Terms and Conditions

Safety

At Explore Highland your safety is of the utmost importance:

• Your safety is of the utmost importance, however, all outdoor activities have an element of risk through participation. Explore Highland cannot be held responsible for any injury caused as a result of participating in our adventurous paddling activities.  
• Individuals are advised to take out their own personal sports/holiday insurance to cover any unplanned eventualities that may result from participating in adventurous paddling activities. There are many companies offering single trip or annual insurance policies;
• By booking on a course you are confirming that you have read the full course information, and are physically fit and able to participate in your chosen activity. All participants are required to disclose any medical conditions and physical ailments that could affect themselves or hinder the group booked onto. All information will be dealt with in privacy. If you have any queries, please contact to discuss prior to booking;
• All participants must agree to follow all safety instructions of Explore Highland to ensure the safety of all clients and coaches;

Booking Procedure

Online bookings can be completed in a few simple steps:

• Select the appropriate trip, course, or guided adventure holiday advertised on the activity diary page;
• Click on the activity title you wish to book, this will bring up the Activity information screen;
• Full payment is required to book your place online with all half & single day activity bookings;
• Multiday courses and adventures list a 25% non-refundable deposit option, with the balance being invoiced/ payable a minimum of eight weeks (56 days) prior to the activity date. A full payment option via BACS is also available on request.  The website accepts card payments via Stripe. BACS payment available for all invoices;
• Bookings are not confirmed until full payment has been received in good time;
• Explore Highland has the right to release all resources after a payment deadline has been passed. An email to release the resources/booking will be sent to the client to confirm the breach of terms and confirm the booking has been cancelled;

Private bookings can be made via direct contact: 

• For all private bookings, once details have been arranged an invoice is raised and emailed to client to create a formal agreement/ confirmation;
• Full payment is required within three days to confirm all private bookings with a value of less than £500. All resources will be provisionally reserved for this period;
• A 25% non-refundable deposit is required within three days to confirm all private bookings with a value of more than £500. The balance is payable a minimum of eight weeks (56 days) prior to the activity date
• Invoice bookings can be payable by BACS (for UK customers) which do not incur any surcharge;
• BIC/SWIFT/IBAN (for international/worldwide customers). Details are listed on all invoices. Banks apply an international banking surcharge and this cost is listed on applicable invoices at the current rate. Sometimes it is more cost-effective to pay in full by BIC/SWIFT/IBAN to save double international banking charges;
• Payments can also be made using Stripe;
• For adventure holidays, paying by installments is also possible to assist in spreading the cost. Please email for more information;
• Cheques are no longer accepted by Explore Highland;
• An administration fee of £25 is charged to look into the possibility of/ to make changes to a private booking;
• Any changes should be requested in writing (email), a minimum of four weeks (28 days) in advance of booking;
• Bookings are not confirmed until full payment has been received in good time;
• Explore Highland has the right to release all resources after a payment deadline has been passed. An email to release the resources/booking of the client will be sent to the client to confirm the breach of terms and confirm the booking has been cancelled.

Cancellation Policy

Please take a moment to read our cancellation policy.

All bookings:

• All cancellations should be given in writing or by email;
• All invoices clearly state that the 25% deposit is payable within three days of booking accepted and is non-refundable;
• It is strongly advised that all clients consider taking out their own holiday/activity insurance policy;
• Explore Highland reserve the right to alter or cancel any advertised activity bookings at any time. Should this ever occur, a full refund or an alternative booking will be offered;

Individual bookings:

• Should an individual client cancel within 28 days of the booked activity, Explore Highland reserve the right to not offer any refund. The client is welcome to forward their place to a friend or family member at no charge;
• Should an individual client cancel within the 28-56 day period of the booked activity, Explore Highland will is happy for a friend or family member to take their place or arrange a 50% refund. Should Explore Highland fill the activity, a full refund will be given;
• Should a client cancel 56 days prior to the booked activity, Explore Highland will offer to move the booking to another forthcoming date/activity or offer a full refund less a £25 administration fee;

Group & private bookings:

• A group booking is three individuals or more bookings on the same activity. A private booking is a closed bespoke activity arranged on request;
• Should a group or private booking cancel less than 56 days, Explore Highland reserve the right to not offer any refund;
• Should clients with a group or private booking request notice in writing to amend booking 56 days prior to activity date, Explore Highland will endeavour to alter or change the booking to accommodation where possible. A £25 administration fee will be charged;

Local, regional & national disasters:

