"‘Terrible Tours’ started when I found myself in York with my 10, 13 and 16 year olds and looking for things to do. As a full-on history bore who did History at Cambridge and reads history books for fun (what!??), my children dreaded being forced to march around historic places by me while I droned on and on and on and on..... Marginally less bad would be when we went on a ‘guided tour’. At least a proper guide knew what they were on about, but it would always be two hours of dull dates, boring buildings, and tedious traipsing. Even the bribe of ice creams at the end just wasn’t enough anymore…
That day in York though we happened on to a really fun, entertaining, immersive tour. Our guide didn’t just talk at us, they ‘performed’ and did everything they could to make the time fun and engaging while also informative. There was enough history for me, and enough yuckiness and humour to keep the family happy. And instead of the usual ‘how long until this is over?’, ‘my legs hurt’, ‘I’m hungry’ and ‘this is soooooo boring’, all I heard was laughter and, at the end, ‘can we do that again?’
As well as my history obsession I’d spent 25 years in businesses including 10 years in tourism with Disney theme parks. So when I realized that my own massively historic home town of Cambridge had nothing remotely similar, ‘Terrible Tours’ was born! I really hope you enjoy your time with us. Whether young or old, and whichever tour you join, our mission is for you to have a great time and learn through laughter."
Hugh Wood
