GUIDED WALKING HOLIDAYS
Guided Walking Holidays in Scotland
Their beauty is unique and unrivalled. With nearly 300 peaks over 3000ft
and a wealth of low level routes, the Scottish Highlands offer a lifetime
of walking and adventure. Being one of Europe’s least populated
areas, they possess the rare qualities of wilderness and solitude. The
sense of space and the soft light combined with the wild and rugged scenery
make the Highlands a must visit destination. The forever changing weather
only adds to the landscape’s mystique and appeal.
The Guiding & Instruction
This is delivered by Andy or equally highly qualified Guides & mountaineers (WML, MIC, BMG) each with many years of mountaineering experience, many of them being leading activists. They all live locally and have both intimate and a comprehensive knowledge of the Scottish mountains. Their experience is complemented by numerous mountaineering expeditions to various ranges around the world. They are the very best in the business.
Our Groups
We limit out walking holidays to 8 (+ guide) to optimise the superb experience. On courses the ratio varies - refer to particular course. Singles, couples and small groups of friends of all ages and walks of life come on our holidys enjoying the relaxed and informatl atmosphere. Many guests return yearly, some within the same season!
What's included?
All holidays and course include guiding or instruction, full board and acommodation, transport between your accommodation (usually Fraoch Lodge) and the hills and transfers between Aviemore rail station and Inverness airport, if required.
Food & Accommodation
Rebecca's meals have been described as 'blue-ribbonned events'. Bread is baked daily and all dishes are home-prepared using as many organic & home-grown ingredients as possible. There are a variety of options for breakfast. Packed lunches are imaginative but practical. There's home made cakes on our return and the evening meal consist of 2 courses, with the option for seconds of course, followed by tea of coffee. Special diets are also catered for.
Our Highland base is Fraoch Lodge, (or for our holidays further afied an equally well appointed hoiday cottage). The Lodge provides a very comfortable dining room with wood brutning stove & a separate lounge with open fire. Single guests generally share a twin room with a member of the same sex. If you would prefer a single room, please enquire for availability.
Added Extras
Massages - Mountain Innovations are now offering the opportunity for you to take a relaxing massage part way through your course or holiday (Wednesday) with a qualified masseuse. Eech 1/2 hour session will cost £25. Massages must be booked in advance and are dependent on availability.
Badger or Pine Marten Watch - Boat of Garten is in proud possession
of a Badger hide. Visits to the hide are managed and monitored by Allan
Bantick (www.allanbantick.net). A small charge of £5 is made for
each visitor to help with the maintenance of the hide.
There is also the opportunity (dependent on numbers) to visit the Rothiemurchus
Pine Marten hide. The charge for this is £15 per person.
Highland Easter
Knoydart Munros
The Empty Quarter
Cairngorm 4000'ers
Spring Munros
Classic Torridon
Highland Extravaganza
Complete Cairngorms
Highland Munros
Glens, Forests and Lochs
Classic Mountain Horseshoes
Cairngorm Traverses
Addictive Arran
Autumn Munros
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I'm thinking of flying up. Which Airport should I fly to?
Can I stay for longer than the course?
Are there any hidden expenses?
What is the Maximum number of people on our holidays?
What happens if not many people book?
When is the best time to come?
What sort of people come on our holidays? What is the typical age of guests?
Do we stay in a different place every night or do we operate from a base?
I have a food allergy. Will this be a problem?
I'm thinking of flying up. Which Airport should
I fly to?
Inverness is our closest. There is an increasing amount of flights coming
into Inverness from within the UK so go to http://www.hial.co.uk/inverness-airport.html
to see who flies from where. Once you've booked your flight let us know
the details and we will be there to meet you. Of course we'll happily
to drop you back at the airport for your return flight home.
Is accommodation included?
On all Mountain Innovations courses and holidays accommodation is included,
as is full board (fresh bread baked daily!) and transport to and from
the hill as well as transfers between Inverness Airport or Aviemore station.
Can I stay for longer than the course?
Whether you want to arrive early or stay a little longer we will happily
try to accommodate you - as long as we have the availability. Please phone
01479 831 331 to check. If we don't have space we can always arrange accommodation
nearby.
