WHAT YOU SAID
Some comments about our service by previous customers (we had no detrimental comments) ......

We truly enjoyed every aspect of the trip!!  The accomodations were excellent and the daily routes and plans were right on the mark.  Though we had no trouble completing the routes, there were times when we thought you maybe understated the hills.  But then again, it is the Scotland coast afterall!!

I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful holiday I had biking in your beautiful country. The route you set out for Kim and I was well thought out, and I appreciated being off main roads and really seeing the countryside. One of my favorite riding days was down to the Mull of Galloway--so open and undeveloped--you would never see that in the States.  The accommodations were comfortable, and everyone was very friendly. I would recommend your service to anyone, and I would definetly make a return trip to Scotland. Thanks again. Linda

Linda and I are back home.  We loved the cycling tour.  Once again, Thank you so much for your attention to the details of our trip.   We will truly remember the experience for a life time.   We both loved Scotland and hope to make it back again. Feel free to use us as references for the quality of your tours. Kim

After a while to reflect this is a list of all the things we liked about Galloway Cycling Tours:

• the design of the week was geared towards the collective abilities of 4 x 50+ people
• accommodation was sorted on the needs of the group
• the holiday was easy to book (2 phone calls and 2 e-mails)
• good back-up service whilst on the route
• routes had easy to follow maps and itineries
• a great area to visit on bikes with plenty to see and do

We're back in Calgary now, just recovering from the jet lag and the cold that I developed on the trip. We had a great time in Edinburgh at the fringe, but the cycling was really the highlight of the trip for us. Thanks again for such professional service. We'll send photos if we get some good ones. Take care.

Just a quick line to thank you for a really enjoyable holiday.  The routes you selected were exactly suited to us and without your local knowledge we would have missed a lot the area has to offer.  We particularly appreciated you stopping by us on the road a couple of times to check all was well.

Thank you again for our short break last October. We enjoyed it very much indeed! You provided us such a warm welcome, our B&B was very comfortable and the tours you suggested met our interests and our possibilities very well. They were perfectly organised including plans, opening hours of museums, pub recommendations, and bus timetables. We most enjoyed the cycling tours on narrow streets with only little traffic, especially the one to Kirkcudbright. We would recommend your service to anyone and wish you all the best!

Thanks again for a great, great tour.  We LOVED it.  All of it.  It was the most beautiful, serene, interesting and pleasurable of vacations.  Thanks in large part to your expert organization and personal care and attention.  We appreciated it very much.
 

'Galloway Cycling Holidays provides an excellent service - this is a brilliant way to see Galloway. Especially recommended is the off road route through the hills from Clatteringshaws to Glentrool'.

Thank you very much Galloway Cycling Tours for an excellent trip - I really enjoyed the excellent routes you had mapped out for me and suspect that South West Scotland must be Scotland's best kept secret! It was a wonderful cycle route and on the main as flat as I wanted.  It is perfect cycling country for someone who has never been on a cycle holiday before and all your directions were spot on. The variation of routes were great and the contrast between inland and coastal scenery was spectacular. I felt very safe as a lone cyclist and enjoyed all the accommodation along the way and it was very handy to have it all pre-booked and paid for in advance.  I was blessed with fantastic weather for my week. The luggage transfer was good too. I found all the Scottish people in the area very friendly and hospitable.

'I am extremely impressed with how detail-oriented Robin is. He was the first to reply to my e mail inquiry (some of the others don't seem to check their e mail!) and sent me the most detailed and flexible proposal. He responded to my follow-up emails same-day. He clearly takes a great pride in his business and puts the customer first. I really appreciated the very personal service, especially as a first-time visitor to Scotland. I felt we got fantastic value for our money and would very strongly recommend his cycling tours to other potential customers.'

'Galloway Cycling organized for me a first-rate introduction to the beauty of south-west Scotland. The service was terrific from start to end. The routes were tailored to my abilities and offered spectacular scenery. Turn-by-turn directions meant I was never lost -- and I always knew help was just a phone call away. The excellent selection of comfortable bed and breakfasts, owned by friendly and helpful locals, were welcome at the end of a strenuous day on the road.'

'I wanted to thank you for setting up our biking trip last month. We had a wonderful time and were extremely pleased with all the arrangements and assistance. We have been on a number of biking trips and this trip compares very well with our experiences in Canada and the United States.....I think the one point that stands out in the tour was the flexibility and the personal service you gave us..... Thank you very much for all your help in setting up our vacation and making it a memorable one.'

I’ve taken many bike trips – Spain, Chile, Nova Scotia and New Zealand – but my trip to the Galloway area with Galloway Cycling was one of the best.  The routes through the countryside and along the sea were beautiful and varied and it was fabulous to bike in an area that had so many different routes and so few cars!   Sometimes, I wondered if I were on a bike path or a regular road.  Additionally, the villages were numerous and interesting to explore. ( I liked that the distances between the villages wasn’t too great – that was more interesting to me.)

Betty Grant, USA

" Second time with Galloway Cycling Holidays with hopefully more to come. A beautiful area which seems to have been missed by the majority of travellers. Quiet country roads and forest trails lead to rugged coastline, quaint villages and interesting small towns. Robin looks after you from start to finish providing advice and enthusiastic encouragement (As well as taking our gear to the next stop). All the accommodation was comfortable and welcoming at the end of a long day on the road. A great experience and well worth the trip to the toes of Scotland."

Pam and Ron, Abernethy.

'very well organised, …flexible and tailored to the individual, - a personalised service which I can recommend to cyclists who are new to organised cycling holidays.'

