Our Dutch group enjoying the Birks O' Aberfeldy.
Perthshire Treks highlights
Brenda Clough • November 9, 2024
Richard & Brenda on the summit of Tour de Moyen in Switzerland
As we wind down Perthshire Treks over the coming winter, we have had time to look back over the last 6 years and all the lovely people we have walked with and the great adventures we have had.
One of our very first adventures was for a lovely group of women from the Netherlands organised through
Schottland op Maat. They came to Pitlochry on one of the wettest weekends of the year! Plans were quickly changed from the proposed walk up Schiehallion to a walk along the Rob Roy Way followed by a walk around Pitlochry the following day – and they were amazed at the waterfalls – they don’t have many in the Netherlands! The same year saw Richard do his fastest ascent ever of Ben Vrackie with a young Russian couple who were into marathon running and we also provided some self-guided walking for a corporate group from
Baillie Gifford. This first year, as it turned out, was fairly typical with some clients booking directly with us and others via travel agents or travel curators.
We have been lucky in having several returning visitors, both individual clients and tour operators or travel agents. We are always pleased to see Pino and Caroline from
Caspin Journeys who have come back to us with their clients for several years now and we may even return the favour and go on a holiday in Italy with them one of these years. Last year, Baillie Gifford returned to the
Fonab Castle Hotel and we were able to provide three guides to act as ‘facilitators’ on a walk to encourage conversations between their fund managers and guests.
A group from Caspin Journeys, above Killiecrankie and the Soldier's Leap.
Some visitors to the area have booked us for several days of walking either in small groups or couples. Sometimes they are here on holiday and sometimes to catch up with family and friends for a special occasion.
We have also had some more unusual requests, visitors wishing to find the old (now derelict) homes that their ancestors lived in before emigrating to America and a lady wishing to scatter her parents’ ashes at the site of a stone circle on the moor above the Tummel Valley (with permission from the landowner of course). In both cases the visitors knew more about the specific area than we did – so we often learn from our clients.
Claudia and Peg on Meall a' Bhuchaille in the Cairngorms.
Our most popular outing by far has been a half-day walk – ‘Craig Fonvuick and the Pass of Killiecrankie’. This is a super walk and encapsulates Perthshire in one walk, with a great viewpoint, river gorges, ancient woodland, lots of history and an excellent café. It is so good we never tire of taking visitors on the walk and even do the walk ourselves in our spare time!
Slightly to our surprise, taking visitors up Munros has not been the mainstay of our business and we have not yet done the full traverse of Beinn a’Ghlo with clients. Schiehallion has been our most popular mountain – and it may also have been Brenda’s final excursion as a guide with Perthshire Treks.
Phil and a group of clients near the summit of Schiehallion.
For the first few years, we did all the guiding ourselves but we then had a year when we did several weeks of guiding for a Swedish tour company with groups of 20-30 walkers so we needed to find other guides to help us and also to cover when we were away ourselves. So, for one year Andy and Lianne provided support along with Phil who has become a regular guide for us over the last 3 years.
So, is this the end of Perthshire Treks? Well not quite – the website will continue for now, though more as a source of information and inspiration – and both Richard and Phil are intending to still do some occasional guiding, either together or individually.
So, the last thing to say is a big thank you to everyone who has been walking with us and all the tour operators who have trusted us with their clients – you have all been great and we will really miss you.
What’s it like to be a walking guide? Well, this year will be my 10th and final year as a walking guide, so this blog post looks back at my longer than expected second career.
If you're living or staying in Pitlochry or Aberfeldy, you can use a local bus to help you do a wonderful walk between the two towns. Find out more in our latest blog.
As I write this blog, a cold northerly wind has set in across the UK. A change in the wind direction so that it is coming from the Arctic is one of those weather patterns that is very noticeable for many reasons. Find out more in this blog post.
An overgrown path in Perthshire - just one of the obstacles on the TGO Challenge Life is a challenge but some people enjoy physical challenges in the outdoors. These challenges can be very rewarding and you can feel a great sense of achievement in their completion which can spur you on to do more and set yourself new targets. People are very different in what type of challenges they want to do and this can vary from just completing your first Munro (a mountain in Scotland over 3000 feet), walking the Skye ridge in 24 hours, doing a more organised challenge such as the TGO (The Great Outdoors challenge) or competing in an extreme triathlon. Much depends on whether you like to set your own individual goals or prefer the stimulus of a bigger group and whether you are competitive or not competitive.
Some winter walking in the North York Moors National Park, with some cold and snowy days and some warmer days!
A description of a walk on the moors above Bruar and Calvine, taking in a well-preserved stretch of a General Wade military road.
A visit to the Cairngorms in October 2021 allowed a close-up view of the "cap cloud" that can form in the Cairngorms - and the strong winds it generates!
A report on two wild camping trips near Glenshee and in the Letterewe wilderness in spring 2021.
