Comprehensive FAQs for Your Next Adventure

Large Outdoors trips are designed as sociable outdoor experiences for adults, and participants must be aged 18 or over.

We do not set an upper age limit. If you feel able to complete the activities safely and enjoy the experience, you’re very welcome to join Large Outdoors.

On our Multi-Day Experiences, the typical age range is around 35 to 80.

Different arrangements may apply for private or tailored group bookings.

Large Outdoors is not a membership organisation and anybody is free to participate.

Large Outdoors is committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for all participants, staff, suppliers, and partners. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and expect everyone joining our experiences to treat others with the same respect.

We’re a friendly and sociable group, and we aim to create an environment where people feel comfortable joining, whether they come on their own or with others.

Due to the nature of our outdoor and active experiences, not every trip will be suitable for everyone. Some routes, terrain, or conditions may not be appropriate depending on individual circumstances.

If you have any medical condition, disability, or additional requirement, we encourage you to get in touch before booking. We’ll talk through the details of the experience and provide an honest view on suitability, including any risks or considerations, so you can make an informed decision.

Due to the nature of our outdoor and active experiences, we cannot say that all trips are suitable for everyone. Factors such as terrain, distance, and conditions mean some experiences may not be appropriate depending on individual circumstances.

All of our walking experiences involve walks of at least 6 miles, often on uneven ground. Some trips include longer distances and more challenging terrain. Each experience is graded to help you understand what’s involved.

If you have a disability, medical condition, or additional requirement, we recommend getting in touch before booking. Let us know which trips you’re considering and we can talk through the details — including mileage, terrain, and what the days involve — so you can make an informed decision about suitability.

Accommodation varies across our trips and may include hostels, cottages, B&Bs, hotels, and self-catering properties. Layouts and accessibility differ between venues, and not all will have accessible facilities such as step-free access or adapted bathrooms.

If you’re considering a specific trip, we can provide more detail on the accommodation and help you understand whether it’s likely to be suitable.

On the majority of our experiences, dogs are not permitted.

The nature of group outdoor experiences, along with shared accommodation on many trips, means it’s not usually practical to allow dogs to join. Please check the top section of each event page for specific details, as there are occasional exceptions.

Assistance Dogs

Trained assistance dogs may be permitted.

If you wish to bring an assistance dog, you must contact us before booking so we can discuss the specific experience, including the itinerary, terrain, accommodation, and any safety considerations.

Some of our routes include uneven, rocky, or steep terrain, and many trips take place in remote locations where access, evacuation, or treatment for an assistance dog may be limited. It’s important that we review these factors with you in advance so you can make an informed decision about suitability.

Yes. Most people who join Large Outdoors come on their own, and our trips are designed to be welcoming and sociable from the moment you arrive.

You’ll be part of a small group, with a friendly guide who helps bring people together, so it’s easy to settle in even if it’s your first time.

For our multi-day trips, we also set up WhatsApp groups so you can say hello before you arrive, ask practical questions, and stay in touch during the experience.

If you’d like to get a feel for what we do, you’re welcome to join the Friends of Large Outdoors Facebook group, where people often chat about upcoming trips, travel plans, and past experiences.

We use a range of accommodation across our walking weekends and holidays, including hostels, guest houses, hotels, country inns and cottages. Each trip page has a blue header showing the accommodation type, with more detail in the Accommodation and What’s Included sections.

Room types vary depending on the venue, so it’s always worth checking the trip page to see what’s available.

Shared Rooms

Many trips offer shared rooms, which are a cost-effective option and popular with solo travellers and small groups of friends. You’ll see them listed as Bed in a Shared Male Room or Bed in a Shared Female Room.
Room sizes vary: some are small rooms for two people, while others are larger dorm-style rooms. Beds may be singles or bunks, and bathrooms may be shared or en-suite depending on the venue.

We can’t allocate specific beds within shared rooms, but groups sharing together can usually sort this out easily once you arrive.

Private Rooms

Some venues also offer Single, Twin or Double rooms. These may be en-suite or use shared bathrooms — the trip page will always state this clearly. Single rooms cost more because accommodation providers charge higher rates for them.

Sharing with Friends

If you book together and choose shared rooms, we’ll do our best to place you in the same room, as long as there is availability.
If you book separately, just email us after booking and we’ll link the reservations so we know you want to share. You may still be in a room with other participants depending on the size of the room.

Bathroom Information

Bathrooms may be shared or en-suite. If a room has an en-suite, this will be shown in the booking box (for example: Twin Room – en-suite). Facilities vary from showers to showers over baths; the trip page will outline what to expect at each venue.

