Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

From Glasgow to the very beautiful Fort William, this was the beginning and we were immediately captured by Scotland. We loved her grandeur, her isolation, her feeling of being wild. The people proved to be solid, enthusiastic, honest, warm and had an unabashed love of their country. We visited beautiful places, Fort William, Skye, Kyle of Localsh and a company called Sea dogs and a restaurant in the railway station run by a beautiful Kiwi. We loved Inverness and her river AND her canals and her beautiful Taxi drivers but also her delightful cafe by the river run by an hospice. We were at home in Pitlochry with our beautiful guesthouse, their amazing Highland Porridge, and the fantastic walk recommended by Nathalie. And of course we were then transported to our youth, when in Edinburgh we visited GreyFriars Bobby, a movie my Mum and I had cried over in my youth. ( I am 63 and these things are important) Thank you Absolute Escapes, you did a great job! Kind regards Sandra Jakins and Sue Turner

I can only say good things. They were great !

It was so well organised and the route interesting ,scenic and although I have walked it twice i'd book and go again tomorrow. Extra day on Lindisfarne was a must do always. So much to see, so peaceful. The coast walk up to Berwick should be another must do. the golf course clubhouse is very welcoming to walkers. Our organiser(absolute escapes) were great from start to finish. we have used their organisation three times and they are a top shelf group.

Easy to book, great website that is easy to use, quick response, topline accommodation, available anytime during the walk. Friendly and know their business. The hotel and B&B people like dealing with them so they tell me.

Good accommodation, friendly hosts, too many chips :-) and Kennedy's Chocolate Factory in Orton - possibly the best chocolate cake in the world The Lakes were looking awesome - we had 3 stunning days - and it was really quiet on the hills - felt very lucky. Here's to the second half in September - Nine Standards Rigg was bathed in sunshine as we left Kirkby Stephen - where we did get to see the parrots by the way - really wanted to be up there - so if you can order the same for September we'd be very grateful!

Absolute Escapes - absolutely friendly, professional, organised. Wouldn't contemplate using anyone else.

From the initial decision to go with Absolute Escapes, through the support with planning , through the amazing walk itself, to our last night in Fort William everything was perfect. The accommodation was always comfortable, sometimes luxurious, always welcoming. The breakfasts were great. The suggestions for evening meals were brilliant. Our luggage was always there when we arrived. The walking distances were well planned. The West Highland Way is probably the best travel experience I have ever had. It has everything - challenges, stunning beauty, a sense of achievement each day, amazing variation in landscapes, awe-inspiring views, interesting people, great accommodation, great food, great whisky at the end of the day. Thanks so much!

Absolute Escapes ensured an experience that suited our walking ability and the number of days we wanted to walk; was completely without any organisational problems; provided appropriate and extensive information in the planning process; provided great maps and written guide to use during the walk; and thorough contact details for supports if required during the walk. Perfect.

I had an absolutely wonderful time. Knowing that Amanda and the team at Absolute Escapes had taken care of accommodation and baggage transport left me free to enjoy the walking. I was lucky to have great weather as well, especially considering it was October.

The team at Absolute Escapes were great. They were in regular contact with my before my trip, making sure I had the info I needed and keeping me up to date with progress. I highly recommend them.

I approached Absolute Escapes because I wanted to walk St Cuthberts's Way to my own agenda. From my first contact they were very pro- active and encouraging in planning an itinerary for me. I started at St Boswell's and finished at Linisfarne, taking seven days. I was brought up in Northumberland many years ago but had forgotten how beautiful the Border country is. A lot of my time was spent admiring the views and reflecting. My mother died earlier this year so as well as being a walk, it was quite a spiritual experience for me, the fact I was walking alone allowed this luxury. Despite being alone, I never felt lonely as everyone along the Way was very kind to me. This includes my accomadation hosts, hospitality staff at hotels and pubs, taxi drivers and people I met along the Way.. However my overriding memory will be of the magnificent countryside and the views of the Cheviots.

From my very first email contact(from Australia) the staff were very prompt in replying and encouraging me to go ahead to the point that this is why I DID go ahead with my walk. They understood and seemed to have an empathy for what I requested. The itinerary they prepared proved to be perfect for me and my accomodation was suitable. All the information given proved invaluable.

The West Highland Way was a good warm up to walking in Scotland. We enjoyed it very much and it was easy, but it did rather have a lot of people. The Skye Trail, however, was absolutely perfect for us. We so loved the scenery and on some days, we didn’t even meet another person. A few times, finding the way was a little bit challenging, but it always worked out well in the end. Our favourite was stage 2 over the Trotternish Ridge, it was a beautiful and sunny day – just perfect! Very close after the Trotternish Ridge comes the stage through Glen Sligachan. On this day we also had perfect, sunny weather and just loved it. We enjoyed walking in Scotland so much that we will definitely be back!

