Walking Holidays in Scotland 2022 Explore Scotland on foot Holidays for those who love to explore on foot the dramatic countryside of the Highlands and islands, and learn their secrets. With expert guides who have extensive local knowledge which, together with their professionalism, adds to the enjoyment of your holiday experience. Staying in accommodation which has been carefully chosen for a friendly welcome, comfort and good food. Whether you choose one of our scheduled holidays or tailor-made private guided hiking tours, you can relax, safe in the knowledge that you are in expert, professional, and caring hands. About Argyll gives you An attractive, well-thought-out walking programme - with walks and hikes to remote, quiet places undiscovered by most tourists. You can enjoy historical, natural and geological themes and the pure pleasure of walking in some of the UK’s most stunning scenery. The confidence that you are going the right way - our well-qualified, well-informed and enthusiastic guides will look after you. They’ll do their best to make your holiday interesting and memorable. Each of our guides lives in Scotland; knows it well, and has some special interest in its environment. And all of them really enjoy sharing this knowledge with you. All our guides have mountain leadership and first aid qualifications, with experience of leading groups of various ages over all sorts of ground in all weathers and seasons, so you know you are in safe hands. Small groups - usually between 4 and 8. Carefully selected comfortable accommodation - we book and arrange this for you, taking care to find a B&B, guest house or hotel that is individual in character and offers good food, comfort and a friendly welcome. Road transport in our minibus - we collect you from Glasgow (city or airport) on your first day and take you back at the end of your holiday. Throughout your holiday we also provide local transport as needed, evenings included. Transport by ferries, (charter) boats and train - as required. Visits to museums and other places of interest - entrance fees are included where these are an integral part of your programme. Get-togethers in the evening - in your hotel or in a variety of carefully selected restaurants and pubs to set the scene for the next day’s walking. If evening meals are not included in the price, your guide will always take you somewhere good. We usually eat in a different place each evening, giving you the opportunity to try a range of Scottish dishes and ambiences. and most especially: Personal care and attention in all that we do for you. Who are we? About Argyll Walking Holidays is based in the south- west Highlands of Scotland. It is run by Frieda Bos in co-operation with a team of guides who are not only keen walkers, but also know Scotland extremely well in all its aspects. We run high- quality, small-scale, essentially personal hiking vacations, and we view our clients as friends who are entitled to a professional service. We spend time in the field to plan and meticulously prepare each holiday so that we are confident of offering you an out- of-the-way experience worthy of the tradition of John Muir’s “natural beauty hunger”. We organise our walking holidays with freshness and enthusiasm so that you can get the most out of visiting this beautiful land. We have been operating since 1995 and many of our clients have returned for a second, third or even fourth and fifth time. Sustainable holidays Following John Muir’s inspiring example, we are dedicated to preserving and promoting the value of Scotland’s wild areas by doing our best to reduce the environmental impact of our walking holidays and ensuring the long-term sustainability of tourism in the area. The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are one of Britain and Europe’s last wildernesses, and we share with all who live or visit here a responsibility to protect and conserve their fragile ecosystems. About Argyll is a member of Green Tourism. This organisation encourages responsible and sustainable tourism. It has recognised our efforts with a Gold Award, the highest award possible. People Our groups are made up of individuals who, whatever their background, share a common love of walking and a joy in discovering people and places, history and wildlife and all the other aspects of life in Scotland. Wherever they are from, they are all curious to find out what’s around the next corner. In recent years, our walkers have come from the USA, Canada, mainland Europe, Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. This international mixture has made for a thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere which is shared equally by those who come on their own, and those who book with their partner or friends. We know that