2020/21 has been a tough time for most of us in the business of tourism. 2 lockdowns and a period in November to May when we were unable to provide trips certainly proved challenging for Lundgren Tours.
Rob, our founder and Tour Guide Extraordinaire had to move back in with us, his parents for a year. For an extremely outgoing person, this was difficult. Not only did his social life grind to a halt overnight, business was restricted to keeping in touch with partners and providing virtual activities/tours. Rob is very much a people person and is motivated by a live audience so, though he was fortunate to provide an alternative during a difficult time, it wasn’t ideal.
For a brief spell in October last year, we resumed our guided coach tours with Covid restrictions in place. This involved operating at 50% reduced capacity so that passengers could be sat socially distanced on the coach, taking temperatures before the trip, wearing masks and sanitising. We were then informed that the Government had banned coach travel, so promptly had to stop after a successful run of a month. In spite of restrictions, our student customers were extremely grateful to have experienced a taste of freedom, even if it was short lived. We may have been one of the few companies in the UK to provide student tours at that time and even with a mask, Rob was able to entertain customers in his usual inimitable fashion.
Rob continued to provide virtual tours up to and after the Christmas period and we were extremely grateful to him for restricting his social life to all things virtual (for our safety as well as his own). I know he wouldn’t have been alone in doing this, but I have to admit his Dad and I felt really sorry for him during this period. He must have felt like a caged animal at times and I can’t deny there were a few disagreements.
Things started to look up for Rob when he moved back to Newcastle in April this year. He was then able to resume his tours from 17th May with the same Covid restrictions in place. He has provided tours of Edinburgh, York, The Lake District and of course our favourite trips to Northumberland including Alnwick Castle, Hadrian’s Wall, Lindisfarne and Bamburgh. He really enjoyed the honour of helping to re-open the mighty Bamburgh Castle on 29th March. Rob was dressed as his alter ego, ‘Ragnar’, a Viking Warrior and was seen shouting from the gatehouse on the local News later that day.
One of the many things we have learnt during this last 18 months of trading is that nothing will hold Rob back – not even a pandemic! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Lundgren Tours Ltd.
By Karen Lundgren Jones
August 20th, 2021
