Testimonials

Read our clients' feedback and testimonials about their outdoor activities, mountain courses, training and adventure holidays:

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My partner and I were looking for a caving trip that was a little more challenging than normal, and Iain did not disappoint. We were underground all day, climbing, crawling and generally exploring the underground systems. Iain was very knowledgable and clearly new the caving system well. He also had excellent attention to detail and safety was his number one priority. We finished the day completely exhausted, but feeling very accomplished. The trip was exactly what we were looking for and we would certainly book again in the future. Would highly recommend!

Lucy Bacon

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Iain took my girlfriend and me climbing for a half-day at Lower Scout Crag in January. Neither of us had rock-climbed before and the decision to do so was somewhat spontaneous. The entire experience was extremely fun and we both have the appetite for more.

Iain set-up multiple climbing routes allowing us to challenge ourselves as much as wanted to, and he taught us technical aspects to climbing. He is also highly personable with many climbing tales to tell. I strongly recommend to anyone who fancies rock climbing that they go for it and that they cannot go wrong with Iain accompanying them.

Alexander de Wild

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I enjoyed another excellent scrambling day with Iain. I really appreciate the way Iain is able to adapt the plan to meet the abilities and interests of the client. That way I felt I increased in confidence as we tackled several grade 2 scrambles to ascend Harrison Stickle. We finished with a most interesting descent of the classic Jack’s Rake.

Iain is a very knowledgeable guy and I enjoyed exchanging stories of climbs in the UK and the alps.

I have climbed with many guides over the years and Iain is right up there with the best. I will definitely be climbing with him again.

Robert Sleight

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Sam has always wanted to do a compass and map navigation training course, so for her Christmas present I booked a private course with Iain for 13th/14 April 2019.
I booked a private course because Sam is dyslexic and has dyscalculia so I knew she would require the undivided attention of a guide to make any progress.
We met Iain bang on time outside Wilf’s café and off we went in his vintage Land Rover to the start point in the Kentmere valley. The weather was sunny, chilly and pretty windy.
The first day was spent learning the basics of using a compass and map, orientating the map, relating the map to what could be seen, pacing distance, and learning
to walk on a bearing. First we started on roads which were easy to identify, but quickly moved onto public tracks, and off into the fields where navigation wasn’t so straight forward.
It was obvious that Iain is an expert in navigation but more importantly he was an excellent coach with infinite patience with Sam who struggled with the technical aspects. No
matter how many times she was confused, he was there to coach the solutions out of her all day long. Along with the coaching, Iain has a deep knowledge of the whole area which
he gladly shared with us, including surprisingly finding a frog in a stream.
On the Sunday we moved up onto the hills above the Kentmere valley and into more testing terrain, moving into featureless areas, and increasing our confidence of being able
to navigate off grid but still be sure of our position. Once again his dedication with Sam was fantastic, he was determined that when we finished the course Sam would know where
Kent was and be able to navigate us back to it . The weather was not great, overcast, very cold and windy, but we had a great day which was made even better as Sam really started
to get the hang of the various techniques and was growing in confidence which was a pleasure to see.
Iain, was not only a thorough professional, he was also a very down to earth and pleasant person to spend a weekend with.
I have no hesitation in recommending Iain to anybody who wants to learn navigation, or the other mountaineering skills courses he offers.
If the opportunity arises we will be booking him again.

Michael & Sam

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We had a truly fantastic experience with Iain! He was extremely willing to tailor the day to our expectations and abilities, and was very flexible in what he could offer us. He had really high quality equipment, which we found very reassuring. Indeed he was completely safety conscious throughout and we felt he really put our welfare first. Iain came over as a really nice guy, with good conversation and was a pleasure to spend the day with! He was very encouraging and supportive for our first ever outdoor climb. We felt it was great value for money, the booking was very straightforward, and Iain taking and sharing photos with us on Dropbox was a really nice touch. We fully intend to climb with Iain again! Many thanks! Claire and Martin (15th Sept 2019)

Claire Errington

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We had a great day with Iain up Wren Gill Scrambling over bank holiday. He provided all the equipment needed for the day from quality boots to wetsuits.
We loved how personalised the afternoon was to us as well.

We’ll definitely be booking another outdoor activity with Iain in the future! 5 stars all round.

Thanks for fantastic experience!

Sarah & Tom Miles

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Thanks Iain for a great day learning how to cross a river safely and some navigation / map reading skills. Iain is very knowledgeable and ensured that we were 100% safe at all times. He was very supportive and instructive my 2 sons and we all had a super day out in a beautiful environment. I would highly recommend that you pick an activity on offer and experience something different to challenge yourself with an expert skilled instructor.

Colin M

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Attended a ghyll scrambling session in Glenridding Beck, Lake district today with Iain. Myself, mother, father and my daughter aged 7 so varied ages and abilities. Iain was very welcoming and friendly, provided all the nessecary equipment and made sure everyone was safe and aware of the requirements before entering the ghyll. He made sure we were all safe during the session taking extra special care of my daughter throughout making sure she was safe at all times while she was in the water and climbing the rocks. Iain is clearly very knowledgeable of the area and all the activities and it was good to talk with him both during and after the session about his past experiences. I would definately recommend booking with him, we all really enjoyed our session, especially my 7 year old who didn’t want to get out when we had finished, and this will be the first of many that we book with Iain on our annual visits to the Lakes!

natasha moss

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Easily the best gorge walking instructor in the Lake District

Iain is a fantastic instructor who offers a more personal service. By catering to much smaller groups, you get to spend less time queuing and more time doing all the fun things available.

We met Iain a short walk from Church Beck near Coniston, all the gear we needed was provided free of charge and within a few minutes we were scaling waterfalls and jumping off rocks.

The first thing to note is that if you're in the Lake District, you must try this activity! For the price and the number of hours of entertainment it's the best thing to do in the lakes.

If you're considering a range of different companies for this activity, then Iain has the best price and the best service. We spent some time comparing prices and found Iain's to be the best value, and he was the only one who promised we wouldn't be with a large group. Having passed several other groups waiting their turn in lines we definitely appreciated being just the two of us.

Aside from this, we found Iain to be charming, safe and knowledgeable.

Thanks for a brilliant afternoon - hope we can come back and do it again soon!

Amy

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What a brilliant afternoon. Rainy, windswept, misty at the head of the Longsleddale Valley on Wren Gill. If you're going to be wet, as our boys kept saying, might as well get in fully. In for a penny, in for a pound etc! So in we plunged with Iain - immediately one of our boys got very nervous and nearly pulled out. But Iain then managed the brilliant task of making sure he had a slightly easier route up the ghyll, whilst at the same time allowing and encouraging our elder son to take a more challenging route up almost every rapid and small waterfall. It was done with real care and kindness in quite challenging circumstances. The water was rising - but Iain got the perfect balance of care for safety whilst also allowing a good degree of adventure. Dad got to end up floating in a pool, and we all had a perfect hot chocolate from Iain at the end of the session. Its an afternoon we'll remember for months to come. Thank you Iain so much

James Whiting

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