be here. Yeah, and thank you so much for asking me on So you said you you've really covered what we do very well in your introduction But just to elaborate a little bit Yes, we cater for everything from the moment that I guess inquire It's Nathan my husband and I that take care of all inquiries giving our guests and inquirers the information they require to make a decision about whether they'd like to book with us. And then from the moment that they book, we take care of the rest. So if we have a couple of different packages, which we can come onto a little bit later, but depending on which package our guests decide to book, we end up planning and creating the entire itinerary. So for example, we have some set itineraries. But we also have our flagship tailor -made itinerary and this is the sort of all singing, all dancing itinerary where we go through what we call a discovery process with our guests once they've booked. We go back and forth asking questions about what they want to see, what their interests are, what their dreams of England include and then we create with our obviously in -depth knowledge of our area and an outside area. and a really tailor -made and perfect itinerary for our guests. And it can include anything along the lines of must -see sites, you know, that are your usual, if you Googled what to see in England would pop up on the top 50, to really, really off the beaten track things that you'll never find on the internet that can only be known by the locals. So really the sky's the limit on activities and excursions. And of course, then there's also just the wonderful sitting and relaxing at the cottage, being catered to, hand, foot and finger, drink in hand, beautiful canapes and meals and enjoying the surrounding countryside that Well Cottage sits in. Jonathan Thomas (02:59) That sounds ideal. Sign me up. I'm already sold. Now, yeah, yeah, yeah, we've got to we've got to we've got to book in when we come to Dorset next because it's I like the idea of being taken care of. So what is what is your Nathan's background and how what inspired you to start English cottage vacation? Laura Kurton (03:02) Well, you are coming to visit at some point, aren't you, on your next visit to England, hopefully. Absolutely. Mm -hmm. Okay, so our background together as a couple. So when we met, we decided we were both into water sports and any activities on the water. And so we decided to enter into the yachting industry. And so very quickly, gosh, 14 years, 15 years ago now, we decided we wanted to be yacht charter crew. And so that's what we did. I became chef, Nathan captain, we both got our qualifications to do so. And we did that then for the following 10 years on yachts in and around the Caribbean and throughout the Med. And that obviously gave us a huge amount of experience as yacht crew, but predominantly in the hospitality industry, because yachting industry is the creme de la creme of hospitality. It's where you know and can expect the best service, attention to detail and catering from. from your vacation and your crew. And so throughout that, predominantly our guests were from the US and from Canada, and often we had these conversations with our guests because obviously we were from England, about their love of England and how they'd visited. And often we were coming across the fact that people had been to England, but they'd just gone been to London. And... London is fabulous, don't get me wrong. There is definitely a lot to see in London, but it's not what we as Brits consider the real England, the quintessential thatched cottage, countryside England. You know what I'm talking about, because I know you've experienced it already, hey, Jonathan, but there's just nothing like it. And especially throughout our main season from May until the end of October, just the, the, Jonathan Thomas (05:02) Yeah, yeah, yes. Laura Kurton (05:14) the landscape, the green, the flowers, the colours, and just the wildlife is just absolutely incredible. And so we thought, well, nobody's experiencing this. I mean, that is just sacrilege really. So we were looking to leave the yachting industry to be closer to our families again, because we had nieces and nephews growing up that we wanted to be close to and get to know properly. And so we thought, what can we do when we move back to England? What jobs are we going to do? It's very hard for yacht crew to find something that they want to do outside of the yachting industry because it's so unique. It's such a unique lifestyle. And we loved it. So we thought, well, let's just do exactly the same as we do on yachts, but on land in England. And let's provide this absolutely wonderful, all inclusive experience where... our guests just literally, all they have to do is book and then look forward to their vacation and we take care of everything, including them when they're with us at our cottage. So yeah, we embarked on that journey and in 2019, we finally, after visiting about, I don't know, it must have been about 70 houses, we