several new and lasting friendships have come about through walking with ‘About Argyll’. Why not come and join us this year? Walking or hiking? The word ‘hiking’ isn’t used as much in the UK as it is in North America. In the UK we tend to use ‘walking’ to cover such a wide range of activities that it can be misleading. North American readers should probably think of About Argyll’s walks as hikes, but at the gentler end of the range. We offer two grades of holidays: (Luxury) walking tours: Our (luxury) walking/hiking tours are an excellent introduction to hiking in Scotland for people with good basic fitness. The holiday combines hiking with visits to places of interest. Daily distances won’t exceed 6 miles/10km, with varying amounts of ascent, and we don’t expect to hike for longer than 4 hours (plus stops). Most of the hiking will be on paths, tracks or quiet roads, although the surfaces can be wet and rough. There will be some steep sections along the way, but no climbing greater than 1200 feet (365m), even in total. Walking/hiking holidays: Our walking holidays and hiking vacations are designed for people who are fit and used to walking all day. We will walk up to 11 miles/17.5km 6 hours (plus stops) per day with an average 1150ft/350m of ascent. On one day it might be as much as 3000ft/900m, but there are also easier days. Our routes sometimes cross pathless glens, climb mountains or thread remote passes, and there may be some scrambling. On most days, as much of our time is spent off path as on it. Scotland can be very wild and tough going: 10 miles here is often much harder than 10 miles elsewhere. All that said, we don’t want to break any speed records, especially not when going uphill, and you’ll have all the rewards of walking in the most beautiful and fascinating parts of the Highlands and Islands. LUXURY WALKING TOUR The Programme Guided luxury walking tours LUXURY • Isles of Arran, Islay & Jura • Scottish Highlands & Skye • Perthshire, Argyll & the Isles Guided walking tours WALKING TOUR WALKING • South-west Highlands & Islands • North-west Highlands • Orkney Islands • Shetland Islands • Orkney and Shetland Islands Isles of Arran, Islay & Jura combined WALKING/HIKING This luxury hiking tour will take you to three Guided walking/hiking holidays very distinctive islands: Arran in the Firth of Clyde, and Islay and Jura, islands of the Inner • Exploring Mull Hebrides. • Islay, Jura & Colonsay Arran is often described as “Scotland in • Hiking Shetland Islands miniature”, because of the way its diverse landscape reflects that of Scotland as a whole. Shetland PRIVATE ITINERARY PRIVATE Islay, once home of the MacDonald ‘Lords Private guided itineraries of the Isles’, is famous for its many whisky distilleries, farming, bird life, beaches and cliffs. Jura is wild and more rugged than Islay and the Red deer outnumber people many Orkney times over. The walks and visits to places of interest will reflect the diversity found on these islands: rugged mountains, beaches, cliffs, dunes, salt marshes, farmland, hills, moors and Sutherland waterfalls. You will visit ancient monuments, historic sites, and abandoned townships as well as attractive villages and a whisky Torridon Inverness distillery. Skye Highlands We will stay in small 4-star hotels, so that Morar Aberdeen you may relax in comfort after your day out walking. Perthshire Mull Argyll Description: 8 days; 7 nights. 4-star hotel accommodation on Arran and Islay. Edinburgh Islay Glasgow Dates: 13-20 August. Arran Price: £2500. (breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner). Double room for single occupancy: £480 extra. LUXURY WALKING TOUR LUXURY WALKING TOUR Scottish Highlands & Skye Perthshire, Argyll & the Isles This tour goes to the Morar peninsula in the This trip will take us to Perthshire, in the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. We’ll heart of Scotland, and Argyll, on its western travel by train along the scenic West Highland fringes. Highland Perthshire is far from the Railway line from Glasgow to Glenfinnan sea, in Scottish terms. With its high mountains, crossing the famous Glenfinnan viaduct. long, deep glens and abundance of trees, it is The following day we will stretch our legs a very distinctive part of Scotland, contrasting exploring Morar including walking on the perfectly with the seaboard of Argyll. The Silver Sands. Then it’s off for a boat on the hills of Argyll are more rugged and the glens beautiful Loch Nevis and a hike along Loch steeper and shorter and it has a long, broken, Morar. After your day out you can relax over islanded coast. a good meal and a drink in your hotel while Our walks will take us into the long glens enjoying the friendly atmosphere of a Scottish of Highland Perthshire and wild Glen Coe.