Your Questions Answered

1. Why should I book a walking holiday, when I can organise it myself?

If you want to arrange a walking holiday for yourself in England, it can be difficult. First, you may not be able to find or book the kind of accommodation you want. Good hotels and guest houses (B&Bs) are often full. Then there’s often no public transport at all in remote areas; so you might have problems getting to and from the trail each day. If you have been able to arrange accommodation at different places along the trail, with a daily routine of packing and unpacking, you will either have to carry all your belongings on your back or try to find a way of sending them on ahead each day. It can be quite a hassle, which is not what you want, when you are on holiday.

If you decide to stay in one place and plan to do some hiking from there each day, how will you know which are the most beautiful footpaths in the area? It is possible to find some books that give directions for walks in Dorset, but these walks are very seldom, if ever, restricted to a very localised geographical area, which is what many holiday-makers want. These walking directions are also seldom up to date or detailed enough to be a reliable guide. A small minority of the trails researched painstakingly by footscape can be found in any publication or on any websites.

With footscape, you will not have to worry about any of these problems. Everything is arranged so that you can concentrate simply on enjoying your walking holiday.

2. What is included in the price of a footscape holiday?

• The local presence of the owner-manager, who will ensure that you have a hassle-free experience from the moment you arrive until your departure.
• A choice of good accommodation with en suite or private bath/shower in an attractive village or small town
• A full English breakfast every day.
• The transfer of your luggage, if a change of accommodation is scheduled
• All Taxes.

In addition:

• For walkers on a scheduled walking holiday:
  • daily transportation to and from the trail, as required
  • the footscape Trail Guide for your chosen trail, providing detailed walking directions, distances, times, the degree of difficulty, practical information on the pubs, restaurants and village shops along the way and descriptions of the history, legends and personalities of key places on your trail
  • the loan of the relevant ordnance survey map(s) of the area (1:25000).
• For walkers on an independent walking holiday:
  
  • The relevant footscape Trail Guide, as described above, and all other necessary information required for your holiday. We will also provide you with the relevant ordnance survey map of the area, with the trail highlighted.
• For walkers on a Thomas Hardy and/or Dorset Garden tour:
  
  • a person to accompany you in the footscape vehicle to and from the various sites
  • a guidebook describing the tour.
• For walkers on a Sherborne tour
  
  • an experienced and enthusiastic guide to accompany you on foot round all the tour sites.

3. What is not included?

• The cost of travel to and from your holiday venue
• Any meals other than breakfast, except where specifically included in the holiday
• Entry tickets to houses and gardens on a trail or tour.

4. Are there any group discounts?

Yes, we offer a 10% discount to groups of three people or more on all holidays except for inn to inn hiking tours and custom holidays. For groups of 10+, please contact us.

5. Is my advance payment protected?

Yes, footscape is fully compliant with the EC Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. Please see your protection for details.

6. Do I need travel insurance?

Although we do not insist on it, we strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover cancellation of your holiday, personal accident, illness and loss/theft of personal possessions and/or money.

(UK and Ireland residents only)

7. How do I book and pay for a footscape holiday?

It is very easy. Please go to booking a holiday for details.

8. Can you book extra nights for me at the beginning and/or at the end of the holiday?

Yes, subject to availability. Or else you can do so yourself after you have received confirmation of your accommodation from us. Please note that your holiday includes the night before the first day’s walk or tour and the night of your final day.

9. What if I want footscape to organise a walking holiday or heritage tour on an exclusive basis or outside the scheduled dates?

Please look at our custom holidays page for information.

10. What sort of accommodation can I expect?

Very pleasant. On almost all our holidays, you have a choice of two types of accommodation:

The choice you make will dictate the cost of your holiday. Depending on the type of accommodation and the holiday you choose, you will either stay in one hotel, inn or B&B for the first half of your holiday and then be transferred to another for the second half, or else you will be accommodated in one place for the duration. On an inn to inn independent holiday, you will walk each day to new accommodation along the trail, with your luggage moved for you. On our Purbeck and Jurassic Coast holidays, there is the option to stay in one of Dorset's finest, most reputed country house hotels dating from the early 16th century (A+). Occasionally we may propose accommodation with a standard and price halfway between A1 and A2, classified as A2+.

All rooms have an en suite or private bathroom/shower.

11. What about meals that are not included in the cost of the holiday?

Whilst on the trail, you will usually be able to have lunch at village pubs. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can arrange to take a packed lunch with you. You will find information in your Trail Guide.

As for your evening meal, you can choose to eat where you like. If your accommodation does not offer an evening meal, there will be at least one good restaurant or pub within easy walking distance or, if you have a car, within easy driving distance.