finally found, sorry, finally found Well Cottage, which is an 18th century thatched cottage. and it's situated right in the heart of the Dorset countryside, surrounded by rolling hills. We're actually in right on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty known as the Cranbourne Chase. It just offers everything and anything. It's just the perfect place for us to be able to create a really beautiful tailor -made itinerary. And it's only two hours transfer by car from London, which of course we also include in our packages. Jonathan Thomas (07:00) Now yeah, so obviously this the center of your offering is well cottage so and I had for I know we'll put a link in the show notes so people can see pictures of it It's a beautiful lovely picturesque cottage. And so I I'm curious. Do you know any more about the history of the cottage? Do you know there are there interesting stories from the previous owners? That might interest Americans to give some color Laura Kurton (07:02) Hehehehe. Yes. Mm -hmm. we haven't experienced any ghosts yet, which I'm really not happy about because I feel like that would be like amazing, but I guess some people would think that was a bonus. We don't have a ghost. The actual cottage was built in the 1700s, but we don't know the actual date. We have an archives society here in our local village of Fontmell Magna. Jonathan Thomas (07:32) Haha. Laura Kurton (07:48) and we've obviously been to them, they know everything about this area possible and there's no archives of when the property was actually built down to the actual date. But it definitely was 1700s and it was originally built, so the original part of the house, which is the 18th century part of the house, was originally built as a drover's cottage. And so a drover's cottage basically means it's built as almost... almost like an Airbnb, but back in those days, they obviously didn't have to book and pay online for it. They would come along with their cattle or whatever it was they were moving through and trading with towards London, and they would be able to stay in these drovers cottages and rest until they moved on the next day. And so there was always an area for the cattle to be placed next to the cottage. And then you'd have the main part of the cottage, which... Jonathan Thomas (08:16) Haha. Laura Kurton (08:42) at that stage did have two stories funnily enough and a massive inglenook fireplace because of course that's how they cooked, got their warmth and everything to be able to survive inside in those days and of course it was also thatched back in those days as well. I am told, though we don't have photo evidence unfortunately, but I am told from the Archives Society that it also went through a period of having a tin roof at one point. until it was then thatched again, I think back in the early 1900s. And then the people that we bought it off of, they had moved into it once it had been extended quite substantially, and then they added on the kitchen and garden room, which is just a fabulous area for our guests to relax in. The greatest thing about our cottages, It's 18th century in the heart, so it has all the low ceilings and the really wonky floors and the ingled up fireplace, but the extensions are fairly modern. So it gives a really lovely balance of really luxurious, modern, and comfortable accommodation, but at the same time, it's got that history and it's got all the things you want to find in a thatched cottage, you know. Jonathan Thomas (10:05) Yeah, that's really nice because I've stayed in more than one cottage in England and in Ireland where they hadn't really been updated for the modern time and it was really, really rough. So it's nice to know that you balance the modern with the history because that makes it a much more comfortable travel experience. Laura Kurton (10:20) Yes. Absolutely, and something with that, that when we found this cottage, we immediately knew it was perfect in so many ways. But one of the main things was because each of our rooms, when the building was extended, each of the rooms was given its own bathroom. And that's a major thing to be able to offer to our guests, because we looked at so many cottages that obviously they don't have the capacity to be able to put in a bathroom. Jonathan Thomas (10:41) nice. Yeah. Laura Kurton (10:51) not even just on a space side of things, but because the building is so old, either it's listed, meaning that you'd have, you couldn't actually get planning permission to put a bathroom in, but just because the walls are too delicate, you know, that kind of thing, that you couldn't be bashing anything around to create the necessary area and space to do it. So to find an 18th century cat thatched cottage that had been extended, that accommodated. This for our guests was just incredible and our guests love it. So yeah, we're so glad. Jonathan Thomas (11:22) So you mentioned that it's a thatch cottage now you've owned it you said for for 13 years or 15 years I'm sorry. Okay, so have you had to have