We were very happy with Absolute Escapes! When we planned our holiday, the consultant gave us a lot of information, came on with own ideas and helped us with his experience. Emails were always replied to within 2 days and all questions were answered immediately. During our holiday, all worked out very well and was perfectly organized. The baggage was always where it had to be, all accommodation and all pickups and transfers were booked and we found it very useful to have the evening meal suggestions provided in the information pack. The picked accommodation was very good and the hosts always very friendly and helpful. The documentation was written with care, very detailed and contained a lot of useful information. A few days after we returned home, Absolute Escapes contacted us to ask whether we were happy with our holiday. We were!

My walking holiday through West Highland Way was wonderful. I was a solo female walker and while I'd done other walks abroad, never by myself. The baggage transfer service was great and it was a truly stress-free experience. The only thing I had to think about was walking and relaxing. The scenery was incredible and the accommodations were fair value. There were no hiccups; everything was as good or better than expected.

Absolute Escapes was great. I've done other walking tours with other operators in other countries. None were as quick to reply to my initial inquiry nor with follow-up communications. The info sheets provided for each day were very helpful and full of great tips. The guidebook and map were the most accurate, engaging and easy-to-follow of any of the ones I've ever used. Absolute was great -- I would definitely recommend them and use them again. Cheers!

For many years I have been reading about Hadrian's Wall and was intrigued by the idea to walk across England. I was fortunate that I was able to fulfill this dream this past September. This hike was great - history, culture, nature, stunning landscapes, cities and towns, and the people - all contributed to making this a very special time. Even with time constraints, we were able to visit some of the museums which proved excellent and provided context while hiking along the Wall. We started in Newcastle upon Tyne and really enjoyed touring the city. We ended in Bowess and really enjoyed that quaint town. Everything in between was really enjoyable too. A truly wonderful vacation.

It was a real pleasure to retain the services of Absolute Escapes. After researching numerous guide books and online sites and an initial email contact, I decided that Absolute a Escapes could provide the service and support I thought I needed to have a successful hiking adventure along Hadrian's Wall. I am so glad I chose Absolute Escapes. Right from the first email exchange with Absolute a Escapes I was impressed by their helpfulness and knowledge of the Wall. Absolute Escapes booked our accommodations and handled the transport of the luggage. Each of the accommodations was wonderful and the transport of the luggage was efficient. Their website was easy to navigate and the actual processing was easy as well. The hard copy information and supporting documentation was very good. The flawless logistics made my time along the Wall very enjoyable.

I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone at Absolute Escapes for our wonderful vacation to Scotland. Jeff and I enjoyed every moment! The train travel was efficient and easy and I thank you for providing the timetables for each leg of our journey. All of the B&B’s, Guesthouses and Inns that we stayed had great rooms, breakfasts and hostesses. I’m very happy that we started out in Edinburgh, as we saw a lot of the historic and “touristy” areas. But, we both loved the town of Pitlochry. It was quite a nice town to walk around, do the whisky walk to Edradour Distillery and had some good restaurants. And, the Poplars Guest House is absolutely gorgeous! Our favorite place to visit was Portree!. Both, the Medina B&B and the area made that visit special. The harbor view is breathtaking!. We also found some great restaurants there. I also want to mention the Taxi Driver that picked us up at Portree and brought us to Armadel (his name was Kenny), was very helpful. Because of the higher winds that day, he called ahead to make sure the ferry to Mallaig was still running. If it wasn’t, he was going to drive us to Kyle of Locklash. I hope you’ll continue using him and his service. We’ll definitely be using your service again, as there’s more to see in Scotland. We haven’t uploaded our photos yet, but I can certainly send you a few of our favorites when we get that done (hopefully this weekend). Thank You Tracy and Jeff Walters

I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone at Absolute Escapes for our wonderful vacation to Scotland. We truly enjoyed every moment and it feels like we were gone for a month due to all the things sights we saw and places we went. The train travel was efficient and easy and I thank you for providing the timetables for each leg of our journey. All of the B&B’s, Guesthouses and Inns that we stayed had great rooms, breakfasts and hostesses. They all very helpful if we needed any ideas or assistance I’m very happy that we started out in Edinburgh, as we saw a lot of the historic and “touristy” areas. But, we both loved the town of Pitlochry. It was quite a nice town to walk around, do the whisky walk to Edradour Distillery and it had some good restaurants. And, the Poplars Guest House is absolutely gorgeous! Our favorite place to visit was Portree!. Both, the Medina B&B and the area made that visit special. The harbor view is breathtaking!. We also found some great restaurants there. I also want to mention the Taxi Driver that picked us up at Portree and brought us to Armadel (his name was Kenny), was very helpful. Because of the higher winds that day, he called ahead to make sure the ferry to Mallaig was still running. If it wasn’t, he was going to drive us to Kyle of Locklash. I hope you’ll continue using him and his service. We’ll definitely be using your service again, as there’s more to see in Scotland. Thank You Tracy and Jeff