Original text by Aswin Rizal Harahap; Executive summary by Darmansjah
If you make a trip to the UK, forget for a moment the frenzied and sparkling city ofLondon. Try to go to Gloucestershire. In the summer, the region in the southwest of Londonthat offers a smorgasbord of beautiful natural scenery and adrenaline adventures.
Sunny weather blanketed Heathrow Airport last July. Information boards showing weather outside 31 ᵒ C. "Take off your jacket. Come deliciously warm weather in the UKand never as good as this, "said Darren (40), who picked up at the airport.
He was excited to tell about the bestsummer in the countrywhich has been underway since early June. Understandably, the weather in the UKis usually always change quickly. Even if summer rains often fall suddenly.
On the way, Darren talked about the rise of people who gamble, ranging from welcoming the birth of the first child of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton to his favorite football club. However, the main topic chatter remains about the area we were headed, Gloucestershire, 157km southwest of London.
"Gloucestershire is one of the favorite tourist destinations during the summer. Many tourists like to enjoy beautiful scenery with typical quiet rural atmosphere. "Said the father of two daughter.
Darren friendly demeanor remove fatigue after nearly 14 hours of flying from Jakarta. Moreover, stretch meadows and green hills along the freeway so soothing eye. After driving for two hours, we arrived at Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire capital.
Atmosphere of the English countryside was immediately felt. Homes have traditionally brick red with colorful wooden ornamentsfor doors and windows look beautiful along the road towards the city center. Almostevery home has a fencedlow and sheepor cattle farms.Shortly after passing through the city center, wearrived at Ellenborough Park, one of the leading hotels in Gloucestershire. English manor house in the 16th century, Ellenborough, it has been restoredwith modern touches, especially in its interior design.
The exterior of the hotel is left in the original, like the castle, sothe main attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. Around the hotel there is also a horse farm, cattle, andsheep that can be visited by guests feel the sensation of living in the countryside.
Emilio, tourists from Valencia, Spain, is oneof the many tourists who stay at the five star hotel. "After last year on holiday in Ibiza (the beach in Mallorca, Spain), we would like to relax with a close look at the activitiesin the countryside," said the man who camewith her lover, Angelina.
Manager Ellenborough Park, Gloucestershire be justified if one tourist destination that want to enjoy the countryside in the UK. Every summer, the hotel occupation rate reached 70% of the 62 rooms. "Especially this summer, occupancy can reach 85% because of the weather in the UK is good-good," said Hanna.
Challenging terrain
Due to the same reason, Land rover invited 30 journalists from several countries in the Asia Pacific region to introduce the latest products, Range Rover Sport, as well as tried it on extreme terrain. Party Land Rover provides 15 cars. One car that must be filled two journalists turns driving. There was no accompanying instructor in the car. We are only equipped with directional device (GPS) to get to a predetermined location.
Promptly at 8:00, the first day as far as 400km touring begins. Of Ellenborough Park, we walked down a narrow country road winding towards the first stop in Senybridge. Expanse of strawberry farms and plantations are along the way we passed.
After driving for 1.5 hours, we arrived at The Bell cafe for tea. British society has a tradition of drinking tea some time before and after lunch. However, the manager of the cafe also offers a variety of beverages, such as coffee, mineral water, juice, and wine is a mainstay of The Bell.
It was all served with a small number of foods, such as breads, cakes, and pastries. After resting for 10 minutes, we continued our journey to the banks of the Elan Valley in Birmingham.
Along the way, we had stopped in the hills with winding roads. We stopped at the highest point to photograph the scenery is too beautiful to pass up. "I would recommend Gloucestershire to relatives in Bangkok," said Thusanai "Man" Raiva, fellow traveler from Thailand.
After 6 hours of spending time on the road, now is the timeto try on the car's performance off-road track. We entered the forest area in Eastnor, not far from the office of Land Rover. In the pine forest, we passeda slippery muddy roads, up and down the hill with a slope of 60 ᵒ, even 80cm deepinto the river.
An instructor is always directed us beforetrying out session after session. Although the terrain is extreme andnot all journalistsare adept in off-road, all steps take place safely. "Terrain off-road package is prepared totravel so the safety factor is very calculated," said Land Rover'smanager Asia pacificRussel M Anderson.
Gravel and Sand
On the second day of touring, a distance of 193km, the participants re-tested off-road. Since the morning, drive direct participantsin the forest to trysandy terrain, gravel, and bumpy. There is also a session trying tomuddy terrain while avoiding hundreds of closely spaced pine trees.
After that, we stoppeddrinking tea inSezincote. Sezincote is building withneo-mughal architecturedesign in the 17th century. In similar domed building thismosque, we enjoyedtea with varioustypes of cakes, such as cheese scones, Danish pastries, lemon draggle, andfruit cake. Participantstouring was powerless to resist the urge to photograph themselves in the courts of Renaissance-style garden beautiful.
Appropriate drinking tea break, we went to the last stop atCotswold Airport. At the airport serving theEnglish route domestic, Land Rover lease part of the land the airport, including the runway, and have two types of Airbus aircraft.
Interestingly, the aircraft was used for means ofextreme activities and museums. Aircraftare designed to challenge the fields of adrenalin. Eachparticipant felt the thrill of riding on a plane with a slope of 60 ᵒand tested impossiblehurdles still non-4WD cars.
Japanese journalistcolleague, Shintaro Watanabe, impressed with the way Land Rover endingtouring. "They successfully provide a very coolsurprise." He said.
Land Rover offers three tour packages that adrenaline. offered half-day package for £ 225 per person. The professional package one day and sold for£ 325 per person.
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