Contours no doubt market good walking holidays, but prospective clients should fully understand the implications of their Terms and Conditions. Contours will not supply any details whatsoever of your booking until AFTER you have paid both a deposit and the full sum due, which I my case was to be around 1700 pounds. They refuse to tell you where or what the nightly accommodation is, what facilities it has, how far off the track it is, whether wifi is available or anything else at all. Even after paying, you get this basic information only 4 weeks before the trip. When I queried this, Contours confirmed bluntly after several exchanges that “you will not see any documents before payment has been received”. After reading other reviewers’ experiences of Contours, I decided this just wasn’t acceptable especially as I was to be a solo walker, and chose to forfeit my 90 pounds deposit. An expensive lesson.

We wanted to do nearly 2 weeks of walking tours in england for a honeymoon. We are walkers and usually do up to 20 miles a week. My fiancee' was unbelievably excited about this, and just FYI she is 52 and I am 58. We did a total of 10-11 days split between the Cotswolds and Lake District. The arrangements were exactly as described. I really don't know if the price was good or not; I felt it was fair but didn't break it down per day. It included luggage transfers between hotels, documents, maps, instructions, and a hotel/B & B/guesthouse with breakfast every day. I found them responsive and responsible. We had to call them once and they were right on it - we wanted to skip a walk and ride with our luggage to the next destination. They couldn't have been more accomodating. Every single hotel was highly rated on trip advisor, everyone was clean and accomodating. No complaints there. Intensity of the walks surprised us; we figured these would be rustic and rolling but between the unseasonably hot weather and a couple of very challenging ascents we were really challenged, especially in the Lake District. Make sure you bring a Camelbak with at least 2L of water and refill it often. Make sure you are in shape. Realistically, the only downside was that the walking instructions, which for our tours encompassed up to 14 miles, were usually extremely good but just about each day there were a couple of moments where we found them ambiguous. we''re not talking about the stuff included in their disclaimers - construction, closures, defaced or missing signage...we understand that. At least once or twice a day there was a place where there wasn't an indication whether to go right or left, or a distance was just so far off (5 meters when in reality it was more like 50....). IT was a little scary at first to think we could be off wandering in the Lake District lost, but we treated it as a challenge and between the map and directions were got where we were going every day and never had to backtrack. could they tighten up a few directions here and there? Yes, I suspect, and if I can get the time to send them my notes maybe they can review them....but overall we were really happy with the entire package.

The three night holiday we booked with Contour Holidays included the worst accommodation I have ever paid to stay in. It was above a very noisy pub, it had not been cleaned properly, it stank of smoke and black spot mould, and had only one tiny window which overlooked the pub's back door. When I complained to Contour, they repeatedly described the pub as "lively". On the second night, we were booked in to accommodation which was at least a half hour away from the trail (which had to be retraced the following day). The instructions to get there bore little resemblance to the actual directions. Some of the facilities claimed for it did not exist. The landlady said that no one from Contour holidays had ever visited the place. Contour claimed that they had visited it many times anonymously. When I asked for a percentage rebate for a product which had not matched its description, Contour said that there were no grounds for refunds on a "predominantly successful holiday". This company is in denial, and I would certainly recommend all prospective walkers to avoid it.

We were very disappointed in the level of customer service provided by Contours and would definitely not use them again or recommend them to anyone else. Having previously booked similar walking holidays with other companies, we had expectations of the minimum acceptable standard of accommodation, which Contours failed to meet. We had phoned them prior to booking to stress that we only wanted en suite accommodation, and were told that this shouldn't be a problem as we were booking so far in advance. In the event, 2 out of the 6 nights had shared bathrooms. One particular place was cold, damp and dirty and completely unacceptable. As previous reviewers have commented, Contours seem to have no interest in accommodating their customers' requests, and are only interested in booking the very cheapest accommodation they can find and maximising their profit. On the plus side, the luggage transfers worked very well, and there was one very nice B&B in Pembroke (Woodbine). The rest ranged from so-so to downright disgusting.

Superb service fom the very start: I had to alter our initial booking, then add one or two additional complications, all handled over the phone with courtesy, understanding and good humour - a pleasure to deal with. The various bits of paperwork all arrived on time and always included reference highlighted in red where the 'normal' service had, at my own request, been altered. Additional Literature (guide books, maps etc) proved most useful and gave us asense of 'no expense spared'. The accommodation throughout our 5-day St Cuthberts Way walk gave the sameimpression: it was of the highest standard, even better than we had dared hope for; baggage transfer was also worry-free. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Contour Holidays to anyone, and will certainly be using them again. Having organised two previous longdistance walks on a DIY basis, I can honestly say that it is worth a few extra pounds to have someone else to deal with all the hassle!

My husband and I decided to try a self-guided walking holiday at short notice - and although we did not know what to expect it was the best thing we have ever done. As novices we needed help to choose the best trail and Contours helped us with advice on what would suit us best, so we decided on a Cotswold break, which meant that we could enjoy both the walking and the lovely towns and villages along the way. We found the information provided in our tour pack to be excellent and armed with this we were confident that we would find our way, but still wary of what to expect. We did not need to worry as all of the accommodations were wonderful - they were all different, but very special in their own way. Our bags (and a warm welcome) greeted us each day, which after a great days walk, meant that all we had to do was look forward to a good meal. We booked our next walk with Contours as soon as we got home, but we might have to fit in a weekend break or two before that!

Avoid booking a walking holiday wit Contours Holidays. This tour firm does not deliver the facilities they advertise. Their price is above what you would pay if you book bed and breakfast in a twin en suite yourself for the West Highland Way, and this is the accommodation they advertise to facilitate. Of the 10 nights only 5 delivered twin en suite accommodation. On 2 nights we were sharing a room with 2 other women. On the first of these 2 of us were in children's bunks where there was not enough clearance to sit upright in the lower bunk. The room wasn't large enough to accommodate our 4 pieces of baggage and the one bathroom tiny. On the 2nd of these 4 of us were placed in a room for 3 and a put you up was added. On three other occasions we had twin rooms but no private facilities. The last of these was in Fort William where there was plenty of available accommodation. Despite contacting Contours in advance of arriving in Fort William to request changes and point out their inadequacies no changes were offered.

Hadrian's Wall walk. From the first time I contacted the company, the service was 110%. Fantastic phone manner and my tour pack arrived very quicky. The tour itself was beautiful, wonderful wildlife and fantastic scenery. fantastic value for money. I have already booked another walk with this company.

In early October, we did the 3 day, Hadrain's Wall Short Break from Lanercost to Chollerford and had an absolute blast. The 1st and 3nd days were pretty easy, but the 2nd was magnificent, even if somewhat exhausting. Our accommodation on all four nights was more than adequate and I would have no compunction in recommending the Sands Guest House in Brampton, Samson Inn in Gilsland, The Old Repeater Station in Grindon and Creencarts Farm in Hexham.

We are already looking forward to our next waling holiday and without a doubt, will use Contours Walking Holidays again.

Susan Lumholst-Smith