Walkabout Scotland
Walkabout Scotland are one of the leading walking holiday operators in Scotland – running walking holidays, weekends and day tours at a variety of levels throughout the Highlands.
Member since: 11 Dec 2007
How the minimum criteria of the responsible travel standard was met...
Economic responsibility
- Locally owned accommodation (B&Bs or small hotels or hostels where possible) using the local going rate.
- Fair pay for employees and freelance guides. Our guides are either from Edinburgh area (me plus 4 guides) or Aviemore (2), Glencoe (1), Oban (1) or the Borders (1)
- We take guests to local restaurants such as Café Arriba in Portree on Skye, Creelers on Skye – both have a menu dependent on local catch, Rivendell in Shieldaig likewise, The Glen in Newtonmore and Firhall in Grantown on Spey have locally shot pheasants and venison.
Environmental responsibility
- Collective transport where possible (transport fits group size). Encouraging train use pre-trip by UK based customers.
- No liiter on hill policy (impromtu beach and mountain path clean ups where possible) . We encourage guests to recycle their waste.
- We use the following GTBS (Green Tourism Business Scheme) Accommodation – Winnock Hotel Drymen, An Cala, Grantown on Spey, Glenavon House, Newtonmore.
Social responsibility
- All guides are advised to keep Walkabout Scotland’s trip low key with regards to getting on with rural Highland residents.
- We have supported Venture Scotland in the past with both financial and logistical support (bus driving).
- A big part of our trips is the local history. The highland clearances are a visible backdrop to a lot of the walks, we also tale people to local ceilidhs if on.