it re thatch since you bought it? Laura Kurton (11:31) No, only since 2019. No, we haven't. So when we bought it, it hadn't long been re -thatched. When we bought it, it had about 15 years left on the thatch, which is relatively good, because thatches tend to last between 20 and 30 years. So there's two parts to a thatch. There's the ridge, which is the top piece, which is usually the decorative piece on top of the thatch. And then there's the main thatch. And they're equally as important. Jonathan Thomas (11:44) Okay. Okay. Laura Kurton (12:05) But the ridge, being that it's the highest point and takes most of the battering, needs to be replaced a little bit sooner. Usually every sort of in -between, every, I don't know how I'm gonna explain that, but do you know what I mean? Like, so if we have to have the thatch done every 30 years, we have to have the ridge done every 15 years. And so every 30 years, you have the whole thing done, and every 15 years, you have the ridge done. Does that make sense? Jonathan Thomas (12:19) Yeah. it's so fascinating. I mean, our art roves last 30 years, but they're nowhere near as beautiful as a thatch roof. Laura Kurton (12:39) and we do, yeah, so. Jonathan Thomas (12:38) So you said you're in Fontmel, Magna. Tell us about the village. What's it like? What's there to see and do in the village itself? Is there a pub? Is there a shop? What is there? Laura Kurton (12:53) it gets better, Jonathan, honestly. So I love talking about this because every time I talk about the attributes of English cottage vacation, I just glean because it's like the quintessential dream. So we live in the cottages in Bedchester, which is a hamlet one mile away from Fontmel Magna, which is our main village. It has a shop. It has a beautiful pub. Jonathan Thomas (12:55) Haha. Laura Kurton (13:16) It has a little school, a little primary school. It has a magnificent church called St Andrews and it is a beautiful church. I mean, for our size village, it stands looking over the village. It's just quite something. And so, yeah, we have all of the amenities that a village could possibly want, but it's lined with Dutch cottages. It still has that really lovely English village feel. It has a beautiful... River running through it. We have three mills within Fontmel Magna, which is where the name of Fontmel Magna actually came from. And please don't ask me because I've completely forgotten what Fontmel Magna stands for, but I do know it came from the word Funtamel. Funtamel. But I'm going to have to ask, Nathan's so good at this history stuff, I'd have to ask him to remind me what Fontmel actually stands for. Jonathan Thomas (14:07) Ha ha. Yeah, that's always the interesting thing about place names, especially in Dorset, is they're not immediately apparent what they actually mean. You're like, what a unique name. I've actually, I've been through Fontmell Magna back then. It's beautiful. It's, you know, that's my favorite area in England, Dorset. And it's, if you could, we highly recommend anybody spend as much time there as they possibly can, you know. Give it a week, give it two weeks. Laura Kurton (14:19) No. So, yeah, so I know you've been to Shaftesbury maybe once, maybe more times than that, is that correct? Jonathan Thomas (14:44) way more than that. So probably a dozen times. yeah, so, you know, we've driven the roads and... Laura Kurton (14:46) Okay. Yeah, and so is it, would it be? Would it be correct to say that it's one of your favorite places in England, being that you've been there quite a few times? Jonathan Thomas (14:55) Go ahead. Yeah, it is the favorite place. So it is. Well, back during the dark days of COVID and lockdowns and, you know, we all I wanted to do was to be in Shaftesbury and be on the edge of the Cranbourne chase where you're also at. And, you know, I even I even wanted to go so bad that at one point I sent a video guy, you know, to go shoot an HD video of Gold Hill just so I could like. Laura Kurton (15:03) brilliant! Yep. Jonathan Thomas (15:27) see what it was like while I wasn't there and and when I Returned to England for the first time after the pandemic and back in 2022 Shaftesbury was the first place I went I mean they look the driver literally came from Shaftesbury picked me up at the airport and took me to Shaftesbury, so It was great Laura Kurton (15:42) Hehehehe Fantastic, well, Shaftesbury is only four miles from us and it is, again, it's just a quintessential English little town with a, it's a market town in fact, so they have their market, I think it's every other week, and as you said, it has Gold Hill, which is one of the most photographed views in England. It's a cobbled street that's very steep. Jonathan Thomas (15:50) Nice. Yeah. Laura Kurton (16:10) and so you look down these thatched cottages and beyond is the beautiful views of the Cranborne Chase just as you mentioned. Jonathan Thomas (16:20) Yeah, yeah, I remember when I first discovered the place, everyone thought it was in Yorkshire, but everyone's