Back home now after a great week's holiday.  Many thanks for your clear and detailed guidance notes for our routes.  Also for your excellent choice of hotels which suited us fine (not to mention arranging the brilliant weather as wel!!).  We would definitely like to return to the area again as we realise we have only seen quite a small part of it so far.
Our only comment is that cycle storage at a couple of hotels was rather limited, namely the Steam Packet and the Clachan Arms.  However these were otherwise very nice hotels for us.

Hi Robin - we had a lovely time biking, your hospitality, que sheets, history and assorted information were just fantastic.

Dear Robin,This is just a short note to thank you for organizing a great holiday in the Galloway area of Scotland. We found the trip well organized especially the maps and written directions without which we would have been horribly lost. We would definitely recommend the off road leg we took from Newton Stewart back to Castle Douglas. Kind regards Adrian & Anita Hulbert, Cape Town, South Africa.

...we are both agreed that we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and congratulate you on putting together such a first class package for us; not only in terms of cycling but also the variety of interesting places which you directed us to.  We both enjoyed the visit to the hydro station at Kirkudbright and Threave Castle and gardens but, the highlight was the distillery visit for obvious reasons!!! 
The terrain was ideal for us and the distance were fine - some days we did a bit more than suggested - particularly on the Glen Trool day - perhaps that was because we pedalled faster just to evade the midges which took a particular liking to us.   Obviously the fantastic weather was a great bonus and even though it was very hot it did not spoil the experience.  We shall always remember the lunch we had at Balcary Bay Hotel amidst idyllic surroundings and views.
In short, then, we have no criticism of our weeks cycling and the accommodation which you arranged for us.  We particularly enjoyed our stay at the place in Newton Stewart.  I am assuming that it was you who returned whatever it was that Rob left at Castle Douglas - above and beyond the call of duty but many thanks.
Finally, one suggestion which you may like to consider for the future.  A big part of any holiday for many people is the anticipation.  Would it be worth considering letting people have routes before they arrive so that they have opportunity to study them beforehand.  I know that we would both have valued that.
I hope that this reflection may be of some use to you and please feel free to use it in any way you see fit.
All best wishes for a successful venture.

I just wanted to thank you very much for organizing such a great trip in Galloway. We had a wonderful week - gorgeous scenery, tearooms and pubs that take you back in a timewarp and very warm and friendly people. We really appreciated your attention to detail and concern to make sure we enjoyed the tour. We'll definitely recommend your services.

Great to hear from you and to recall the wonderful cycling adventure we had in Galloway. I'm sending a few pictures that we took on our trip. You did a marvelous job of organizing our tour and we have recommended you and Galloway Cycles to our friends.

I just opened the picture you sent and it is wonderful.  It captures a
very happy couple at the end of a wonderful adventure.  We had such a great
time in Scotland and did some amazing riding on our tandem.  It was great.
I am happy your season went so well. It is a tribute to your hospitality
and the beauty of Scotland.  Once again we thank you for all you have done
for us.

The cycling was wonderfuland well-organized, the views were beautiful (a postcard photo around every corner) and the accommodations were perfect. All of this was in line precisely with what we had requested when we placed our reservations with you. We will be recommending you to all of our cycling friends!"

Thank you for organising a superb trip.  The days were all about the right length (for us), with a good variety of upland and lowland riding.  I think we all preferred the uplands with long climbs rewarded by interesting descents.  The undulating landscape in the west with continuous short climbs and descents was probably less interesting; and the flat stretches on day 5 were frustrating because for once the wind was in the east! 
Day1 was a first rate route - lovely scenery and cycling.
Day 2 was one of our best ever day's cycling.
On Day 3 we covered over 60 miles including the lighthouse at Corsewall Point.
Day 4 - the only serious rain we had - for 1 hour - with the Mull of Galloway impressive and Logan Gardens even more so.
Day 5 - the worst day with 35 miles straight into the wind.
Day 6 - thanks for suggesting a short-cut which got us back to Castle Douglas by mid-day to get us home for our evening event.
Your accommodation's were all excellent except at Thornhill - suggest you use another one nearby. I can't imagine a better view from the one in Portpatrick.
As for Food and Drink,  most of the places were verry good to excellent, with us being too early or too late for lunch on a couple of occasions.
Overall the planning worked well.

'Galloway Cycling gave me exactly the cycling holiday I asked for. Peaceful, beautiful countryside and a cosy B&B each day. I never felt so comfortable or so well looked after. Everything I’d need had been anticipated by Galloway Cycling and their thoughtful staff. Accurate and detailed maps and directions allowed me to cycle without a thought to routes or accommodations. I could just enjoy the scenery, local attractions, the locals, and pedal up to a welcome and warm reception at marvellous Bed and Breakfasts. I’ve been recommending Galloway Cycling to all my friends at home and we’re already planning our trip for next year!'

'This was the best cycling experience we've ever had. The scenery was breathtaking all along the route which had been carefully planned out for us. Robin was a wonderful guide and seemed genuinely happy to be going above and beyond his role of tour operator to give us advice and show us around. I'd recommend Galloway Cycling Holidays to anyone. (One caveat:don't plan to do too many miles in one day. You'll want plenty of time to be a tourist.) '

Jeannie and I had a wonderful time in Galloway – we’ve got such good memories of our holiday and really appreciate your efficient and easy way of making everything just right for us. As two lady pensioners we thoroughly enjoyed our tailor-made cycling holiday. Your attention to detail and very clear presentation of maps ensured a completely carefree time.

'Our carefully planned routes were easy to follow and well matched to our cycling experience, taking us through a variety of beautiful scenery with points of interest indicated along the way. Each day was a little adventure culminating in kind hospitality at a superb selection of B&B accommodation en route. Thank you for a happy memorable holiday.'