Ailsa Armstrong

Ailsa was an absolutely perfect guide for this tour and group. I was amazed this was only her 2nd tour in the Orkney Islands. Her mastery of the schedule and logistics, avoidance of cruise ship tours, and keeping the group on schedule with the appropriate flexibility was flawless. Knowledgeable of the area and the trails, safe/skilled driving, good mix of stories history, and being in the background to let the guests enjoy their vacation. She is genuine good person and joy to tour with. Just fantastic...

Ailsa was an excellent guide. Everything went smoothly due to her diligent planning.

Ailsa made the trip and could not have been more wonderful. Well organized, adaptable, flexible when possible, very patient and always engaging. She provided thorough information on our sites throughout the trip and when she didn't know something, the answer was provided by the next day. She kept to necessary timelines without us feeling we were on any timelines. We were briefed at night on the next day's adventure and debriefed at the end of the trip. I also enjoyed that she had dinners with us for more personal interactions.

Ailsa is also a fabulous driver. i still can't believe her back-ups onto ferries!

Besides that fact that we all pronounced and spelled her name wrong, our guide was very patient with us! I like the way she just let us all get to know one another without any formal "presentation". By the time we were at the ferry, we'd all started to fit in together. Her way of managing the group was wise and warm. We always knew she would work things out for the best. Our group included a very wide range of physical abilities and interests and I think we all were able to do our thing---under her experienced leadership. Best of all, she had a trick up her sleeve none of us will ever forget--the source of belly laughs, even to this day. Also, she is a good flower-finder.

Ailsa is a very skilled guide, kind, generous, caring, knowledgeable and a very good people manager

Ailsa was wonderful! She was knowledgeable, an extremely good driver and great fun. She was also particularly kind to me as I get a lot of pain and have balance problems going downhill on rough ground. She never made me feel that I was being nuisance.
She has promised to give the leader on my next holiday a heads up on my abilities.

Ailsa is an absolute gem, the most delightful laugh. We miss her!! She was extremely accommodating, knowledgeable and passionate about her job and country.

It would be a pleasure to travel with Ailse again. She paid great attention to detail in planning our daily itineraries, taking travel time and weather into account. Her evening briefs were thorough and essential to our preparation for each day’s adventure. She is knowledgeable, has a great sense of humor and is also a very good driver!

Ailsa was an excellent guide—organized, knowledgeable, kind, great sense of humor—and all around lovely human being!

Both guides (Joe & Ilesa - sorry about the spelling) were wonderful. They were both very good listeners, knowledgeable and made the walks very enjoyable.

We had an unusual situation in that our guides were switched, but it was great. For a young guy, Joe handled middle-aged folk perfectly. He is such a nice, knowledgeable person and a real asset to your team.

Both guides on our trip were kind, informed and helpful.

Ailsa and Joe were excellent guides. Very knowledgeable and friendly

As mentioned being firmer re driving distraction. Making sure they are never using phone when driving
Both really good at spotting the awkward guest issue and trying to help. Joes knowledge particularly good

Alisa was amazing .. she was knowledgeable she was helpful she was on her game 100% of the time. She was able to accommodate most all of the groups wishes. Absolutely stellar guide

Ailsa was wonderful in so many ways. She really had fun with us I think and we absolutely enjoyed her company. Please see previous comments for more raving. :)

Ours was not an easy group to manage (very different walking levels) but Ailsha somehow was able to keep us all happy and we all had the exercise we wanted.

Alicia is an excellent driver. It was her first trip to Orkney so there were occasional problems finding the route. She was very caring and was very kind and helpful when I got a dental infection during the week. She fitted in with the group well and organised things well.

Ailsa is a very nice person whose organisation was seamless and her easy going manner made for a fun group which got on well. Nothing to fault and she took a bit of teasing in her stride! Could not have asked for a better guide.

Ailsa was an amazing guide, so supportive, helpful and friendly. She made the trip an amazing adventure.

Ailsa was just a complete joy to be with. She made the trip fun, and made us feel we could cope with all of the challenges ahead. I will never forget her interpretations of a 'wee traverse' or 'just around the corner' (much different to mine!!) I would not hesitate booking another trip that included Ailsa as my guide!

Ailsa is lovely and friendly but also professional. She is thorough and very organised. We all loved her.

Ailsa is a lovely lady: organised, knowledgeable and thoughtful! We could not have asked for more (it was also nice to have a guide that wasn't too young). We could not have asked for a better guide!