• This can including “act(s) of God” include, but not exclusive to; fire, flooding, lightning, earthquakes, storms/hurricanes, droughts, plagues, and other natural disasters that can not be accounted for;
• Other unavoidable catastrophes include, but not exclusive to; acts of terrorism, war, worker strikes, civil unrest, food/fuel shortages, or other local, regional, or national emergency;
• All clients are strongly advised to take out their own holiday/activity insurance policy to cover themselves as these are out with the control of Explore Highland;
• Explore Highland’s first priority will be to ensure the safety of clients and staffing at all times. If possible we will endeavour to still deliver the booking if possible in a different location unaffected or if unable to, rebook the client for another dates/activity. Refunds in these circumstances will not be issued as  personal insurance policies are strongly advised and cover such eventualities;

Weather Policy

Please take a moment to read our weather policy:

• As with all outdoor activities, the weather in the Highlands can be unpredictable. Explore Highland will do all that is possible to get you out on your chosen activity within the bounds of the group & individual abilities, plus have the staffing safety in mind;
• Should Explore Highland have any issues with the forecast weather/wind conditions, these shall be shared with individuals or group as early as possible;
• Should the conditions be unsuitable for the planned activity, trips may be require relocating to more sheltered location for group safety. For most trips, this will be explained on the phone or when at meet location. Explore Highland’s will then offer transport at no additional cost to a new venue;
• Explore Highland have the right to cancel any activity should there be adverse weather impacting on group safety for paddling activities, including but not exclusive to excess wind strength/weather warnings/lightning storms. A full refund or credit will be issued at the earliest opportunity;
• Should a private booking request a specific paddling trip/location and the conditions on the day are deemed unsuitable, Explore Highland have the right to suggest an alternative location. Should this not be accepted or possible, no refund will be offered;
• Explore Highland cannot be held responsible for any external costs in attending or additional costs incurred through the cancellation of any activity on the grounds of weather. All clients should look at taking out their own personal insurance and/or travel insurance to cover eventualities of missed travel connections, breakdowns, and cancellations due to weather.

Equipment

Please take a moment to read our equipment policy:

• All Explore Highland equipment issued is part of a equipment inventory and regularly inspected/maintained plus checked prior to issue for activity to ensure fit for purpose;
• Please check your issued kit so you are completely happy with all issued kit, and at the earliest opportunity, prior to paddling, to raise an query or request a replacement;
• The equipment you are issued may be a greater cost than the charge made for the activity. Explore Highland requests that all clients are mindful of this and use common sense and respect all equipment hired/loaned out to them. Equipment and kit should not be dragged, dropped or thrown. Carelessness or inappropriate use can cause excess wear and tear/damage to equipment and effectively written off if made unsafe;
• In cases where clients are proved negligent, the cost price to repair or replace damaged equipment will be charged and required paid at the end of the activity;
• Clients are more than welcome to use their own personal paddling clothing. It is requested that all Explore Highland safety equipment is used as this has been checked. Certain safety equipment may not just have an affect on the user, but also have a direct impact on other participants and the group as a whole. Please ensure your check in advance of any activity that kit your wish to supply is appropriate and safe to use. In some cases it is sometimes more beneficial to instructing paddlers in their own craft on skills courses.
• Explore Highland DO NOT take any responsibility for damage or loss when clients using their own equipment/property.

Customer Care

Please take a moment to read our customer care policy:

• Explore Highland does create course information and description of activity, offer a safety briefing and throughout activity ask about the welfare of all participants. If attending with a partner or as part of a group booking, we ask the activity information is shared as early as possible so we can resolve any worries or issues;
• We value your input before, plus feedback both during and after the activity;
• At certain times however group safety has to come first and ask all paddlers to respect that there is an appropriate time and place to chat;
• If any client(s) are unhappy with their activity experience, we would welcome this feedback immediately and directly so it can be raised and discussed in a polite and friendly manner;
• Sometimes participants aren’t always aware of the full picture, knowledge of the activity, location hazards, or impact an individual or group action may have on overall safety. Explore Highland may have to make difficult, possibly time-sensitive decisions in the great outdoors without discussing, based on the whole groups health and wellbeing, at the expense of customer care;
• Our client’s health and safety is our utmost priority.

Covid-19 Policy

For 2021 all Explore Highland booked activities will conform to the latest advice from the Scottish Government. Current advice for activities include;

