Absolute Escapes Traveller Reviews

We had a wonderful holiday in the Western Isles. The weather was fantastic throughout the whole of our visit , really warm & comfortable. Throughout all the islands is a time warp & really peaceful which we absolutely loved, Everyone is really friendly & quite informal. We booked all the restaurants ahead of time just to be on the safe side & they were all excellent. The B & B’s were all extremely good & our hosts really accommodating & friendly. We met some lovely & interesting people in each place we stayed & often bumped into them on our journeys throughout the islands. A lot of the people we met come to the islands year after year & I can well understand why. If I have to nit pick at all on our B & B’s, the first two, both excellent but their outside space ,being their gardens were a bit of a mess ,thus giving not the best first impression. All gave us a very warm welcome & the offer of tea & coffee on our arrival plus home baked cake. The rooms were a little small to accommodate our luggage but it wasn’t a problem, we both had large suitcases. The islands are stunningly beautiful & the landscapes out of this world ! The west coast with it’s amazing white sand beaches & machair & gorgeous colours of the sea & the more rugged east coast with all the beautiful lochs & amazing scenery no less stunning. So much water, lochs , large & small with plenty of wildlife & seals & water lilies. Visited the Callanish Stones with Dave Godwin , an archaeologist who took us to see them as well as others & he was so knowledgeable , informative & enlightening. Also visited a broch & an ancient mill, all most interesting & well worth the money. I did manage to go to St Kilda last Monday & what a day! The sea was fairly calm so a good journey both ways with a good views of the archipelago about an hour before our arrival on Hirta. We had nearly 5 hours on the island giving us plenty of time to see the village, climb to the top of the mountains & view Boreray & the stacs. At that time they had quite a lot of cloud sitting on top of the peaks but I’m happy to say it disappeared before we visited them later. Lots of Soay sheep on the island & fulmars nesting everywhere . You can get really close to them though not recommended to get too near as they will eject an oily fishy liquid that we are told smells vile & will never be able to get rid of the smell from your clothes! On return to the boat we were given a hot cup of tea & cake before going to the stacs. What an amazing sight, fantastic ! Apart from learning how the St Kildans managed to get on the stacs & where they stayed during their period of time catching & preparing the gugas which is terrifying to behold, the sight of the enormous rock covered in white & the thousands of gannets! The smell too. Not just seeing the gannets & the sky filled with them ,also the big skuas flying amongst them & attacking the odd gannet , seeing one brought down & drowned by these powerful predators. Not necessarily a sight I love to see but obviously all have to survive ! Saw a few puffins, Guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes & more fulmars. Such a sight to behold. I feel so privileged to be able to have visited there. Now reading Tom Steel’s “ The Life & Death Of St Kilda “. I can’t say honestly which area we liked the most but the following are some of the highlights: Barra airport, watching the plane land & take off in such a beautiful situation & so novel . A nice beach opposite the little airport with a short walk up on the dunes with lots of skylarks. Vatersay with two lovely beaches, one you see from the road , the other on the opposite with a walk up the dunes where there is a monument in honour of John Vernier 1822 - 1853 . There are plenty of rabbits more red in colour than is normal on the mainland, can’t miss their burrows as the white sand gives them away in amongst the green grass. Here we saw the golden eagle a couple of times flying above us. By here there is a café in the community hall serving excellent food, sandwiches & cake. Eriskay is very small & we made a point of seeing the Eriskay ponies grazing on the Beinn Sciathan. South Uist We took a drive on the south road to Loch Aineort which was absolutely stunning , the views were gorgeous, a paradise. Saw lots of seals on the opposite shore. We dined at the Polochar Inn & had an excellent meal there. It is situated in a gorgeous spot overlooking the sea towards Barra & such a lovely sunset over a very calm sea. Went up to the Lady of the isles & above which is a magnificent viewpoint over Loch Bi & beyond. There were hundreds of swans in loch Bi, quite a sight. North Uist We drove down the B894 Loch Euphort with gorgeous scenery. A worthwhile drive & plenty of photoshoots. We visited the Barpa Langass Cairn & up on to the surveying point where there is a fabulous 360 degees view. So beautiful ! Also visited the Pobull Fhinn Stone Circle where you can walk from that point or drive to the Langass Lodge Hotel & walk past the hotel & through the gate which leads to the stones. Note, the hotel served a great pot of tea & cakes overlooking a very pretty garden & very reasonably priced. Also worth visiting is Langass forest with nice walks & a statue of Hercules !974- 2001, a much loved bear who became famous when he escaped & was safely recaptured. After his long life he is buried beside his statue. Remember to have your midge spray with you! Also we drove round the Lochs north of lochmaddy, also worth the drive. We weren’t so keen on the north & west coast of North Uist. Berneray is quite a sweet little island where we caught the ferry to the Isle of Harris. It was a lovely sail to Harris round all the little islands, most scenic. Harris West coast beaches are to die for, vast expanses of golden sands & turquoise sea but for me the golden road from Tarbert to Laverburgh is magnificent. Wonderful views, a rugged , rocky landscape, pretty little villages & homesteads , a very nice art gallery & café in an idyllic situation called Skoon Art Café, Andrew John Craig is the artist. Saw some seals basking in some of the lochs then finishing in Rodel & St Clement’s church. The road to Shranda is worth taking having some lovely vistas & interesting properties, old & new. Tarbert is a sweet little village & Port. We had a very good meal in the Harris Hotel, the place is family run with very friendly staff. The décor is a bit dated but don’t let that put you off. Whilst I went to St Kilda my husband had a tour of the Harris Distillery, a very modern & new distillery which also makes gin. He found it most interesting & ended up buying two very attractive bottles of gin. The whisky won’t be ready for another couple of years. We took a drive to the Isle of Scalpay before leaving Tarbert for Uig, Isle of Skye. Another sweet little island with quite a few little villages. We didn’t really have much time to explore but as with most places we visited there is some glorious scenery.

