Alex and Ian are very hands on and professional.

I have only positive things to say about Alex who was always available both before, during and after our trip to answer question or amend our adventure.

I met CEO Ian Wells who drove two hours to deliver bad news about the high water, murky, river conditions from excessive rain, and his recommendation not to fish. The fact that he personally drove out to deliver that news and offer alternatives speaks volumes about their customer care .

If your touring, fishing, bird or stag hunting River and Green is a perfect local partner to address all your needs.

They successfully navigated days a field, culture, fine dining and accommodations. Bravo !!

Morning Ian

Thanks for the email and it was a HUGE success, they all loved the day shooting and want to do it again!

Also spoke with Jeff and although no fish caught, he loved the day

Talk soon,

Greetings Alex,

Thank you so very much for facilitating this awesome hunting experience in the Highlands!

Mike and Jimmy were excellent guides and great company. I hope to work with you again in the future! Here are some photos you can use at your discretion.

Best Regards,

Alex/Ian –

Thank you for this request. The following are some reflections on our experience working with River & Green and the trip itself.

• You and Ian provided excellent support and service as we went through the process of considering our trip to Scotland and adapting to our various needs and changes. I don’t think we have worked with any travel company more responsive. It helped tremendously in both convincing us you were the right people to work with and in our confidence regarding the trip itself.

• We thoroughly enjoyed experiencing all aspects of Scotland, from the highlands, to Edinburgh, to the borderlands. It is truly a beautiful country.

• Overall, our accommodations were excellent. However, the Edinburgh hotel was a bit of an outlier. Given we were traveling with a lot of luggage, having to go to a higher floor to check in was a bit of a struggle. The hotel was not particularly helpful in volunteering assistance to get luggage to our rooms. The attendant on the group floor was very nice, but his job apparently was not to actually assist people in getting to check-in. Otherwise, service was generally good and they were helpful in our efforts to recover an item we left behind in the highlands.

• The tours arranged by River & Green were wonderful.

• The driver you arranged for us was fantastic — informative and very accommodating.

• The fishing experience at the loch was excellent, despite the last minute location change. The weather did not cooperate particularly (after all, it is Scotland), but the guides/guiles were excellent — very much focused on helping assure we had an enjoyable experience.

• This was, unfortunately, not the case when we spent two days on the river. The guide seemed to take to an extreme the idea that we wouldn’t need much assistance. While we all fly fish a fair amount, the absence of any guidance on flies or fishing approaches was surprising and one got the impression he viewed his role as simply providing us access to the water. I believe he is an acquaintance of Ian’s and my comments are not intended to disparage. But he really did not provide for a positive experience.

• The worst of our experience was arranging for rental cars. River & Green indicated this should be arranged through our other travel agent, which we did. But it was truly a nightmare — finding the rental car locations, accessing the location, returning the cars was all a very negative experience (time consuming and frustrating). None, for example, would deliver or pick up cars at the hotels at which we were staying. Contrast this with our experience in London where the company brought the cars to and picked up the cars from the hotels at which we stayed. Perhaps the rental car ‘challenge’ is why River & Green does not deal with them. But, if you could replicate the English experience, though, you would create high customer satisfaction.

My final comment is that we were surprised not to hear from anyone at River & Green during our stay or for an extended period after. It would have been a nice touch to contact us early on to welcome us and assure everything was proceeding well and then following up within a few days of our return. It would have complemented the nice, personal touch we felt working with you in the set-up process.

All the above being said, we would consider working with you again, should interest arise, and recommending you to others. Hopefully, the above will be received as constructive input for future consideration.

With best regards,

Ian and Alex’ planning and customer service with our 3-week Scotland trip was PERFECT from beginning to end!!!

Trip Highlights – they booked wonderful rooms, arranged for meals at Hotels, drove us from Hotel to rental car, scheduled 8 ferry crossing’s, arranged 3 fly-fishing trip’s on beautiful Lochs and River with superb guides, provided outstanding travel recommendations along our travel routes and at our destinations, and provided route maps to include time estimates for automobile travel and ferry crossing’s, etc., etc.

In addition, they kept in touch with us as changes occurred before we left and during trip.

Every facet of their efforts from planning to execution was FIRST CLASS!!!

They are the BEST – Highly, Highly Recommend!!!

