Mickledore Travel Traveller Reviews

First of all I would like to thank Mickledore for their perfect organisation and provided detailed OS maps. Day 1, Drymen to Aberfoyle: First I walked in the wrong direction to take some photos of the church. On my way back was a sign pointing to a viewpoint. From there you have a pleasant view to Loch Lomond. Then I started walking the Rob Roy Way. It is boring walking a long distance on tarmac but there is very little traffic. Passing Muir Park Reservoir there is quiet a pleasant view. Reaching the parking space at Old Drymen Road I turned left on to the forest track, avoiding the tarmac of the Rob Roy Way. At the aqueduct I joined the RRW again till I reached Aberfoyle. Day 2, Aberfoyle to Callander: My host recommended to go up to the waterfall of Aberfoyle, so I did. A pleasant walk and view and I also spent some time at the nearby wildlife view point, watching birds and squirrels. Then I walked on the forest track for a while, don’t miss the small, steep path going down to the RRW. This is for some time a forest track then turning into a small path, sometimes wet and later being quite swampy but nice to walk. Reaching Lochan Allt a’Chip Dhuibh this would be the place for picnic with a lovely view over the water but I missed it there having my meal along the track over Loch Venachar. Later on the track turns down to the loch, there are also some Picnic areas along the loch. There is now a bit of tarmac till after a bridge , then turning uphill on a forest track which changes on the highest point into a path leading down to Callander. Day 3, Callander to Strathyre: The RRW would be all day along the national cycling route no. 7. I only follow it to Kilmahog then turning uphill on a private track, later onto sheep tracks partly over moor until I reach the highest point at Bealach Gaoithe . Some meters steep down the hill, then turning right and following a swampy path presumably from deer, leading me further down to a forest track which a follow for a long time, later on turning down to Loch Lubnaig which I reach at Ardchullarie More. Now I have to follow the main road till Runacraigh . There I turn over a grassy patch (and through some blackberries!) into the wood where I find a forest track again which leads me near Strathyre. A short bit along the road and right at the beginning of the village is a coffee shop where I get my first Espresso of the day. Day 4, Strathyre to Killin: My host recommended an alternative route from Balquhidder over the hills to Killin. But as rain started yesterday evening and carried on all day today I stuck to the original route which is on the dismantled railway track which is also the cycling route. There is a lot of water coming down the hills, especially in Glen Ogle. On the top there is a forest track leading into the valley, joining the railway track again. At the entrance of Killin there are the falls of Dochart with plenty of water today. The Inn with the same name provides me with my daily Espresso. Day 5, Killin to Ardtalnaig: More pleasing weather today, cloudy but dry. The RRW follows first the small road to Loch Tay, after a while turning uphill but still tarmacked until you reach Loch Breaclaich. From there it is a natural track still going uphill to 500 meters. Crossing some sheep the track leads me down to the pipeline and the track follows this. After some 100 meters there is a high post with a yellow mark on top. This leads to the path over the moor and the path is waymarked like this right to Brae Farm. Over the moor you cross some remains of shieldings. Four times this day there are rainbows over Loch Tay, a very lovely sight. From the farm a tarmacked road leads down to Aldeanaig. Now it’s all tarmac again along Loch Tay to Ardtalnaig. There I meet Deborah and William from Florida, which missed the junction going uphill and walked all along the Loch. They stay at the same B&B in Killin. We also join for dinner. Day 6, Ardtalnaig to Aberfeldy: Today I walk with the couple from Florida. A taxi brings us to the start at Ardtalnaig from where we have to walk along the Loch Tay to Acharn. There we leave the road uphill to the very nice waterfalls of Acharn and the Hermits Cave. Still going up we reach a rock where we have a break for lunch. A sign directs us to the Queens Drive but after a while I feel we are wrong. A look on the map confirms this, we are to low down but a path leads us up to the forest where we join the Queens Drive. A nice walk along the hillside follows until we meet the small road to Amulree. On this we go uphill passing by the left turn at Tombuie Cottage to the RRW still going uphill until we reach a no named reservoir. From there leads a track to Aberfeldy through a lovely solitude hilly scenery. Sometimes are black grouse flying from the bushes. For a longer time we follow Urlar Burn. Near Aberfeldy a path leads through the forest to the Falls of Moness, Birks of Aberfeldy and after that it is only a short distance into the town. Day 7, Aberfeldy to Pitlochry: I join the couple from Florida again and we walk out of town. At the distillery of Aberfeldy there is a short Scottish shower, my umbrella is only for protecting my camera. Turning left after the cemetery we reach river Tay, now walking a longer time along its shore which is a very pleasant walk. After a while we are on the dismantled railway track, formerly leading to Aberfeldy. At Grandtully we walk till the camping site, there is also a large picnic area where we enjoy our lunch, sitting at the sun. Three minutes’ walk through the wood brings us into the village where we are surprised to find the Highland Chocolatier, which of course we visit. We cross the bridge to Strathtay, soon going uphill, following the sign pointing to Pitlochry. At first along the Tullypowrie Burn, then over grassland we reach the highest point where we come into a forest. Soon after that there is a stone circle (only 3 stones) on the left side to the forest track. Steadely going downhill we come to Middleton of Fonab, then crossing the A9 with a lot of traffic. Now Pitlochry is not far, on the way into the town we have coffee and cake. Today we do not have the same B&B but we join for a last dinner in the evening.

