Good afternoon, Thank you for your enquiry about a hiking holiday along the Antrim Way. We would be delighted to help you organise your trip! Antrim offers a terrain which is relatively flat on one hand and yet incredibly spectacular on the other. The route provides some breath-taking scenery of the north-coast of Ireland. Depending on your tour choice, you will have the chance to take a short ferry trip to Rathlin Island and visit the large seabird colony at the West Lighthouse. Other features of the tour include the view of the Dunluce Castle ruins and of course the renowned ‘Giants Causeway’, one of Northern Ireland’s biggest tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You also have the chance to test your mettle on the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which is truly an experience! These amazing landscapes even inspired Game Of Throne and Viking creators who filmed many episodes of the series in the region. Our Gentle hiking tours on this itinerary have been designed with the part-time hiker in mind. While you can still expect some climbs, these tours offer the shortest average daily hikes, which in turn means fewer ups and downs. This will give you plenty time to enjoy the sights and scenery, take photos, have a long lunch and, if necessary, negotiate the more tricky sections of a walk. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us through our website. Warm regards, The Hillwalk Tours Team

Hello there, I am sorry to hear that you experienced difficulties getting in touch with us. We certainly are in business and ready to answer enquiries. Perhaps part of the issue was that our phones and the live chat are only available during our office hours (8AM to 4PM, Irish time). I have checked in with my colleague and we had emailed you on the 11th, 19th and 20th November. If you are still experiencing difficulties receiving our emails, please feel free to contact us using a different email address (if you have one) or give us a call during our office hours. Thank you very much!

Great question. We hiked in June in chilly, wet and dry hot weather. I chose to take both Keen Austin shoes with me, super light water proof low top shoes, and a pair of light Keen waterproof hiking boots. I used both pairs of shoes depending on the weather and terrain. Also, I was awfully glad that I had brought gaiters because the mud was deep in a number of places. Hope this helps. Have a grand trip!!!

Hi John Y, Thank you for contacting us. We'd be delighted to help you with a hiking tour.! All of our tours are self-guided and we have tours starting from 4 days up to 12 days. Since you would hike to approx 5-10 miles per day, stopping in small towns along the way, I would recommend for you a region such as the Antrim Way in Ireland, or the Camino Frances in Spain. The Gentle Antrim Tours are the most gentle of our Irish tours, with an average of just 8-10 miles walking per day. Our Gentle Hikes include stops in lovely towns such as Ballycastle, Ballintoy and Portstewart. The Camino Frances is a great option if you want to stop frequently and enjoy the local cuisine and culture. The short gentle tours include stops in little villages such as Arzua, A Rua and Melide and include an average of just 6-9 miles of walking each day. We will transfer your luggage each day and it will be waiting for you when you arrive at your next B&B. For a full list of our tours please check our website and if you would like some more comprehensive information or advice on which tour to pick, please don't hesitate to contact us through our website and one of our Customer Support team will be very happy to help you further. Kind Regards, Misja Product Coordinator

Hi Susan D Thank you for contacting Hillwalk Tours. We would be delighted to help you organize a walking tour along the Rob Roy Way in Scotland! Midges and horse flies occur between May and September. Exactly how heavy the incidence of these little pests is, depends partly on the weather and climate during those months (for example, they prefer damp, hot weather). A breeze often keeps them at bay and midges tend to be most active at dawn and dusk. In any case we highly recommend to bring an insect repellent. The ‘Smidge’ brand of insect repellent is widely available in Scotland. If you are really worried, you could also bring a midge net. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions or you would like to go ahead and book one of our tours, you can do so directly through our website. Kind Regards, Misja Product Coordinator

Hi beverlylayman, Thank you for contacting Hillwalk Tours. We would be delighted to help you and your husband to organise a hiking tour in Ireland! We have three different levels of itineraries that we offer: Gentle, Moderate and Challening. For the most part, they follow the same route, but each will cover different lengths each day. If you look on our our website at the Kerry Way and Dingle Way tours, it will give you information on the average length of a day's hike on our Gentle, Moderate and Challenging tours, and you can also get even more detail in the individual tour itinerary pages. E.g. If you look at the Dingle Way 10-Day Gentle itineray page, it will detail the distance and height covered on each day of the tour. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, you can send us a contact form directly via our website. Kind regards, Joanne Customer Experience Manager

Hi Lokismom48, Thank you for contacting us. The Dingle Way is our most popular region in Ireland, but for good reason! If you have been there before yourself, you know how picturesque the surroundings can be. However, if you are looking for a less busy route, you might be interested in the Beara Way, Wicklow Way or West of Ireland. Or another route to consider would be the Antrim Glens and Coastline. Your sons might appreciate that route if they are fans of the Game of Thrones series, or if any of you are interested in Irish folklore, as you will see the world-famous Giant's Causeway. If you send an email to us via our website, one of our Operations team members will be more than happy to help you choose the best hike to suit your family's tastes, and they will be able to explain the attractions of each region in detail for you. Kind regards, Joanne Customer Experience Manager

Hi Kitty, Thank you for for your question. It's a great one! A lot of people wonder about this. The mobile reception can depend on many things - which country were you thinking of taking a hike in - Ireland, Scotland or England? And then, within the country, which region? The mobile reception will mostly depend on the region where you are doing your hike, and also on the local carrier who AT&T are linked with, that will be taking your service. To get more accurate information, you can contact us directly via the contact form on our website, and if you let us know the region you would like to hike in, we will be able to tell you then (based on the end points of each day), how good or bad the mobile reception may be. I hope this information has been helpful, and we look forward to hearing from you soon! Kind regards, Joanne

Hi Sue, I'm afraid none of our Scottish walks go along the east coast. The West Highland Way & Rob Roy Way go through the central Highlands in Scotland, and the Great Glen Way runs along the Caledonian Canal from Fort William to Inverness. If you need to avoid midges, I would recommend having a look at our tours in Ireland. Midges are not as prevalent in the Irish regions. If you would like any further information about any of our tours, you can contact us directly via our website. Kind regards, Joanne & All at Hillwalk Tours