Railtrail Annual Brochure 2021

BRITISH TRAVEL AWARDS 2020… VOTE FOR RAILTRAIL! Railtrail Tours is a long-standing family firmwith a great reputation for quality rail holidays, and we are delighted to announce that we have been nominated for the British Travel Awards 2020 in the category of Best Rail Holiday Company (small company) in our 40th anniversary year. The British Travel Awards are recognised by consumers as the “symbol of excellence” in travel and tourism and we are facing some fierce competition. Voting started on the 6th September and continues until 22nd November . The British Travel Awards are voted for by members of the public and for you to vote for us would mean a huge amount to all the team and be just the boost needed for us to start 2021 on a positive high! WE NEED YOU... Please get voting on our website and wish us luck. It will only take a minute and we would be hugely grateful, for your help THANK YOU .

What makes

different?

Office Team Railtrail We are proud of our independent status and it is perhaps opportune to open our office doors a little wider than usual to give you re-assurance that ‘Big is not always Best’ and that here at Railtrail we put ‘Quality over Quantity’ when creating tours which ensures we do not overstretch our resources. Where financial security is concerned your money is always fully protected and you can book knowing your holiday is in safe hands, as we uniquely secure your money in a Trust Account until after you return from your holiday tour. Our Founder & Managing Director still heads the company, and as Vice-Chairman of the Association of European Rail Agents (AERA) is also at the forefront of what’s happening on today’s European railways. The family connection also includes Julie Ratcliffe (nee Felstead) who along with Gemma forms our Customer Care team who are normally the first voices you hear when telephoning Railtrail. Dave’s son, Paul Felstead, has joined the company in a senior Operations role after a long career in the RAF and is waiting in the wings to fly the company flag.

Our Fab 5 ‘Design to Delivery’ Team – Margo, Lisa, Kathy, Carla and Kate - have over 100 years’ experience in the Tours & Travel industry. Our resident ‘rail enthusiast’ is Henry who in addition to working in our rail ticketing section also acts as Tour Manager on some of our heritage and steam tours where his passion, particularly in the steam domain, is a font of all knowledge to the benefit of clients. Our husband and wife team, Mark and Rachel Dickin, have for some years been an essential backbone of the company with Mark keeping our website up to date and his wife Rachel is possibly the most popular member of the team as she is in charge of finance, and pays the salaries! This excellent team has been expanded with the arrival of Michelle joining our Design to Delivery team, and Summer who enhances our social media activities. Please visit our website, where you might also like to register your email address to receive a weekly email of further Railtrail news and new tours. However, we would be nothing without our actual public face – our brilliant Tour Managers...

Your Railtrail Tour Manager Every Railtrail tour is escorted by one of our team of caring and experienced Tour Managers. We are a family business and so we have hand-picked people to look after our customers who share our values. They are a very well-travelled bunch of people, with the most experienced having over 100 tours under their belt! Your Railtrail Tour Manager is there to make sure things run like clockwork. They have the experience and knowledge to make your travel arrangements straightforward and your holiday as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. Plus they are great company too!

4