Hi Ian!

First off I wanna say we had a fabulous time. Every tee time was made, and I love your directions that showed the approximate travel time in the itinerary.

Rufflets was such a gem! Dane also enjoyed the Bunchrew House. I think if I had a client with three days in the Highlands, Link’s house in Dornick was amazing and I would definitely try to book high-end clients there. They also have a Michelin restaurant and the staff was fantastic when we dropped in for appetizers and wine.

Of the courses we played, I loved Western Gail the most. Brora was unique, but I wouldn’t play it again. Prestwick, castle, Stuart Castle and Kingsbarns tops my list! Royal Dornick was also very nice and the caddy was amazing. Jubilee was also fantastic!

Thanks for the hard work!

Erica

Hi Alex:

Just back from Scotland and our trip was fantastic. The weather was absolutely amazing! Not a cloud in the sky for Saturday’s U of E graduation and you can see Monday’s shoot was beautiful as well. We saw what felt like 1 billion birds and Martin, Colin and the dogs were so great. We fell in love with Dunkeld House and want to go back to catch some of those 30lb Salmon in the River Tay . Thanks so much for organizing another super fun adventure. I hope you have a wonder Christmas and a very prosperous 2026!

Our group had a wonderful week at Gordon Castle including fly fishing on the River Spey, distillery tour, golf and hiking. The Castle staff were exceptional. The catering was first class and the activities on the grounds were very memorable. The trip was everything that we had hoped for and the post trip feedback from the participants has been extremely positive.

I can’t say Thank You enough for the best holiday we could have asked for. Everything was perfect!! The properties were awesome and the hunt was great! We made memories that will carry us through until we come back, which we are already talking about. Thank You!!

My wife and I recently returned from holiday in scotland And it was an amazing

experience! Scotland is an amazing place to visit but having our arrangements taken care of down to the smallest details made the trip that much more enjoyable. Alex combined an incredible itenerary with a few days hunting (stalking). A very large storm arrived the day before we did and wreaked some havoc on the west coast, Alex worked tirelessly to reroute and rebook and it was seamless! I cant thank alex enough for making a dream vacation a reality for the wife and myself! he was always a phone call away with help and advise. I dont think just any travel Agency could have provided all the excellent details and wonderful places we stayed like Alex and River and Green! Thank you sir for an unbelievable experience of a lifetime!

Thank you Alex for arranging an unforgettable sporting adventure in Scotland. The accommodations were everything we could have hoped for. The people were all first class. The keeper and the dog handlers were wonderful and knowledgeable. It was a joy to hunt over champion setters and the grouse were plentiful. We saw many stags on our stalking day though we were a little early in the roar.

Can’t wait to return!

Hi Alex, just wanted to say thank you for arranging a great grouse shoot and stay for us this week! Young James, the guide for the shoot, was terrific and super nice, the views and experience were amazing, and we saw at least 12-15 birds which was great given how bad the past 2 breeding seasons have been for grouse.

I connected on my first 2 shots, missed 2 other long shot attempts, and passed up shots on several others that flushed farther away than I thought would be an ethical shot. But for me, getting those 2 was just perfect, and the chef was excited to cook them up for us that night, and they were delicious!”

Thanks again for a perfect outing!

Jim

Good morning Alex

I just wanted to thank you for all of the preparation and lining everything up

Everything went smoothly just had to deal with the weather

Neil and Paul were great and knowledgeable

Cheers 🥃

Wishing you all the best

Lew and Cindy

Dear Ian and Alex,

I just wanted to reach out and thank you both for organizing our trip to Scotland. Everything turned out absolutely perfect and we enjoyed it immensely. The whole itinerary, the tour flow, and the order of the different sites made complete sense, and it felt like a seamless adventure from start to finish.

The hotels you chose were fantastic—we absolutely loved them. They really added a touch of luxury and comfort to the whole experience.

And of course, the fishing guides—both Angus and Simon—were wonderful. Simon mentioned he’d taken some photos and videos and would be sending them along to you, so if it’s not too much trouble, I’d really appreciate it if you could forward those to me as well.

Thanks again for everything, and I hope we can get in touch in the future to plan another trip!

Best regards,

Jaime

Hi Ian,

Thank you for stopping by and seeing us again, this time at Kinloch. We enjoyed our conversation so very much, especially catching up since the previous year.

I tremendously enjoyed all the beats that you selected for me. And thank you again for going out of your way for taking the time to select the “best of the best” beats.

We might try for a 3rd trip to Scotland in 2026; to land a salmon on the River Tay!

So far, I have been very fortunate to have you, Angus and all the other guides to thank, as well.

Joyce seemed to have a grand time in all the Hotel locations, even exceeding our first time in Scotland. She finds more and more places and people to enjoy during our Scottish vacation.

Having Colin again as our driver, highlighted the entire trip for us both.

Our best regards,

Gary & Joyce

Alan ensured that we had two wonderful days of fly fishing, teaching me the beautiful Scottish two-handed technique. I will definitely be back!

The support, both for fishing and accommodation, was 5-star, congratulations!

Alex and Struan made my experience with booking and hunting absolutely wonderful! I truly cannot say enough good things about them and how grateful I am to have had such an amazing experience. Not only would I recommend them to anyone I will definitely be booking with them for more experiences in the future!!

Ian and Alex made our experience very easy to organise. We requested a driven shoot for 8 guns at relatively short notice at the busiest time of year. The team at River and Green scoped a number of shoots, accommodation and transport options and were able to sort out a phenomenal day for us.

Came across River and Green when booking a long weekend trip to Edinbrugh.

R&G offered excellent service and made the weekend care free and a lot of fun. Both Ian and Alex are very responsive and flexible to changes in trip.

Highly recommended!

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,

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,

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,

Jim

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,

Tom and Kathy

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,

Jan

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!

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!

Lauren and David E