WHY CHOOSE HIDDEN HEBRIDES?
- The widest selection of guided walking holidays on Scottish Islands, organised and run by the people who know them best!
- We ALWAYS do our best to provide single occupancy rooms to single travellers.
- All holidays start and finish in Inverness or Aberdeen and INCLUDE travel to and from the islands.
- Comfortable accommodation in island guest houses, B&Bs and hotels, with ensuite or private bathrooms wherever possible.
- All meals provided - you will eat well on our holidays!
- £50 discount for returning clients.
Scottish Island Walking Holidays
Our 2024 programme of Scottish island walking holidays offers tremendous variety and great value. We will be running holidays on all the Outer Hebridean islands, ranging from Barra and Vatersay in the south to Lewis and Harris in the north. We will be exploring some wonderful, off-the-beaten-track routes on the Islands of Skye and Mull, and heading north to visit the spell binding island archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland. And new for 2024, we are offering trips to Arran and Islay, Jura & Colonsay.
Our walking tours are small, relaxed and friendly. Each party has a maximum of 8 people. We find that small groups are often friendlier, allow for greater tailoring of the holiday to people's particular interests...and just seem to work better in the intimate scale of the islands, where large groups can feel like an intrusion into a wild landscape and detract from the overall experience.
Many of our tours include day trips to some of the fabulous, uninhabited off-shore islands around the coast of Scotland. In 2024 we will again be running several holidays on Lewis and Harris which include a day trip to the unforgettable World Heritage Site of St. Kilda. We also hope to visit the towering seacliffs of Mingulay, a dramatic and deserted island off the southern coast of the Outer Hebrides.
Click on the following links to find out more about the holidays we offer:
Our walking tours are small, relaxed and friendly. Each party has a maximum of 8 people. We find that small groups are often friendlier, allow for greater tailoring of the holiday to people's particular interests...and just seem to work better in the intimate scale of the islands, where large groups can feel like an intrusion into a wild landscape and detract from the overall experience.
Many of our tours include day trips to some of the fabulous, uninhabited off-shore islands around the coast of Scotland. In 2024 we will again be running several holidays on Lewis and Harris which include a day trip to the unforgettable World Heritage Site of St. Kilda. We also hope to visit the towering seacliffs of Mingulay, a dramatic and deserted island off the southern coast of the Outer Hebrides.
Click on the following links to find out more about the holidays we offer:
HARRIS & LEWIS - Wonderfully varied walking on the two largest islands of the Outer Hebrides. From the rocky headlands of Ness to the dramatic beaches of Harris this week of spectacular gentle hiking is the perfect introduction to these wonderful islands.
HARRIS, LEWIS & ST. KILDA - Spend a week walking on these two stunning Outer Hebridean islands, plus an unforgettable day trip to the dual World Heritage Site of St.Kilda.
OUTER HEBRIDES HIGHLIGHTS - Covering 10 islands (sometimes more!) in 6 days, this holiday is the perfect introduction to the Outer Hebrides. From the wild coastline of Lewis to the spectacular birdlife of Uists and Barra's famously beautiful beaches, this holiday covers all the main islands of this stunning archipelago.
SKYE & OUTER HEBRIDES - Experience Scotland's most iconic island before heading across the sea to the wild, remote and stunningly beautiful Outer Hebridean islands of Harris and Lewis.
THE SOUTHERN ISLES: UISTS, BARRA & MINGULAY- A tremendous week long tour exploring the beautiful and remote Southern Isles. Spectacular, deserted beaches, abundant wildlife and wild, watery landscapes quite unlike anywhere else in Britain are all guaranteed on this memorable trip. The holiday concludes with a boat trip to the wonderful, deserted island of Mingulay, a mini-St.Kilda at the far southern tip of the Outer Hebrides.
ORKNEY - Standing stones! Puffins! Sunken Ships! Join us on this fantastic week as we island hop around the amazing Orkney islands. We will be visiting 4 separate islands during the course of this week, providing a tremendous introduction to this wonderful archipelago. It goes without saying that the walking here in the far north is excellent, but Orkney offers so much more, with some of the finest archaeology in Northern Europe, outstanding wildlife and a unique culture and heritage, half Scottish and half Scandanavian.
ORKNEY - Standing stones! Puffins! Sunken Ships! Join us on this fantastic week as we island hop around the amazing Orkney islands. We will be visiting 4 separate islands during the course of this week, providing a tremendous introduction to this wonderful archipelago. It goes without saying that the walking here in the far north is excellent, but Orkney offers so much more, with some of the finest archaeology in Northern Europe, outstanding wildlife and a unique culture and heritage, half Scottish and half Scandanavian.
