Reviews and Testimonials

I found the entire event very fun and interesting. I was never bored and had a great time meeting all of the other participants and the instructors. The instructors were extremely friendly and always happy to talk and answer any questions.

It was very good: great food, good acommodation, experienced and pleasant guides and good routes.

Just as wonderful as the first time round. Very grateful for the opportunity and the Aspen team.

Very well organised. Good food and company.

Had a great time on the Aspen winter skills course. Iain, our instructor was clear in his instructions, good fun and took good care of his charges. The conditions didn’t lend themselves to doing as much as I’d hoped, but we made good use of what snow was about. Convivial and comfortable accommodation….excellent food! Alistair and assistant chefs can cook for me any day 😀.

Had an amazing day, thank you Aspen Outdoors!

I enjoyed the course and found many of the ideas, games and tips useful for teaching basic navigation. It was a useful way to understand the learning needs of people who are keen to learn navigation and then progress to learning about map and compass work. I found the group to be an inclusive atmosphere.

This was such a good day course! I was a little bit nervous on arrival but instructors were so patient and kind it put me at ease straight away. I learnt so much about kit, winter hill walking skills and how to manage in quite extreme conditions. I definitely entered my “stretch zone” during the day, but the instructors were so calm, supportive and experienced I felt safe throughout. Just keen to do more now! Thanks!

Really great and worthwhile training. Leader was great, took the time to explain everything really well, very approachable person and made the whole group feel very included and comfortable.

We thought the whole weekend was planned really well with a perfect mix of fun, team work & learning new skills.

Thank you very much for your course delivery today. I found it both interactive and fun and have come away with new ideas of how to teach navigation.

Many thanks for the fantastic and most enjoyable learning experience, as I learned a lot. It has even made me think about how I might be able to pass what I have learned to others.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it very interesting. I loved learning about different tinders and plants. It was great to get to explore these and have a chance to build our own fire.

Enjoyed the ease I was able to access some of the hidden away gems in the countryside I otherwise would have not seen.

Thanks to Aspen and to our guide Iain for a most wonderful week in the Shetland Islands. We had the most amazing trip. The accommodation was excellent. Iain was a fantastic guide and made everyday so easy and enjoyable. The group all got on great, and we spent most days laughing. All the restaurants that were picked were really good. Empty plates every evening.

It has been a wonderful experience that let me forget everything, a total immersion in the nature and wonderful sceneries, with a very cosy group and a well prepared guide, also friendly person. I hope to be able to contact you for a new travel. Thanks so much Mirta

We visited many parts of Shetland from the south to the north and enjoyed good weather virtually the whole time. Our guide, Alastair, was excellent, imparting lots of information on history, geology, wildlife and botany. Accommodation was very good, especially in Lerwick.

Thanks to Aspen and to our guide Iain for a most wonderful week in the Shetland Islands. We had the most amazing trip. The accommodation was excellent. Iain was a fantastic guide and made everyday so easy and enjoyable. The group all got on great, and we spent most days laughing. All the restaurants that were picked were really good. Empty plates every evening.

We had a great time, helped by the weather being very kind to us. Alastair was an excellent guide (and driver!), very knowledgeable about the wildlife, flowers and the history of Shetland. The coastal scenery we saw on our walks was outstanding. The tour was very well planned and all details were well thought through, ensuring that all members of the group were well looked after. Thank you for a memorable experience. Doug & Anna

Very well organised from start to finish. Accommodation and meals excellent. I experienced a real insight into the Shetlands by a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. Great group dynamics. Thank you.

A great experience, especially when the weather improved after a couple of days. Guide very knowledgeable and thoughtful. Fantastic scenery and pristine white beaches. Accommodation good and very good.

This was my 2nd time traveling with Alastair, who is an expert guide in all aspects of the wilderness and Scottish history. All details concerning lodging, food, and travels were expertly taken care of and looked after. All of the hikes/walks were well thought out and thoroughly enjoyable. Alastair is the consummate gentleman and always interesting with whom to chat. I look forward to my 3rd outing with him/his tour outfit sometime soon.

Excellent trip in spite of dreich weather. Well organised with clear instructions and supported by professional guiding throughout.

Very well organized. Also flexibility(schedule changed to afjust to weather when possible) Accomodation good, breakfast excellent. Lots of fun and I learned a lot!

The trip to Orkney was fascinating. There was just the right balance of coastal walks, historical sites and bird / plant watching and identification. Good conversation, great company and excellent variety of food.