Are there any hidden expenses?
There are none. All you really need money for is if you've forgotten a
bit of kit or maybe to buy alcohol to go with your evening meal or for
the pub in the evening if we should decide to go.
What is the Maximum number of people on our holidays?
The maximum number will depend on the holiday or course but are highest
number is 8 to one guide/instructor. It is generally recognised by professional
operators that a higher ratio than this in the mountains is undesirable
from the perspective of safety, the environment and the overall quality
of the mountain and holiday experience. On our weekend courses the ratio
drops down to 1: 6
What happens if not many people book?
Mountain Innovations is in the enviable position that all elements of
our holidays and courses are provided 'in-house' and so if we only have
a few people we don't make a loss on the holiday. One of the many customer
benefits of our 'in-house' operation is that once we've confirmed your
booking and received full payment, we will honour our commitment to you.
We do not cancel.
When is the best time to come?
The weather is frequently asked about. Many of our holidays are based
in the Cairngorm area which is climatically quite different to the wetter
West Highlands. All of our West Highland trips are scheduled at the times
of year when you can expect some fantastic weather in the west. There
is a big misconception about the Scottish weather. Yes, Scotland does
have some of the wettest places but because of the mountains, we also
have some of the driest areas also. Historically, the best sunshine month
is May followed by September. We also frequently have excellent weather
in the latter half of April as well as through the months of July and
August. A big advantage of operating day walks from a base is that we're
not necessarily committed to walking in a particular area on a particular
day. With the excellent local knowledge of our guides (that comes from
living in the Highlands) and careful weather monitoring, one of the most
common comments from guests at the end of the holiday is "haven't we been
lucky with the weather"! In fact the huge variety of weather condition
adds enormously to the atmosphere and mystique to the Scottish Highlands.
What about the midges?
Midges hate even light breezes and they are about between mid June and
the 1st cool nights of early September so it's easy to see that for much
of the year they aren't a consideration. They also like boggy ground which
we don't have much of in the East Highlands either. In fact they really
aren't a problem in the Cairngorms generally and again, our west Highland
trips are run at times when they generally aren't a problem. In the unlikely
event we should have to deal with these little irritants you guide will
be armed with a bottle of Avon Skin-So-Soft moisturiser!! We kid you not.
This beauty product has the unintentional side effect of being the most
superbly effective repellent against the Scottish Midge. In fact, when
out on exercise in the Highlands, Scotland often has the sweetest smelling
army in the world!!
What sort of people come on our holidays? What is
the typical age of guests?
People of all walks of life come on our holidays and courses from postmen
to high level civil servants. Many have interesting stories to tell but
whoever you are, the mountains are the most fantastic 'leveller'. Is it
because they strips away the complexity and 'rubbish' of modern every
day living to leave you to deal with the elemental. Whatever it is there
is nothing so superb as sharing with like minded people there challenges
and delights over Cake O'clock (tea & home baked cake ) on our return
from the mountain. People of all ages come on our trips but typically
they are between the ages of 30 and 55.
Do we stay in a different place every night or
do we operate from a base?
All except our wilderness expeditions operate from a base whether that
is Fraoch Lodge (Cairngorms) or a holiday cottage (West Highland holidays).
It means that rather than being either in transit or at some stage of
packing/unpacking you can quickly settle into your holiday and relax.
Will I be fit enough Please refer to our grading page for this one but
if you do have any queries please don't hesitate to call on 01479 831
331 to speak direct to one of our experienced instructors or guides. This
is the best way to make sure you get the right holiday.
I have a food allergy. Will this be a problem?
Certainly not. Rebecca is fantastically accommodating with her dishes.
All we ask is you let us know what your likes and dislikes are on your
booking form and then you can leave the rest to us. Because everything
is home prepared Rebecca knows exactly what goes into her dishes. This
quote says it all: "Thank you to you again for cooking so well. It is
the first time I have eaten out since I was diagnosed celiac. And it was
so nice for me that you had taken so much trouble over it, and be able
to relax and feel safe. We loved Scotland and hope to be back sometime"
Birgitta and Chris Knowles
