As a retired single traveler, I often studied package tours offered by various travel companies, seeking out trips that would take me to places I longed to visit — gardens of southern England, especially by the sea, along with Stonehenge, St. Michael’s Mount — or maybe Jane Austen’s Bath or the Cotswolds? And I would find that although a trip package might include one or two of those sites, it was invariably not the focus, but was tucked into an itinerary built around locales in England that I had visited and loved on prior trips.

would study maps and websites pondering how to put a trip together, not sure of where to start — focus on lodging or plane reservations first? Or maybe timed admission tickets to ancient Roman sites in Bath, and build from there? But then I found Prepco Travel and Barry Devo.

With just a few emails and phone conversations he worked out a two-week “trip of a lifetime” that took me to my primary interest, gardens and landscapes of Cornwall, with seaside lodging and salt air. Flying into and out of Heathrow, with travel by train and car service, my custom itinerary took me to an inn in the Cotswolds then south to Bath, Stonehenge, with a final stop in Kent. He understood the transportation, distances and travel time required and put it together like a beautifully crafted puzzle.

I came home relaxed and renewed, without the package tour exhaustion, and most importantly, with wonderful memories of seaside villages and landscapes, celebrated gardens, historic sites, and cuckoo song at ancient churches. If you have questions about the logistics of this trip, get in touch with Barry and have him pass your name and contact info along to me.