From B&B's to the tour maps, everything was perfect.

Walked the dales with friends all aspects organised by mickledore to a very high standard

Knowledgeable and very helpful and very efficient in dealing with any queries we had

Very well organised with excellent accommodation throughout. Comprehensive walking notes ensured we got the most out of what must be one of the most fascinating and underrated active holidays in Britain

So well organised that we had no occasion to contact them for advice or help. Will use Mikledore again.

A six day holiday in Northumblerland and Cumbria following the Hadrian's Wall path. Staying overnight at Bed and Breakfast accommodation along the way.

The Company was well organized and responsive (even at short notice) to my questions and requests. They supplied me with useful and good quality maps and guides. The overnight accommodation which they selected for me was a very high standard, and I was very pleased overall.

We hiked 8 days from St. Bees to Kirkby Stephens staying in B & Bs along the way.

MIckledore arranged the places where we stayed, provided books and guidelines for the hike itself and picked up our bags each morning and transferred them to the next B & B.

We walked the Hadrian Wall in september 2016. Everything was very well organised. Accomodation, Luggage transfer , taxi's and even the weather! All our hosts were very hospitable and frienly and the B&B's really interesting and lovely. The food in the pubs and B&B's were from normalgood to excellent.

everything very well organised. Never a problem.

Our circular walk in the Lake District led us to Pooley Bridge where we were able to visit the site of my wife's old school more than 55 years ago! The weather lived up to its reputation of being changeable but the scenery was superb.

Mickledore never fail to provide an excellent package and full support.

We were walking the Inn Way in the Lake District. We like walking onto a different destination and Mickledore are brilliant at the logistics of booking the forward destinations and ensuring your luggage is always there. You can just get up and go, looking forward to a good days walking. Friends laughed at the prospect of us including 44 pubs on our walk but really it was about the circular route and linking in with some areas previously visited when we did the C2C. I prefered this walk, I liked that we stayed in small villages or B&B that wouldnt get the C2C trade. There were less people walking and we got to see more of the Lake District itself. Some hard days walking.

We've just walked The Inn Way with the help of Mickledore Travel. This is the 3rd trip we have used them. Even on an established route, you never feel that you are just a number or just "a booking". Your requests are listened to & every attempt is made to cater for them. You dont end up staying or walking en mass with other people on the same holiday. Feedback is actively encouraged and Im sure is listened to.Our experiences with Mickledore mean they are our "go to" company when researching or planning our next walk. I always recommend Mickledore to people when talking about walking holidays. Their walkers holiday pack, maps, routes, guide book, accomodation lists etc is very comprehensive.

Our holiday was a self-guided walk along the Hadrian's Wall path over 9 days with accommodation, baggage transfer, car parking and return travel to the start all pre-booked and arranged.

Mickledore arranged our self-guided walking holiday along Hadrian's Wall. From the start I was impressed with their responsiveness to my communications; always prompt and informative. The arrangements were made very efficiently, the information sent to me through the post was comprehensive and the accommodation enroute was of a really good standard. They also arranged for our luggage to be transported to the next accommodation every day which occurred without any problems at all. They also arranged our car parking in Newcastle and the return transport back there at the end of the walk. All went without a hitch. Many thanks to Mickledore; I would highly recommend this company.

We recently mustered with Mickledore for the fourth time and cannot but say it was a fourth consecutive hit. Years ago we did the C2C from St.Bees to Robin Hood's Bay spread over two holidays, last year we ran down the South Downs and this year we did another C2C from Bowness-on-Solway to Wallsend. Apart from one day of rain in the Lake District we enjoyed every walking mile in sunny and clement weather (British rarity) enshrining in our hearts the panoramic views, lovely towns and villages, the encounters with people from all corners of the world ,the superb and sometimes exclusive lodgings and their brilliant tenants, in short experiences never to be forgotten. Thanks Mickledore

Notwithstanding the fact that the walks as we did them have , over decades, been trotted down by thousands of hikers and described in tens of guides, in our humble opinion we feel that Mickledore added just that extra dimension to it by giving special attention to lodgings and typical places along the way to mark the walks as extraordinary.