I grew up in Alnwick – a beautiful and historic market town in the heart of Northumberland. My childhood was filled with the wonderful adventures of exploring the rugged countryside and coastline of this magnificent county.
My love of Northumberland is equal to my desire for providing fun and entertaining facts so that visitors really enjoy their tour experience with Lundgren Tours. I like to get to know my customers so that they go away feeling they would like to return either by themselves or with Lundgren Tours. Wherever possible, I also like to perform which is why I introduced a number of themed tours to my portfolio, often dressing in costume for an authentic and enjoyable experience.
– ”Rob knows and loves the Northumberland region and I think this is what made the trip so joyful. It almost felt like when you’re visiting friends living abroad and they show you around”. (Tripadvisor)
Though I have a soft spot for Northumberland, I have expanded my portfolio of trips to include other regions in the North as well as Scotland. Visitors loved my local tours so much, they requested that I showcase other regions in the same entertaining manner. As customer satisfaction is of paramount importance to my business, we now offer trips to York, The Lake District, Durham, Edinburgh and Glasgow. For the first time this year, we will be offering a multi-day trip to The Scottish Highlands.
Demonstrating our professionalism as a business, we were delighted to be accredited the award of ‘Tour Operator of the Year’ by the North England Prestige Awards 2020.
My aim primarily is to inform my customers and to offer a tailored and friendly service but where appropriate, I also entertain and ensure that our guests have some fun along the way. That’s why I introduced our Harry Potter tours for all HP fans out there who are looking for an experience at Hogwarts (Alnwick Castle) with a twist. I dress up as ‘Ron Weasley’, the red headed character who features in the films. Being a big fan of the films myself, I take great pleasure in entertaining our guests and offer a variety of themed tour experiences including a Viking tour to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne/Bamburgh and a Game of Thrones themed trip to Hadrian’s Wall. All my themed tours include historical content as well as an immersive experience.
“Rob’s style of imparting knowledge is engaging and storytelling rather than monotonous” (Tripadvisor)
The name ‘Lundgren Tours’ was inspired by my seafaring ancestry, a Swedish Mariner who sailed into Amble, Northumberland from the island of Gotland and passed on his love for this great county. I am proud to carry on his name through my business to create some unforgettable memories for my customers.
One of the most exciting experiences I’ve had whilst running Lundgren Tours was being filmed with the well known US comedy actor, Rob Riggle over at Hadrian’s Wall. Mr Riggle has appeared in many popular films such as Hangover and Stepbrothers and features regularly on Comedy Central. What an unforgettable experience to appear on film with Hollywood royalty.
Here I am at the House of Lords with my Uni coach and parents, feeling extremely honoured to be shortlisted for an ‘Enterprising Learner of the Year’ award in November 2016. Well worth all the effort and hard work of setting up my own business as a Tour Operator and Guide in Northumberland whilst at University, studying Entrepreneurial Business Management.
This honour was awarded by the SFEDI and IOEE Group – Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative and the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs.
I consider myself very lucky to have support from both my parents, Tim and Karen Jones. Tim had been in business for over 30 years and ran his own company as a Business Consultant for 9 years. He is now Commercial Director for Lundgren Tours and is very adept at running the operational side of Lundgren Tours, putting together itineraries for our customers and booking quality coaches.
Karen has a background in sales and speaks 5 languages (useful for our international visitors). She is Marketing Director and supports me with social media and sales promotion.
Our team is growing!
