At the beginning of this week the UK Government announced a Road Map for relaxing the country's COVID restrictions. The vaccination programme continues to go well (all adults are now expected to be vaccinated by the end of July) and infection levels are dropping. By June 21st the UK Government hopes that most of the restrictions introduced to tackle the coronavirus will be gone.
At this stage there is no news on arrival restrictions for international visitors. In April the Government is expected to announce how locals can go on holidays overseas and it is hoped that at this time we will have further updates for international arrivals. Until then, current restrictions remain in place which involve providing negative COVID tests and quarantining for 10 days. Please see the UK Government website here for more information.
The UK Government plans to phase in the relaxation of restrictions in England. The dates described below are subject to change depending upon certain conditions being met.
From the 29th March: people will be able to socialise outdoors in groups of up to 6 people or 2 households. From this date I will therefore be able to start running most of my Bath tours, villages tour and Wells tour. Guest accommodation and restaurant dine-in services will remain closed so this will mainly benefit people in the area.
From the 12th April: self-contained guest accommodation will be allowed to re-open e.g. AirBnBs. Restaurants and pubs will be allowed to open their outdoor areas to customers and outdoor attractions such as zoos can re-open. From this date I will be able to add my Bath and Hawk Experience and the majority of my Stonehenge tours to the list of tours that I can run.
From the 17th May: all hotels and guest-houses will be able to re-open, as will indoor museums and indoor attractions. Restaurants and pubs can open their indoor areas. Bath and the local area should be fully open for tourism. All my tours will be operational.
These dates do allow us to see the light at the end of the tunnel and whilst they can change, it is very encouraging. I will continue to inform you of any further updates that are relevant. In the meantime if you have any questions or would like to book a tour please do not hesitate to get in touch.