12. Are your holidays vegetarian friendly?

Yes, all our hotels, inns and B&Bs cater for vegetarians. Please let us know if you are a vegetarian when you complete the enquiry form. If you have any other special dietary requests, please inform us, and we will do our best to see that they are respected.

13. What if I want to change my holiday after I have paid the deposit?

Please see booking a holiday for details.

14. What happens if I cancel my holiday?

Depending on the date when we receive your cancellation by email, fax or mail, you may be liable to pay cancellation charges in addition to forfeiting your initial deposit. Please see booking a holiday for details.

15. If I am rather unfit, should I go on a footscape holiday?

If you have opted for a walking holiday, it is always best to take some regular exercise for a few days before you leave. There are a few steep climbs on the longer trails, but you will have plenty of time to reach each day’s destination. You also have the opportunity to do fewer miles each day on many of our holidays, if you so wish.

If you are on a tour, walking distances are less, and on two of our tours you can walk as much or as little as you want.

16. What if I want to skip a day’s walk altogether?

If there’s a day when you don’t want to walk at all, that’s fine. You are free to do whatever you like.

17. If I'm on my own, would I enjoy a footscape holiday?

We welcome individual travellers. Whether you are on a scheduled walking break or a tour, there will be ample opportunities to meet those people who are on the same holiday as yourself, especially since you will be sharing the same transportation each day. However, it is very much up to each person or group to decide how sociable they want to be, since we do not organise any collective social events.

18. Are your walking holidays suitable for children?

Yes. Please look at footscape for children.

19. Can I bring my dog(s) with me?

Only a few hotels and B&Bs accept dogs, sometimes with restrictions and/or a small supplementary charge. Please mention that you want to bring your dog(s) when you complete our enquiry form.

20. What gear do I need to bring with me?

The weather in Dorset is generally about as good as it gets in Britain, and there should be sunshine, especially during the summer months. But you cannot count on rain-free days throughout your holiday. Bear in mind that, depending on the trail or tour you have chosen, you may walk through (possibly wet) grass and woodland, and up and down some steep slopes. The trails have been carefully chosen to avoid long muddy sections, but you may find some mud in places.

The most important thing is that your clothing, especially your footwear, should be comfortable. Some people like to wear strong walking boots, with good ankle support. Others prefer light walking shoes. It is up to you, but, if they are new, you really must break them in beforehand, to make sure that they don’t give you blisters or worse. Thick walking socks do improve the comfort quite a lot and can prevent blisters. Bring clothes for hot and cold weather. It’s unlikely to be cold between June and September, but March, April, May and October can be unpredictable.

A light, breathable, fully waterproof jacket is an essential precaution. You will probably also need a small waterproof backpack, which can hold the things you might want to take with you on your walk, such as a camera, binoculars, suntan lotion, antihistamine cream (in case of any nettle stings), your waterproof jacket (and trousers), swimwear, a water bottle or  thermos flask, a picnic, a first aid kit, .... . Some people hate having anything on their back, and therefore wear shorts or trousers that have enough pockets to hold everything they need. It is quite possible to do this on a footscape trail. On most of our walking routes, there are places where you can stop for drinks and snacks at least once during the day (usually in a pub); so there's no need to carry large quantities of water or food on these days. You will discover what eating places there are on each of the daily hikes by reading your Trail Guide.

21. What information will I receive about my holiday and how do I get to the start?

If you have booked and paid for a self-guided walking holiday, we will email you your Trail Guide (in A4), so that you can do some reading in advance. Later on, you will receive a smaller, bound and illustrated Trail Guide for easy reference when you are on the trail. We will also let you know about good places to eat in the evening, and those on an independent walking holiday will be given all the information they require for their stay and their walk.

Whatever type of footscape holiday you have booked, you will be given detailed travel information (trains, buses, taxis, road directions, ...) that you need to reach the hotel, inn or guest house where you will be staying for the first night, the first half or the whole of your holiday. Please note, however, that you are responsible for your travel to and from your holiday venue. If you would like us to arrange for a car or taxi to meet you at an airport, railway station, ferry port or hotel at a very reasonable rate, please contact us as soon as your travel plans are finalised.

22. Do you move my luggage, if my holiday involves a change of accommodation?

Yes, of course. It would help us a lot if you could avoid bringing unnecessarily large suitcases or bags with you.

23. What happens if I have an accident or get lost?

Your tour organiser will always be in the area, and will give you telephone and/or mobile (cell) phone numbers where he can be contacted. In an emergency, you should dial 999 or 112. You are strongly advised to take out travel insurance for your holiday, which should include accident cover, since footscape accepts no liability in such circumstances.

24. What languages are spoken?

You will not find many people in rural England who speak foreign languages. In addition to English, your tour organiser speaks fluent French.

25. What if I have other questions?

Please contact us.