SHETLAND - Join us in a trip to Scotland's most northerly islands and discover amazing Shetland! A stunningly beautiful collection of large and small islands, many still inhabited, Shetland looks and feels more Norwegian than Scottish.
This is without doubt the best place in Britain for wildlife enthusiasts - as well as awesome seabird colonies on several of its seacliffs, otters are commonly seen around the coastline and whales and dolphins are frequent in the surrounding seas.
ARRAN - With some of the finest mountains in Scotland, ancient stone circles, beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous coastlines, Arran packs an amazing amount into a small area! Join us on an unforgettable week exploring "Scotland in Miniature".
MULL, IONA & STAFFA - A wonderful week exploring one of the larger islands of the Inner Hebrides. Mull's spectacular west coast offers walking as wild and beautiful as anywhere in Scotland. Iona is a very special island, the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland, and even today its famous abbey has a profound sense of spirituality that attracts pilgrims from far afield. Also included in this week is a visit to stunning Staffa, with the world famous Fingal's Cave and its adorably approachable puffins!
ISLAY, JURA & COLONSAY - Three very different islands in the Southern Hebrides, each with their own unique character! Experience the beautiful beaches, remote headlands and abundant birdlife on Islay. Visit wild and lonely Jura, with its dramatic mountains and roaming herds of red deer. And experience Colonsay's fertile machair meadows, gorgeous beaches and shimmering freshwater lochs.
Grading
None of our holidays are very strenuous, though some are a bit harder than others. We use the following grading system:
Easy. Our Easy grade holidays are designed to be accessible to most people who have a basic level of fitness. These holidays are a combination of short walks on mostly level ground combined with tours to interesting sites around the islands. The walks are never more than 2 miles in length and gradients are kept to a minimum. We will be walking on beaches, machair (grassy coastal meadows) and on short grass along clifftops. There may be occasional muddy or wet patches on the ground.
Easy / Moderate.
These are relatively easy trips but please note that they do still require a basic level of fitness.
Distances and heights covered are not large - we generally cover between 6 & 8 miles (10 - 13km) in a day and the total ascent is rarely more than 500ft (150m). However...ground conditions on the Scottish islands can be rough, wet and frequently uneven. Paths are fairly uncommon and we will often be walking across open countryside. In addition, the weather here is often breezy which can also make walking quite tiring.
You need to be able to cope with these kinds of conditions. Clients are often surprised at how few miles they have walked, given how tired they feel. We generally explain the “Island miles count double!”.
Moderate
Our Moderate grade holidays are similar but with slightly longer daily distances - 6 - 10 miles (13 - 16km) and up to 1,000ft (300m) of ascent. We do not go up mountains or expect people to be superfit, but you do need to be confident in walking these kind of distances on terrain that can sometimes be quite rough.
Moderate / Challenging
For holidays of this grade you will need to be capable of undertaking longer walks (10 - 12) miles, though not all days will be this long. Some routes will go up small hills, so you need to be capable of climbing peaks of 600m (2,000ft). You also need to be confident walking away from paths over grassy and heathery hillsides.
None of our holidays are very strenuous, though some are a bit harder than others. We use the following grading system:
Easy. Our Easy grade holidays are designed to be accessible to most people who have a basic level of fitness. These holidays are a combination of short walks on mostly level ground combined with tours to interesting sites around the islands. The walks are never more than 2 miles in length and gradients are kept to a minimum. We will be walking on beaches, machair (grassy coastal meadows) and on short grass along clifftops. There may be occasional muddy or wet patches on the ground.
Easy / Moderate.
These are relatively easy trips but please note that they do still require a basic level of fitness.
Distances and heights covered are not large - we generally cover between 6 & 8 miles (10 - 13km) in a day and the total ascent is rarely more than 500ft (150m). However...ground conditions on the Scottish islands can be rough, wet and frequently uneven. Paths are fairly uncommon and we will often be walking across open countryside. In addition, the weather here is often breezy which can also make walking quite tiring.
You need to be able to cope with these kinds of conditions. Clients are often surprised at how few miles they have walked, given how tired they feel. We generally explain the “Island miles count double!”.
Moderate
Our Moderate grade holidays are similar but with slightly longer daily distances - 6 - 10 miles (13 - 16km) and up to 1,000ft (300m) of ascent. We do not go up mountains or expect people to be superfit, but you do need to be confident in walking these kind of distances on terrain that can sometimes be quite rough.
Moderate / Challenging
For holidays of this grade you will need to be capable of undertaking longer walks (10 - 12) miles, though not all days will be this long. Some routes will go up small hills, so you need to be capable of climbing peaks of 600m (2,000ft). You also need to be confident walking away from paths over grassy and heathery hillsides.
Our Accommodation Providers
We work with selected island guest houses and hotels we know and trust and who have excellent reputations for their hospitality and quality.