surprised to discover that it's in Dorset. And it's like, it's the highest town in England. Laura Kurton (16:29) you know why they thought it was in Yorkshire, because of the Hovis advert, right? You must know about the Hovis advert. So that actually themed the accents from Yorkshire, if I remember correctly. And so, yes, it was assumed that it was filmed in Yorkshire, but of course, yeah, it was Shaftesbury Jonathan Thomas (16:36) Right, right. Yeah. Yes, yes. Yeah, those are definitely not West Country accents. Laura Kurton (16:54) No. Well, you can definitely hear my West Country accent, that's for sure. Because originally Nathan and I are from Somerset, whereas we obviously live now in the county of Dorset, but they are right next to each other and only an hour away from where we both grew up and met. But yeah, we definitely have our Somerset accent still. Not even the Caribbean beat that out of us. Jonathan Thomas (16:59) I can. Hahaha. I could I could detect it even the way you say Dorset is it's very West Country Your authentic local Laura Kurton (17:23) I fit in with all the farmers around here it's absolutely fine. Jonathan Thomas (17:30) You So when you're discussing what your clients want to see when they come to your cottage or when they're planning their trip, what are some of the most common things that they want to come see and do? Laura Kurton (17:40) Mm -hmm. So we have of course our, what I would call the most popular sites that people want to see. These include places like the Roman city of Bath, the Cotswolds of course, the Jurassic Coast which includes the Thomas Hardy country. But we also have some places that we recommend locally that perhaps our guests have never heard of, but once they have done a little bit of research on themselves or obviously taken into account our advice on them, such as Sherbourne, which is a local town to us, which again is just the most beautiful little town, very quintessential, but also has castles. and an abbey and it's just got so much to see whilst you're there. Of course there's Stonehenge, I mean who can forget Stonehenge? That's only 40 minutes away from us so we usually book a VIP tour of Stonehenge so that our guests can get up close and personal with the Stones. And yeah I mean just I could talk for hours and I don't want to. Jonathan Thomas (18:48) again. I could talk that out. Laura Kurton (18:56) to go on and on but there I mean we have gardens galore surrounding us so if people are interested in gardening then we can certainly take them to like Stourhead House and Gardens yeah that's just down the road I mean we've got a safari park about half an hour away from us Jonathan Thomas (19:06) Well you've... you've... you've scuts... I was gonna say, Stourhead is nearby, Laura Kurton (19:19) which is called Longleat and that's been very popular, especially when we have children come because obviously it offers a really lovely experience for children but also adults. It's not just children that they like to visit. Jonathan Thomas (19:22) Yeah. have you had any damage to your car from the monkey pens? Laura Kurton (19:35) Hmm, funnily you should say that. A guest that left last week, they actually visited last year with their children and they did long lead. And when Nathan drove them through the monkey section, the monkeys were sat at the time to the side of the car and they videoed this. It was so funny. And they were all laughing and joking that the monkeys seemed to be interested in chewing on something. And then when the monkeys got up and sat on the wing mirror, and they realised that the monkeys were chewing on numbers off of our number plate. Which is hilarious because you can hear in the video, all of a sudden everyone goes, that's our number plate. it's a C, it's a V, because we have a personalised number plate that's ECV for English Gotten College Vacation. So yes, we have had damage. But luckily that was all. All we had to do was get new number plates. So... Jonathan Thomas (20:21) Haha. Yeah, many, about ten years ago we did the Longleat Safari Park with our very young toddler and we had a rental car with us and we drove into the monkey enclosure and we saw all the warnings saying, you enter at your own risk, the monkeys will jump on your car and we're like, it'll be fine! And then the monkeys jump on the car and he started tearing bits of the rental car off. We're like, God, I'm glad I bought the insurance. Laura Kurton (20:38) huh. You do? Absolute... Yeah. Once you're in, you're in. There's nothing you can do about it, yeah. But that's why it's so great to have Nathan drive you because you don't have to worry about it. You don't have to worry about your rental car. You've already paid for it. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (20:57) Yup. Yeah, you don't have to worry about it. Yeah, you could just laugh about it. Exactly. And that's that's and I'm glad you brought up those attractions because that to me is like is a is a great selling point not only for your for your cottage, but also the area that you're in. It is a very wonderful area to be for lots to see and do. And like I said, I've been there over a dozen times. Laura Kurton (21:28) Yep. Jonathan Thomas (21:30) and I still haven't done everything that we wanted to see and do in that area. And you're within an hour's drive from so many beautiful places. You're within an hour of the coast, hour of Bath, hour of the Cotswolds. And it's such a beautiful part of England because there's very few motorways, very few busy highways. It's very quiet and there's lots of rolling hills and it's great. I love it. Laura Kurton (21:32) No. Mm -hmm. Yep. Exactly. Yep. Yeah, we're the only county actually without a motorway running through it, so it's a very quiet area. Jonathan Thomas (22:01) That's Yeah, I remember when I first visited Shaftesbury back in 2004, now it's aging me a bit, and we stayed at a bed and breakfast called The Retreat in Shaftesbury, and one of the first things the proprietor told us was like, Dorset, we're the only county without a motorway. Which means the... Laura Kurton (22:18) Yeah, that's our claim to fame, one of our claim to fames. Jonathan Thomas (22:23) Which is which means that you're never in a hurry to get anywhere in Dorset because you can't go anywhere fast Which is which is great because we love slow travel we love traveling like a local and it's so nice to travel down all the country lanes and have to and then just have to slow down because You miss so much when you're on the motorways Laura Kurton (22:27) Mm -mm. Exactly. Yeah. Absolutely, and again, the beauty of what we do with Nathan, with your luxury car and Nathan being a driver is that you do just get to sit back and let Nathan do the driving, do the reversing when necessary, you know, when you're on a single lane, single lane lane. And yeah, take care of all of it. You can really take everything in and enjoy it. Or you can just chat to Nathan and ask him questions. Jonathan Thomas (22:53) Yeah. Yeah. and that's and that's I know a lot of Americans have a lot of anxiety about driving in the UK. It's, you know, because it's on the opposite side of the road, you're on the opposite side of the car. The roads are very narrow. The the no offense, the English people drive really fast on really narrow country roads. And it's like it can be pretty terrifying. So it's that's what's really nice about what you offer is you could just sit back and enjoy the ride rather than worry about crashing into a hill. Laura Kurton (23:14) Yeah. absolutely. Jonathan Thomas (23:32) So, thinking about the typical customers you get at your cottage, what are some of your top tips that you give them for traveling in England? What are some of the things to make the most of their trips? Laura Kurton (23:46) Well, that's quite difficult one to answer only because we are so adept at catering for individual requirements. So the first thing that we do is we find out from our guests exactly what it is that they're wanting to experience and how they're wanting to experience England. then we can start to advise on the suited activities and excursions that they can fit in in a relaxed and stress -free way. Because we will fit in as many excursions into an itinerary as our guests want, but of course, we're also experts in knowing what are good balances so that they can really have the maximum time of relaxation as well. So yeah, it's a bit of a difficult one to answer in that way because everybody's different. If they're traveling as a couple or they're traveling as a group, a family with young children or a group of friends, it can really be different. But I think essentially what we offer here at the cottage really covers everyone's real desires, which is to experience the real England. And that's what we really cater to. Jonathan Thomas (24:32) Right. Laura Kurton (24:59) Not only in the location, the cottage, the excursions, but also being that me and Nathan are, you know, we're English people, for want of a better term. Born and bred. Jonathan Thomas (25:11) Well, and that's you make a good point. You make a really good point there about doing too much. And I know when I'm because it costs so much for Americans and North Americans to come visit England, there's this there's this feeling that you have to cram your trip with as much to do as possible to make it worth it. And over the years, we used to do that. Recently, we've. Laura Kurton (25:21) Mm -hmm. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (25:35) Last few years, you've kind of dialed it back because, yeah, you can see three stately homes and gardens in a day, but you're not going to be able to move the next day, you know? You want to savor these things rather than just trying to cram everything in, because if you cram everything in, you're not going to have a nice, holistic experience where you make good memories. You're just going to be rush, rush, rush. Laura Kurton (25:43) That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely, because it is all about taking in the atmosphere and the experience, isn't it? It's not just about how much can I see. Well, it might be for some people, but for most people, it's also about feeling England. You know, how we see it on, it's like me seeing American movies and wanting to. Jonathan Thomas (26:02) Yeah. Yeah. Laura Kurton (26:18) feel that feeling you get when you're watching American movies, if you like. People want to feel that real English feeling they get from movies. And by just taking stock of where you are and what you're seeing, even if it's just by sitting in the garden at the cottage, it gives you those memories, doesn't it, to come back to and just, you know what it's like when you've got this nostalgic memory that just makes you think, England, it was so, whatever the explanatory words are. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (26:46) Well, and as kids say these days, we're just here for the vibes, you know, and it was full of good vibes. And nostalgia is an important is a good point as well. Like I we came in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee. We came for several weeks, but we had a we had a we had a six month old child in tow with us. And and while we were traveling, it was, let's just say, not great. Laura Kurton (26:51) Yeah, well there you go, exactly. Mm -hmm. Jonathan Thomas (27:13) was really hard. It was our first time traveling with a baby. We didn't know what we were doing and a whole trip was a luring experience but when I look back on it now I'm like that was that trip was so wonderful. Laura Kurton (27:17) Yeah. Rose tinted glasses as they say. Jonathan Thomas (27:28) Yeah, yeah, so and I know we've talked about this before when we previously chatted So what are what are some exciting events going on this year in your area? Like I know guy richie's having his own private air show like what else is going on? That's that people can come see if they come stay at your cottage Laura Kurton (27:44) Yes? Yeah, so wow, my gosh. Again, there's an event going on every possible, you know, excursion and site that you can mention throughout the year. Gardens usually have some sort of garden event. I mean, Highclere Castle, I haven't even mentioned Highclere Castle yet, but Highclere Castle has events going on all throughout the year. And obviously it depends on when I guess book, because they have to have booked on a, where their dates fall on an event that we can recommend to them. But the one that you mentioned, for example, Guy Ritchie's inaugural air show event is happening this August. Jonathan Thomas (28:05) Yeah. Laura Kurton (28:25) And that's very exciting because we have a little airfield that's about two miles away from Well Cottage and the little planes fly every so often over the top of the cottage which is lovely and you can also go up there and have a nice cream tea and you know watch the planes taking off and things. And since Guy Ritchie has taken it over he's really sort of made a push to upgrade the facilities there. and also to put on new events. And so this new event is quite exciting and we are really excited to take our guests to it this year. And of course they will have the best tickets. So that's important to know. Jonathan Thomas (29:06) Well, yeah, I'm glad you brought up Compton Abbas Airfield because you can now do Spitfire flights from Compton Abbas. And so if you ever wanted to fly in a Spitfire, you can now do it there. Which is... Yeah. Laura Kurton (29:15) Yes, yep, you can. You can, absolutely. Let us know. We'll get it organised within your time with us. Jonathan Thomas (29:27) Yeah, don't tempt me. Laura Kurton (29:29) Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (29:32) what are some things you wish international travelers knew before they traveled to the UK? Or what would be helpful for them to know, what to expect when they come deep to the English countryside? Laura Kurton (29:43) Ahem. Well, first of all, the main difference, or one of the main differences between us and the US of course, is the tipping system. Now in the big cities, of course, tipping is getting more and more of a thing. But really here in rural England, we don't see so much of it. I mean, restaurants, they may add a tip onto, Jonathan Thomas (29:56) Mm. Laura Kurton (30:09) the bill, but it's not standard to tip like you do in America. We might leave a few quid on the table, you know, after leaving, but we certainly don't work out our 15, 20%, you know, before we leave the restaurant. And I think that's a wonderful thing personally, because... It takes a lot of stress away from our clients having to think, right, we're coming to England, okay, we pay for all inclusive, that's great, so we've got nothing else to pay, hang on, we do need to take some cash to tip. But actually you don't need to at all. So when we say all inclusive, we mean all inclusive. Like literally you don't need to bring any money for tipping whatsoever. That's not to say that people don't appreciate it mind you, but it's just not something