PTS Walking Holidays 2017

GB WEEKENDS
By popular demand! Quite a few of our customers who have enjoyed our walking holidays overseas have asked why we don’t organise
weekends with guided walks in the UK. The answer is that we do, but, until now, only for Walking Groups who ask us. So we have decided to
arrange three weekends in different parts of the country using some tried and tested itineraries. Plus we know that many of our customers
link up with their friends from other parts of the country once a year on one of our foreign holidays. Now there’s the chance to jump in the
car and meet up here at home as well. All weekends start on Friday evening with a welcome drink and meeting with your walking guide
and include three nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast, a guided walk on Saturday and Sunday, and transport to and from the walks.
England – the Yorkshire Dales
Hotel: Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton. On the Leeds and
Liverpool Canal, 1 ½ miles south of Skipton, the hotel
has a canal-side restaurant and complimentary
use of the leisure club with fully equipped gym,
swimming pool, spa pool, sauna and steam room
is included for all guests. rendezvous-skipton.co.uk
1 September, 2017
Walk 1: Thirty-minute transfer by minibus to the
start of the walk and probably the best limestone
scenery in the Dales where you join an ancient
green road used by the monks of Fountains Abbey
to visit their farms at Malham. Following a metalled
road at Malham Tarn you head towards Malham
Cove by way of the Water Sinks and The Dry Valley.
The latter has been dry for all of living memory until
last winter when a stream appeared and went over
the Cove as it must have done at the end of the Ice
Age. The ground down the Dry Valley is rocky and
slippery when wet, being limestone. However most
Scotland – Loch Lomond
Hotel: Winnock Hotel, Drymen. On the green in
the conservation village of Drymen, 14 miles from
Glasgow and 4 miles from Loch Lomond, the hotel
is a great base from which to explore the area.
winnockhotel.com
6 October 2017
Walk 1: Balmaha: Faults and Islands on the edge of
the Highlands. Ten-minute transfer to the start of the
walk in Balmaha on the Loch.This is an interesting
walk of two halves. The first half has a couple of
short steeper sections as it follows the West Highland
Way trail to the 360m summit of ‘’The Conic’’, a steep
sided top on a ridge of hard sandstone conglomerate
which delineates the Highland Boundary Fault
and gives superb views over Loch Lomond and its
southern archipelago of sizeable islands. The return
route descends a subsidiary ridge, re-joining the West
Highland Way at Manse Bay on the beautiful wooded
shores of the Loch. Having returned to Balmaha,
the second half begins with a delightful 5-minute
ferry ride over to the historic, atmospheric and
stunningly beautiful Inchcailloch, a wooded island
Wales – the Gower
Hotel: Mercure Swansea Hotel. On the outskirts of
Swansea, 4 miles from the centre of the city, the hotel
has pleasant gardens and an indoor pool. The heated
indoor pool, sauna and gym are free to hotel guests.
mercureswansea.co.uk
15 September 2017
Walk 1: The Gower Coastal Walk. Fifty minute
transfer to the start of the walk at Pilton Green. You
meet the coastline at Paviland, where, if it is low
tide, you can see the cave in which the remains of
the 32,000 year old “Red Lady” were discovered.
Continuing westwards, past Iron Age fortifications,
always keeping the coastline with its magnificent
seascapes to the left, you soon reach Mewslade
of it has had rough steps put in by National Park
Volunteers. You emerge onto the top of Malham
Cove with its spectacular limestone pavement of
clints and grykes. From here you descend to Gordale
bridge and visit Gordale Scar waterfall. This is a
collapsed Cave system leaving the waterfall coming
through what was once the roof. Retracing your
steps, walk to Malham village through woodland
and passing Jennet’s Fosse (where the fairies play).
The minibus takes you back to Skipton where those
with energy may alight walking through the market
before joining the tow path of the Leeds & Liverpool
canal for a 1 mile walk back to the hotel. 8.5 miles
with no ascents.
Walk 2: Twenty-minute transfer to the start of
the walk at Grassington where you descend to the
river Wharfe, and cross on the ‘Tin Bridge’ before
ascending through the fields to the village of Linton.