Hi Alex,

We are back in Holland and can look back on a fantastic week in Scotland.

All my expectations were met and you as an organization deserve a big compliment.

Fishing was a great experience, even though we didn’t catch anything. Clay pigeon shooting was a must to get a feel for a gun. The highlight though was hunting in the Scottish countryside where we also shot a partridge.

The whisky tasting was interesting, even though the hotel also gave us several whisky varieties to taste.

What a fantastic castle hotel it is, with swimming pool and sauna and great breakfast and dinner options.

In short, we enjoyed this father and son trip immensely.

Thank you very much!

Vriendelijke groet,

This past July was my first time in Scotland and my first time fly fishing for Salmon. The entire experience of working with R&G, from initial conversations to arriving on-site at the beautiful accommodations and fishing with our guide (Big shout-out to Angus), could not have gone smoother. The whole experience was beyond my expectations (not just fishing but Scotland and their warm/friendly people) and I can’t wait to come back again in the future.

Scotland is an amazing place to visit, and River and Green made the entire trip process so easy and stress free. The lodging was excellent, the golfing was spectacular, and the fishing experience was very nice. They were extremely quick to respond to questions and referrals for where to eat dinner / hikes / distilleries / etc. The entire process was so easy. Highly recommend using them.

R&G exceeded all our expectation for our trip to Scotland. All the lodging recommendation where exceptional. The golf was made easy with tee times and caddies and the fishing was fabulous. Could not have done this trip without their expertise.

Hello Ian,

This was our second trip with River and Green. We were so impressed with the first trip (bird hunting, fishing and sightseeing), that we knew we would go with River and Green on our second. Itinerary was great and the hotels were spectacular. We fished several days with Ian and did very well with the Brown trout (happy to send pictures). Great to return to several of the hotels we visited on the first trip. Driving the NC500 and the Bealach na Bà through Applecross was a great experience. Ferries to Skye and Harris were a lot of fun also and your help with these arrangements proved excellent. We are planning another trip in 2026 to shoot some grouse and a stag. Thanks for helping us with a great trip!

Greg M.

Dear Ian,

We want to thank you regarding our very first trip to touring Scotland this past August 2024, using River & Green services for Gary to flyfish 3 of the 4 Big Rivers and connecting us with LR Executive vehicle, for its comfort, in making our travels throughout the gorgeous countryside and city, so enjoyable.

In the USA, we contacted the travel specialists kfitzgerald@frontierstravel.com, whom we have traveled previously with on many occasions, who coordinated with your company River and Green in Scotland. This gave Gary the salmon flyfishing experience he so desired and me, the hot spots for my interests to journey through your wonderful countryside. As I suggested on our touring together days, Gary got to experience and see more than fishing the top chosen beats you arranged for him, which positively worked in his big catch on the River Dee, with Angus as his guide. Please thank Angus, again!

Our daily, diligent, pleasant driver, Colin Shillito, has to be commended for his boundless historic knowledge. Visiting the great suggested tourist attractions by River and Green and finding all the fabulous out of the norm places of my interests, was a miracle! The three of us also “thank you” for meeting up at the Perth Museum, where we wish we could have spoken longer, but truly enjoyed our afternoon delights and chat.

In fact, it looks like a return trip might be in the planning stages for 2025. Gary would like to flyfish there again with a single handed rod on the smaller tributaries in the central and northern parts of Scotland where we had been this past August 2024. Start exploring these possibilities for him, please.

Both River & Green and LR organizations are commended for an excellent choice of personnel and places, making this Scotland vacation “Outstanding” and more than we both could have ever imagined.

Ian,

I haven’t had the opportunity to thank you for what was a truly memorable experience. Everything was exemplary and I believe that I can speak for all of us and say that we had a truly special time in Scotland.

Thank you for all of your impeccable planning and immediate attention to the issues that we had with the hotel. I have sung your praises to my friends here in Austin and don’t be surprised if you get some bookings in the near future.

I hope to return soon.

Slainte

Alex,

I thought to provide feedback on the River & Green booked activities:

1) Fishing – first rate experience. Collectively we landed a single 12 lb salmon abut had several others on line which we learned was a good showing given that fishing is very slow. The guide Ian was an excellent and attentive teacher and that was where the value was. The facility was very nice as well.