that we even think about, you know? Excuse me. So that's one thing that I do feel that it's, because... Jonathan Thomas (31:02) Alright. Laura Kurton (31:08) Our guests, bless them, they still really want a tip because it's so ingrained in your culture. Do you know what I mean? And it's not a bad thing that that is the case, but it's hard to get across that literally you don't need to, literally, you do not need to bring another penny with you when you have booked our vacations. So that's one thing. Jonathan Thomas (31:12) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad you brought tipping up because it is so ingrained in American culture that you are just expected to tip for everything. And now even post pandemic, there's things that we never used to tip for that now we have to tip for. And so that's what it's a breath of fresh air when you come to England because like, I don't have to tip or the service is already in the bill. Laura Kurton (31:39) Yeah. Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (31:46) Okay, that's so weird. It's almost alien to where one of the most popular travel articles on our website is the article about tipping procedures in the UK. Laura Kurton (31:49) Mm -hmm. Yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's like everything. If you're given something because you've done a good job, you're always gonna be really grateful for it. But because the expectation isn't there, if you're not tipped, you don't even give it another thought. It just is what it is, yeah. And we've worked in the US, so we know, we've experienced the tipping side of the US. And I guess for the... Jonathan Thomas (32:06) Yeah. Laura Kurton (32:23) for the culture, it's just, you don't even think about it on the other side, right? But it is, and that's what makes it such a wonderful relief when you're like, my God, I don't even have to think about that. Jonathan Thomas (32:27) Yeah. well that's and I'm glad you brought up cash I have you know, it's been two years since I've been to the UK and I know post -pandemic that a lot of places actually don't want cash anymore so Americans can now rely mostly on their their credit cards and debit cards when they pay for things you so do you find Your guests are not even getting cash these days Laura Kurton (32:57) We don't even recommend them bringing any, to be honest, because like you say, most things can be paid for by credit card. But there's really nothing for them to need to buy unless they're buying souvenirs, which of course, some of our guests do buy quite a lot of souvenirs, but they use their credit card. So yeah, I mean. We have this conversation because we are asked the question quite a lot, you know, how much cash I should bring and we always say, well, minimal, you really don't need anything. Jonathan Thomas (33:26) Yeah. Well, it can be really hard to get British currency here in the US. You used to be able to just go down to your local bank and get British currency, but most banks don't do that anymore. The foreign exchange places in the airports, they charge a fortune for British currency. We just recommend people get a hundred pounds out of the AT when they get to Heathrow and then that should carry them for a few days because you don't need cash, you know? Yeah. Laura Kurton (33:35) Yeah. Mm -hmm. Yeah, that's actually very true. Jonathan Thomas (33:52) So any more travel tips for wayward Americans? Laura Kurton (33:57) Travel tips for wayward Americans. I mean, again, it's like, because we cater for everything, it's hard to say, because I'd say things like, you know, about the driving on the other side of the road or the small lanes or the high hedges. That might be something. One thing that we really care for here is our hedgerows because a lot of our wildlife lives in our head roads. And because our lanes or our roads are so small, most roads have a head row either side. And so... Jonathan Thomas (34:05) Yeah. Laura Kurton (34:28) You could be driving along a road that has the most magnificent views, but at certain times of the year, you may not be able to see them. Now, Nathan is very good at knowing where the stop spots are to be able to pull over and so that guests can see these wonderful views. But it always takes their breath away that you're literally enclosed in a road because the hedges are often so high. Obviously, this time of year, they're still quite low because they get cut in around March time, but then they're let grow. Jonathan Thomas (34:40) Yeah, we'll have you back. that you're literally enclosed in a rose because the hedges are often so high. Obviously this time of year they're still quite low because they get cut in around March time, but then they're left, really, for the rest of the year so that the birds can nest. Laura Kurton (34:57) really for the rest of the year so that the birds can nest and so on. Jonathan Thomas (35:01) Yeah, I know when you when you look at the landscape of England from the air when you're coming in for landing you see the