This was an unforgettable trip. The perfect mix of incredible scenery, history, archaeology, culture, and, yes, shopping. Our B&B was homey and comfortable and the staff were wonderful. The walks were a manageable length and covered a wide variety of terrain. Our guide Alastair did an excellent job of adjusting our itinerary based on the weather, and providing us with coffee breaks. He was a wealth of knowledge about the wildlife, plants, and culture and really helped us get the most out of our time in the islands. I was traveling alone but the small group size made for a friendly and delightful atmosphere. I highly recommend this tour, especially if you are traveling to Shetland for the first time and want to get a taste of all the islands have to offer. I am seriously considering taking another of their tours in the near future.

Apart from the weather, the trip was great. Well organised and highly recommended.

Had a great time it was an interesting experience thank you for organising

What an amazing experience! Our trip with Aspen Outdoors was tailored perfectly to our needs and carefully crafted to offer the trip of a lifetime. Well-organized, excellent communication and exceptional service. Five stars!

The weather was not perfect, but in other respects this was an excellent experience, especially the accommodation for the first half of the week. Alastair was a very well-informed leader and he managed the itinerary thoughtfully and was responsive to changing circumstances.

Very good itinerary of walking, culture and history. The accommodation, packed lunches and transport were more than adequate. The Shetlands are wonderful. The guide was a walking encyclopedia!

Lovely well organised and well planned trip on beautiful Orkney.

I enjoyed every minute of this trip. The accommodation was brilliant and all the food was really good. Alister was a wonderful guide with great knowledge of Shetland and fabulous stories. I would strongly recommend the tour.

We had a GREAT TRIP! The Shetland country side and vistas were spectacular and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the area, the history of the region and the wildlife. The weather was like we expected for the time of year. The daily hikes and excursions are very manageable and offer an in-depth view of the countryside and history of the area. We stayed in a great B&B during our tour with breakfast and lunch was included. Our guide took us to different local restaurants evert night. We would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a walking tour.

The Shetland Walking Tour was an excellent trip all around. We loved the accommodations, and Alistair was an excellent guide, taking us on fascinating walks and sharing both his personal history of life on Shetland as well as the geographic, geological, and social history of life on the islands. We also appreciated his ability to change plans when needed (as is sometimes the case due to weather and wind), and to create new and exciting itineraries on the fly that were every bit as enjoyable as the original plans.

This is an amazing diverse trip very well planned and really showed us all that was best of Shetland in a very short time. The tour leader had the most incredible knowledge of places, geology, history, birds , plants, legends and tales of Shetland. It was one of the most interesting and informative trips I have been on. Each day was very well planned and our leader worked very hard driving us to places organising a walk and taking us to many historical sites. I really feel we had a true flavour of Shetland and were very well looked after. We saw stunning coastal scenery and a very good selection of places to walk from small islands to peninsulas and along wonderful coastline. We had a fabulous boat trip one evening to see the bird colonies of Noss and Bressay. I feel I got a really good idea of the history and geography of Shetland . We had splendid evening meals out at local restaurants . If the weather prevented one plan our leader proved very adaptable and had a plan b . Our b and b in Lerwick was excellent and it was good to have it just for our group making it really easy and friendly. We were very well looked after by our hostess with fabulous breakfasts and one superbly cooked dinner in the house. I feel I have come away with a wonderful view and experience of Shetland as a place . We were reasonably lucky with the weather except for one foggy day which for Shetland was very good. I was also impressed with our ferry accommodation and as my first over night trip by ferry found it a very comfortable experience helped by smooth crossings of course. We just learnt so much about various former settlements and way of life like crofting , the birds nesting and wild flowers . Plenty of time was taken to tell us all about the sites we went to and any ruins our walks took us to. I would really recommend this trip to anyone wanting to experience Shetland to the full.

This was a fantastic trip. Just the right balance of hiking/walking in beautiful settings and archeologic sites. Aspen Outdoors was the best tour guide/travel agents we have ever had…and we have traveled all over the world. Alistair Ewen and Jen Brooke were always on top of every detail and extremely responsive. Our on the ground guides (Alan Dorward, Julie Gibson, and Rachel Harris) were great people and all fantastic re their knowledge and attentiveness. Alan stayed with us most of the trip and he was obsessive about making sure that everything was perfect. We had little to think about which made a great vacation. We highly recommend Aspen Outdoors for support and highly recommend the Orkney Islands as a destination. Eileen and John Skinner, Falmouth, ME USA

What a great trip. Went to so many beautiful and fascinating places. Our guides were knowledgeable about the area and shared their fast knowledge with us. The hikes were well planned and there was always time to stop and have a coffee or hot chocolate at the local cafes. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to really see and experience the islands.