2) Canoeing – Beyond Adventures was very accommodating. Nothing special about going for a little canoe trip but again, the guide was very professional friendly and engaged.

3) Old Mill Inn. I have a warm spot for the Dundarach Hotel but you were correct that the Old Mill Inn is nicer and more full service. The staff were excellent hosts. Parking is tricky but manageable.

4) Red Stag stalking. I got everything that I asked for except for a dead deer but that is on me. I did get a (very difficult shot) on a large stag but I missed so the happy stag returned to the bachelor herd. Unfortunately, I started the first day feeling a bit sick (cold virus likely) and as it played out I canceled the second day of stalking in order to rest and get healthier to be able to drive during remainder of my trip.

I wanted to “work for it” and Mike Broad delivered. From 8:00AM to 7:00PM we hiked 11.6 miles through the heather and bog. I did train for this but slogging, crawling and slithering through the heather and bog all day wiped me out. Mike has iron legs.

Constructive feedback for Mike: He worked extremely hard to out me in a position to get a shot. I did not test fire the gun. I should have only because of the janky bi-pod which was a lot looser than I expected. I would have been better off folding the bipod and shooting off the ground because the bipod added angle to what could have been a flat shot and I had to get up on my elbows to compensate for the increased muzzle height. Probably should have test fired and talked about scenarios before we started.

We also should have quit earlier…we stayed out too late and I got chilled (apparently there was an equipment problem when Mike broke off to fetch his truck) . That’s on me for not speaking up. Mike didn’t say how long we would stay out but it was clear that he was giving 100% effort to try and get me back on the herd.

Would I do this again and book through R&G? Yes, absolutely.

I am still on the quest for a “bucket list” deer. My next two planned trips are to Argentina Dec. 8-20 (I think) and then Seville and Portugal in June. Neither time is likely for any hunting. However, if you work outside of Scotland and have anything to offer just let me know.

Best regards,

Thanks a lot for your cooperation, it was amazing …. we’ll plan to come back again next year with friends maybe for pheasant hunting …. may i contact you/plan this with you again?

Greetings Alex,

We arrived back in the states and cannot thank you and River & Green enough for your expertise, time and energy put into making our trip to Scotland one that we will never forget! We had hoped to set up a Stag hunt while on our trip but did not know if that was possible in the short window of time. We had quite a list of all the places we wanted to visit in your beautiful country. Thank you for setting up everything and making dreams come true. We know it was a tall task.

As avid hunters in the states, this experience was better than we could have imagined celebrating our big wedding anniversary. Off the grid north into to the Scottish Highlands and towns of Killin and Ardtalnaig. One of the most beautiful hikes into the Highlands through sheep flocks, muddy peat bogs, berns and fox holes. We sported our warm Scottish wool and heavy rain/wind gear (no crazy American hunting orange and camo per your recommendation. 😊)

Thank you for setting us up with the best of the best gents, Angus and Ian for two days of a traditional Scottish stag hunt. An amazing hike, stalking herds and stags and into the first part of the afternoon, Dave was able to stalk a beautiful 10-point stag on Doonan draw with Ian.

On Day 2, we set out to meet Angus with typical Scottish weather, as you know, windy and wet. We got a later start hiking that morning and by the time we reached the summit it had cleared but winds were howling. Angus spotted the herd below us and we hiked around the side to the north. One of the most challenging, exhilarating shots I have ever taken with Angus and Dave cheering me on. I was able to get my first 11-point stag on Bennanbreck Cliff.

Thank you for setting up our accommodation while in the Highlands. Quaint, comfy, rustic and lovely is the best way to describe the Falls of Dochart Inn. The staff was the best and so accommodating. We loved the views out our window of the river and enjoyed delicious dinners (smoked salmon was the best) and pints at the Inn after a long day in the field. The perfect spot to relax and unwind with walks along the river and into the town of Killin.

In the days that followed, we greatly appreciate the extra time you took to coordinate the trophies with George. We are so grateful and excited to bring them back to the states and share our wonderful memories of Scotland in the years to come.

We hope to return to Scotland soon, next trip to share with our 3 boys. You can bet our first call will be to you and River & Green to assist with the planning.

Thank you again for your expertise in setting up a wonderful trip,

Cheers!