patchwork quilt of the countryside what most people don't realize is that that patchwork is made by hedgerows and that there in a lot of places those hedgerows are where Laura Kurton (35:15) Yeah. Jonathan Thomas (35:19) a lot of the rich wildlife lives when, especially in farming areas where a lot of the original wilderness has been cleared away. And so that's always, always worth stopping to see a hedgerow and you gotta be careful. You might see a pheasant run out of them. I've seen that. That's happened to us if we've been driving there. Laura Kurton (35:35) or a deer. You know, because we've got such small roads here, deers cross the roads quite often, so you have to watch out for deer. I mean cows, we live next to a farm. In fact, we're right in the centre in a farming area, and so we are surrounded by fields that are owned by farmers. Jonathan Thomas (35:36) Or a deer, yeah. Laura Kurton (35:50) and we often have cows literally staying in the field next to us which is really cute because they look over the hedge and say hello. But often the farmer will be taking them from one field to another which happens to need to go across the lane and so that's quite interesting. I'm sure that happens in the US in places in farming areas so not that different but you have to watch out because you can't see them coming from the hedges. Jonathan Thomas (36:06) yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you... Now, one of the things that Americans are really interested in in British culture is the royal family. And so do you get a lot of guests wanting to see royal sites? What royal sites are around your area that people want to see? Laura Kurton (36:20) Mm -hmm. Well, actually, it's funny, we haven't had yet any guests that have been particularly interested in the Royal Family. But what we do recommend, because majority of the Royal Family interest is in and around London, we do recommend that they stop a night or two, either prior to coming to the cottage or after. so that they can, and we can help them, we have a contact in London who just knows everything about London, to help them design their itinerary based around the royal family and the excursions and the sites there, to really get the best out of that interest. I mean, there are sort of interesting places around here, such as places that the queen has visited or stayed. or the royal family in general in history and so on. But definitely London is the place to be when it comes to an interest in the royal family. Jonathan Thomas (37:29) has been a fascinating chat. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. Is there anything you wanna communicate to Americans about travel and culture in Britain that you really want them to take away and say, hey, come book your trip? Laura Kurton (37:44) I think what we really have a passion for is showing our guests, no matter where in the world they are from, it just happens to me, majority from the US and Canada. We just want to be able to show them literally the rawness of England, the rawness of rural England and give them a real culturally immersive experience of England as they will have seen in the movies. The holiday being one that's mentioned to me very often. It really is very similar to the scenes that they show in movies like that. And we work really hard to make sure that I guess take that away. But not only that, that they also take... take away a really unique experience where they feel like they've just had the most relaxing holiday full of all the things that they absolutely love. And to be able to go back and tell their friends about what England really is, that it is really like you see in the movies and that there is an opportunity where you can do it no matter if you're a solo traveller, a couple. Jonathan Thomas (38:48) Yeah. Laura Kurton (38:55) a family of up to six or a group of friends of up to six, you can go and see it and not have to worry about a thing, just enjoy your quality time together experience in England in the best way possible. Jonathan Thomas (39:08) Well, I'm sold. Sign me up. It sounds fantastic. I mean, traveling like a local is really what we espouse these days at Anglotopia because we just, we love the countryside. We love the architecture. We love the cottages. We love the culture and we love the warm welcome that we always get when we visit the countryside. So we will wrap it up here and we will encourage people to look at the show notes and visit the English Cottage Vacation website and get in touch with them. book your own dream trip to England. And so thank you so much for your time, Laura. And... Laura Kurton (39:41) Thank you so much, Jonathan, it's been wonderful. And we look forward to having you stay. Perhaps we could do another little in -person chat when you're here next time and show a little tour of the cottage as well. That would be great. But yes, thank you so much. Really, really appreciate it. And yeah, chat to you again soon. Jonathan Thomas (39:46) Perfect. Yes, yeah. Perfect, thank you so much.