This is the second time we've booked a holiday through them & they were excellent. Everyone in the team have been most helpful & co-operative answering all our questions really promptly & making any changes that we required. we are supplied with lots of information on the areas that we may wish to visit, plus maps , emergency numbers etc. All information proved to be very well researched making us very happy customers.

We had a fabulous WHW walk over 7 days and have no complaints! As much as it was a challenge for us, it was also incredibly beautiful and very rewarding. Scotland is magnificent. We want to thank you all at Absolute Escapes. We were very impressed at how seamless the whole hike was for us. Everything from the pre-holiday communication, to the bag pick up service, and the accommodation/breakfasts was excellent. We liked that you gave us a description of each day so we knew what was coming and were particularly thankful for all of the recommendations you included in our info pack. It made the choice of where to eat/drink after a big day of walking much easier for us.

Absolute Escapes were professional and friendly. They delivered on this tour. Everything went to plan and we had no issues whatsoever. We would highly recommend using their services if you are thinking of planning a walking holiday and want an easy and slightly luxurious service to arrange the details for you.

Was a challenge to walk 96 mile but was great not to have to far to walk for accommodation after the days trek was a welcome bonus

Done everything as promised couldn’t asked for more

Booked with Absolute Escapes for a Speyside Way walk, and they did a flawless job. The transfers and information were spot on. We loved this journey, it was idyllic and peaceful. There were also options to rest along the way so we took advantage of a couple, for example the Strathspey Historic Railway instead of a 7 mile leg at the end. Loved every minute of it.

Absolute Escapes instructions, communications and transfers throughout were terrific. They booked us in lovely places and were easy to work with. I'd definitely work with them again!

We travelled to Ayr for 1 night then hopped over to Arran for 2 nights, followed by 4 nights on Islay during Whiskey Festival week, coming back to just outside Dumfries on our last night. We had a spectacular holiday with fabulous weather!

Nothing is too much trouble for them, and all arrangements are first class from ferry bookings to wonderful accommodation.

A physical challenge (5-day walking trip along the West Highland Way in Scotland, 150 km)! Lovely stopovers with good accommodation and great food, and of course beautiful landscapes. We definitely recommend!

Superb organisation with the AITO operator "Great escape". 5 nights in 5 different great locations + luggage transfers. All went smoothly.

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We holidayed in Somerset and North Devon, walking the South West Coast path from Minehead to Westward Ho! It really had everything you could want in a walking holiday, easy and challenging sections, amazing cliff top vistas, beautiful clean beaches, great towns and villages along the way, excellent accommodation with a friendly welcome at every stop, and plenty of options for great eating and drinking.

Big thanks to Absolute Escapes for the excellent organisation of our walking holiday. All arrangements were spot on, it was a great itinerary for us, with comprehensive tips and advice for the walk and the locations we stayed at, and excellent accommodation. It really exceeded our expectations!

We had a wonderful holiday with beautiful landscapes and very good accomodations. Compared with the other walks we did not see anybody walking. But this was just what we intended. We are living in a very crowded area in Germany (Ruhrgebiet, about 5,1 million inhabitants) so we were glad about the calm.

Absolute escape is operating with very friendly people and had fast reactions on our requests. The accomodations were always according what we were looking for.

We had a wonderful holiday! Thanks so much for organising it, especially the amazing hot, sunny weather! Walking across Rannoch Moor in the blazing sun was definitely a highlight as we had expected to get soaking wet, and it was so beautiful! We also loved hearing so many cuckoos - which are now such a rarity in England - and the bluebells were amazing everywhere. We were very happy to have been re-routed to Glencoe youth hostel as the drive there was great through Glencoe and the Clachaig pub up the road probably has the best view from a pub ever! The accommodation was all perfect - just what we thought we were paying for ie. everything we needed(bed and shower!) but not excessive. It might be worth adding to the trip notes that the Backpackers' Hostel in Fort William has mixed gender dorms and showers- we didn't mind but maybe some people might, so might like to have been warned. We were joined by my brother who was doing "not the West Highland Way" ie. going over several peaks but following vaguely the same route and wild camping on the tops of the peaks. We climbed up to over 3,000 feet on our last day with him by walking/climbing directly north from Kinlochleven to Fort William rather than following the Way, and it was absolutely amazing to be in the hot sun, above the snow line with such a clear view we could see for miles.

Really helpful, friendly and informative.

My wife and I wanted a independent experience in Scotland but did not want to drive. The "Scotland by Train" trip was amazing and stress free. We opted for the locals stays at the bed and breakfast and it was like having a home cooked meal every day. People were so friendly and helpful it could not have been any better. This was a ten day loop around some of the best locations in Scotland so we really have a good taste as what Scotland has to offer. It was difficult to come home.

Absolute Escapes was very good to work with and communication lines were open and prompt. I felt like they really understood the logistics for getting around Scotland as we never felt rushed or stressed with the itinerary. The B&Bs they selected were all great with the owners so welcoming. I would definitely recommend others to create a custom tailored trip to suit whatever needs are desired.