Linton was once described as the prettiest village in
the North of England. The village green is bounded
nature reserve managed by the Loch Lomond & the
Trossachs National Park. The island’s oak woods
have fascinating stories to tell about former human
inhabitants as well as the abundant wildlife which
makes its home there today. If you are lucky, you may
catch a glimpse of an osprey or one of Inchcaillach’s
resident population of fallow deer which were
introduced by the medieval aristocracy for sport. Your
exploration reveals touchstones giving evidence of
the island’s ancient geological origins as well as its
more recent human history, including signs of early
Christianity, the grave of a MacGregor chieftain, and
illicit whisky distillation! The trails on Inchcailloch are
all well-made and the few short steepish sections
generally have handrails and steps. 6 miles 465m
ascent/descent.
Walk 2: Luss and Beinn Dubh: Heartland of the
Colquhouns. You start with a brief exploration of
the pretty conservation village of Luss which has
centuries old associations with the Colquhoun Lairds
who for 8 centuries have held substantial lands in
this area. After a quick look at the village’s charming
lochside church you head along a level trail following
the banks of Luss Water where you see evidence
and Fall Bays, both far enough from the main roads
to keep them peaceful for sun lovers and bathers
alike. Around a headland, you catch your first
glimpse of the iconic Worm’s Head. Isolated from
the mainland twice a day at high tide, the island is
only accessible via a rocky causeway. Finally, you
pass a Lifeguard Station before proceeding towards
one of the top ten beaches in the world at Rhossilli
and a well-deserved “cuppa”. 6 miles – 90m
ascent/descent.
Walk 2: Gower Coast & Country. A walk that takes
you to parts of the Gower that most visitors never
get to see begins with a 30-minute transfer to
Moorlakes Wood with its verdant canopy. You head
towards Ilston Church with its beautiful interior and
stained glass windows. Continuing, you visit the
by the Fountaine Inn, Fountaine’s Hospital and Linton
Beck. You cross the Beck by any one of the three
bridges, modern, packhorse and clapper. Alternatively
you can use the ford. Then, it’s through more fields to
join the lane to Thorpe. This is a hidden hamlet, and
so it is said, escaped the ravages of Viking raiders.
From here you walk through a series of pastures
and stiles to re-join the Wharfe at Burnsall. The route
then follows the river bank to a suspension bridge
where you cross the river. Stepping stones are also
available. Leaving the river, you climb up to the village
of Hebden, famous locally for its lead mines. You pass
through more fields and the grounds of Grassington
Hospital (now demolished) before joining High Lane
into Grassington. Time to relax, as you make your way
through the village to the Yorkshire Dales National
Park Car Park where your transport awaits. 7.5 miles
150m total ascent.
£299 per person sharing a twin/double.
Single room supplement £75.
of the village’s industrial past. Soon you join the hill
path ascending the eastern spur of Beinn Dubh and,
with ever-expanding views over Loch Lomond and
its dozen strong archipelago of sizeable islands, you
reach the summit plateau after 2 miles of continuous
climbing. As the plateau lies at an elevation of 650m,
the weather may be cold, wet and windy during a
2 mile traverse to look down the precipitous glacial
headwalls of Coire na h-Eanachan and Coire Carlaig
which hang above Glen Douglas to the north. There
are stupendous views here towards Ben Lomond and
the rugged peaks of the Arrochar Alps. From Mid Hill
you descend grassy slopes into Glen Striddle where
the 18th century ‘Ram’s Heid Brig’ reminds us of the
historic importance of sheep in shaping the story
of the Scottish Highlands. Two miles of delightful
descent through the birches which line the quiet
Glen Luss road soon bring you back to the start point
and maybe a well-earned cuppa at one of Luss’s
tearooms! This 8 mile route has 650m of ascent and
includes 5 miles over rough hill paths and trackless
moorland which can be wet underfoot.
£299 per person sharing a twin/double.
Single room supplement £48.
remains of the oldest Baptist Chapel in Wales, then
onwards towards Pennard Castle and the village
that vanished beneath sand dunes, following a
cataclysmic storm. Onwards again, this time to the
wonderful Three Cliffs Bay, site of many a TV advert
and pop video. Whether you take the descent to the
beach or prefer to take in the views from the higher
ground, you will be astounded by the elegance and
beauty of this amazing seascape. The walk ends at
the Gower Inn, an ideal spot to sip a glass of real ale
or a glass of wine while you ponder over your walk
through Britain’s first “Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty”. 6 miles – 90m ascent/descent.
£269 per person sharing a twin/double.
Single room supplement £75.
Please refer to the enclosed ‘Dates and Flight Information’ for details of departure dates, prices and flights.
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