Roaming in the gloaming

April 19, 2012 12:41 PM

I'm planning a holiday in Scotland this August with a friend. We'd like to incorporate a few days (anything up to a week) of walking. Ideally, we'd like to go on a guided walk organised by a tour company - the kind where you stay in B&Bs/guest houses each night and the tour company organises transportation of your luggage during the day. The level of walking should be of the easy-to-moderate rather than super-challenging: the goal is to appreciate the beautiful Scottish landscape rather than undertake a strenuous physical challenge. I've googled tour companies that offer this kind of thing, but I was wondering if any mefites have specific recommendations for UK-based tour companies offering this kind of holiday? Or any particular advice?
posted by meronym to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

You could check out Glenmore Lodge in the Cairngorms. Not too far away from central Scotland and they do a bunch of outdoor pursuits courses. They also have accommodation on site, a nice bar, good food and close to Aviemore. August would be a nice time to visit the Cairngorms as well, long evenings, mostly dry, and some of the best scenery in Scotland.
posted by Scottie_Bob at 1:34 PM on April 19, 2012

I did some extremely minor hiking in Scotland last fall and learned very quickly that leather boots are the way to go. Scotland is wet, and porous shoes of any kind are a bad idea.
posted by something something at 1:48 PM on April 19, 2012

You can walk Hadrian's Wall in that time. Here's a mob that do it with good reviews, but there are many others.
posted by goo at 1:51 PM on April 19, 2012

You don't necessarily need leather boots, but you will need waterproof boots. Well, waterproof everything really. Put your faith in Gore-tex.

And goo... Hadrian's Wall is in England!
posted by ComfySofa at 2:20 PM on April 19, 2012

Response by poster: To give a bit more information: I live in Ireland and go walking and hiking regularly, so I already appreciate the necessity of waterproofs and stout boots. What I'm really after is recommendations for specific tour companies which organise holidays in Scotland of the kind I'm interested in. Thanks!
posted by meronym at 2:28 PM on April 19, 2012

Yah, ok - but it's close to Scotland!
posted by goo at 2:41 PM on April 19, 2012

Do you have a specific place in Scotland you're thinking of visiting? There's quite a lot of walking areas and it would help to narrow down possibilities.
posted by Scottie_Bob at 3:10 PM on April 19, 2012

Best answer: I had an excellent experience booking my luggage transfer and lodgings with Wilderness Scotland when my husband and I walked the West Highland Way. They offer many walking tours.
posted by TrarNoir at 4:59 PM on April 19, 2012

We've had good luck with these guys in the past.
posted by monotreme at 10:30 PM on April 19, 2012