• All participants are attending on the basis they are NOT suffering from any COVID-19 symptoms, have NOT knowingly been in contact with anyone suffering from COVID-19 symptoms within the last 14 days, and are fit, healthy, and happy to participate.
• Should any booked participant discover they have developed any COVID-19 symptoms, participants are asked to contact Explore Highland by email at the earliest opportunity.
• Participants traveling from out with Scotland should also ensure they are following all guidelines and rules in place from their home nation as well as other areas they may travel through to arrive in the Scottish Highlands.
• We ask all participants to respect social distancing to assist in the whole groups safety.
• Social distancing will be maintained throughout the activity whether on land or when out on the water, unless an emergency situation requires dealing with.
• Alcohol-based hand sanitisers will be available for regular application at the start, tea break, and at the end of the paddling day.
• Pre & post-cleaning of all craft and kits will be completed to ensure all paddler’s safety.
• Additional time during the safety briefing will be given to explain options for self-rescue and ensuring no sharing of equipment.
• Coach/guide will use disposable gloves when issuing clean kit, and when you are finished with it.  Gloves will also be worn if help is required moving and handling the kayaks on & off the water.
• Group photos will be taken maintaining social distancing and “group hug photos” encouraged only for the same household paddlers.
• Should the Scottish/UK government change travel restrictions after deposits/balance has been paid, Explore Highland will honour your booking and offer an alternative date/event to attend once restrictions have been lifted.
• If paddling shuttle restrictions are still in place at the time of the event, Explore Highland may not be able to offer transport to the start/from the finish of the activity/adventure. If this is the case, you will be given notification at the earliest opportunity, along with other safe Covid-19 transport suggestions.
• We ask all participants to sign up and use the NHS Scotland “Protect Scotland” app.
• Should there be any more best practice advice issued, we will ensure to add to this list to further promote safe paddling for all.

Should the Scottish or UK Government change travel rules and restrictions, Explore Highland will not expect any clients to break any rules so all activities affected will be postponed and the client’s booking can be moved to a mutually suitable future date when restrictions are lifted. 

Like all other activities and holidays, should someone fall ill and be unable to attend their chosen activity, standard terms and conditions apply, which advised that all clients consider taking out their own holiday/activity insurance policy;

Data Protection Policy

Explore Highland takes its responsibilities regarding the protection of personal privacy very seriously. As such, you can rest assured that any personal data you may be asked to reveal in order to use some of the features that are, or will become available on this website will be held and processed in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. In each case where you may be invited to submit personal data to Explore Highland, such as an e-mail or postal address or a telephone number, you will find a link to this data protection statement. If you choose to submit any personal data, you are thereby giving your consent for that data to be held and processed for the stated purpose(s).

We will not disclose or sell your personal data to any unrelated third-party individuals or organisations.

Mailing/Emailing List

If you subscribe to an Explore Highland mailing list and/or emailing list you will receive correspondence from us about up-coming activities offered by us or by one of our associated partners/course providers. You will not receive advertising or correspondence from any unrelated third-parties and your personal details/information will be held in accordance with our Data Protection Policy.

If at any time you wish to unsubscribe from a mailing list and/or emailing list, this can be completed using the unsubscribe feature on the mailing, or by emailing Donald at: info@explorehighland.com

Cookies

The Explore Highland website uses cookies, as do almost all websites, to help provide you with the best experience we can. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile phone when you browse websites.

Cookies help us to:

• Make our website work as you’d expect;
• Improve the speed/security of the site;
• Allow you to share pages with social networks like Facebook;
• Continuously improve our website for you; and
• Make our marketing more efficient (ultimately helping us to offer the service we do at the price we do).

We do not use cookies to:

• Collect any personally identifiable information (without your express permission);
• Collect any sensitive information (without your express permission);
• Pass data to advertising networks;
• Pass personally identifiable data to third parties; or
• Pay sales commissions.

You can learn more about all the cookies we use below.

Granting Permission to Use Cookies

In the settings on your software (your browser), you can accept cookies. One accepted, we take this, and your continued use of the website, to mean that you continue to agree with the use of cookies. Should you wish to remove or not use cookies from our site, you can learn how to do this within your browsers settings. However doing so will likely mean that the site may not work as expected or designed.

Social Website Cookies

Where enabled, you can easily ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ our content to Facebook and Twitter. These facilities use cookies to remember your selection and what you’ve shared.

The privacy implications of social networking functions will vary between providers and will be dependent on the privacy settings you have chosen on these networks and within your browser settings.

Anonymous Visitor Statistics Cookies

We may use cookies to compile visitor statistics, such as how many people have visited our website, what type of technology they are using (e.g. Mac or Windows, desktop, tablet or mobile), how long people spend on the site, what page they look at etc. This helps us to continually improve our website for the user.

These so-called ‘analytics’ programmes also tell us on an anonymous basis how people reached this site (e.g. from a search engine or direct link page) and whether they have been here before helping us to focus on what works and what needs fixed or improved.

Turning Cookies Off

You can usually switch cookies off by adjusting your browser’s settings to stop it from accepting cookies (normally found in the options menu). Doing so, however, will likely limit the use and functionality of this and other website. Cookies are a standard part of most modern websites.

Rather than switching off cookies in your browser, you may find that installing anti-spyware software on your computer achieves the same objective by automatically deletes cookies considered to be invasive.