Yes, we can supply a vegetarian or vegan meal on any of our Multi-Day Experiences which include meals*.
However, you must inform us of dietary requirements at least 7 days before your booking start date - after this deadline we cannot guarantee we can supply suitable meals. Simply complete the dietary section during the booking process as required.

If your dietary needs have changed since you made your booking, please complete a Dietary Requirements & Medical Details Form.

*Not sure if the experience you fancy includes meals? Check the What’s Included section on the webpage for each experience.

Sorry, we are unable to offer Halal or Kosher meals, but we are happy to supply a vegetarian meal on any of our Multi-Day Experiences which include meals*. However, you must inform us of dietary requirements at least 7 days before your booking start date - after this deadline we cannot guarantee we can supply suitable meals. Simply complete the dietary section during the booking process as required.

If your dietary needs have changed since you made your booking, please complete a Dietary Requirements & Medical Details Form.

*Not sure if the experience you fancy includes meals? Check the What’s Included section on the webpage for each experience.

Unfortunately, we are generally unable to cater for a wide variety of diets or food preferences due to the nature and cost of our catered trips and/or the use of shared kitchens. However, we can offer vegetarian meals, vegan meals, provide meals with gluten* free ingredients and/or provide dairy** free meals - these options can be selected when booking. 
You must inform us of dietary requirements at least 7 days before your booking start date - after this deadline we cannot guarantee we can offer suitable meals, so please check with us if you’re making a last-minute booking.

If your dietary needs have changed since booking, please complete a Dietary Requirements & Medical Details Form.

*GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS:
Due to the nature of shared kitchens and the risk of cross-contamination, we cannot guarantee that the meals we provide with ‘gluten free ingredients’ are suitable for participants with coeliac disease.

**DAIRY FREE MEALS:
Due to the nature of shared kitchens and the risk of cross-contamination, we cannot guarantee that the ‘dairy free’ meals we provide are lactose free, or suitable for participants with a lactose intolerance or lactose allergy.

FOOD ALLERGIES - please detail severe food allergies via the ‘Medical Details’ section upon booking (you can update this via the Dietary Requirements & Medical Details Form after booking).
The food prepared and provided by Large Outdoors may contain any of the following 14 allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
This also applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances which are present in the final product.

If you are consuming food prepared and provided by a third-party establishment (e.g. restaurant, hotel, tearoom etc.) during your Large Outdoors experience, it is your responsibility to ensure you inform food servers/staff directly of your dietary requirements and/or allergies. Only where Large Outdoors is ordering and paying for food prepared and provided by third-party establishments (i.e. it is included in the monies you have paid to Large Outdoors, as outlined by the What’s Included section on each experience’s webpage), will we pass on the Dietary Requirements you have provided to us, as per our Privacy Policy. Even in these cases, for your own safety, we ask that you inform food servers/staff directly of your dietary requirements and/or allergies.

Some of our hotel-based experiences, or those which involve dinner provided by the accommodation or at local eateries, do offer more choice or a little more flexibility catering wise. This is typical of the experiences in our Signature collection, but there are others too. Do check the What’s Included section on each experience’s webpage to see what meals are provided and feel free to contact us if you’d like to check whether a particular experience could be suitable for your dietary needs.

If you follow a particular diet or have food allergies and wish to bring and prepare your own meals on our hostel-based experiences or those where we’re using self-catering kitchens you may be able to do so, but please check with us regarding this and the kitchen’s suitability before booking.

This differs with each experience we offer. Please check the What’s Included section on the webpage for each experience you are interested in.

The majority of our hostel-based trips and others using self-catering kitchens will refer to ‘home-cooked set 2-course dinners’ - this means that the dinner menus are set for each trip, so there is no choice available. There may be two different varieties/meals being served at dinner time, but this does not mean a choice will be offered. Meals are prepared based on the dietary requirements indicated by all participants (e.g. a vegetarian/vegan option and a meat option, both of which may use gluten free ingredients, or just one may). To avoid waste and to enable us to offer the trips at the price we do, we will only cater for requirements indicated in advance, e.g. we will only cook enough vegetarian meals for the number of participants who indicated this as their dietary requirement when booking/in advance.

Unfortunately, we are generally unable to cater for a wide variety of diets or food preferences due to the nature and cost of our catered trips and/or the use of shared kitchens. However, we can offer vegetarian meals, vegan meals, provide meals with gluten* free ingredients and/or provide dairy** free meals - these options can be selected when booking. You must inform us of dietary requirements at least 7 days before your booking start date - after this deadline we cannot guarantee we can supply suitable meals, so please check with us if you’re making a last-minute booking.
If your dietary needs have changed since booking, please complete a Dietary Requirements & Medical Details Form.

*/** Due to the nature of shared kitchens and the risk of cross-contamination, we cannot guarantee: that the meals we provide with ‘gluten free ingredients’ are suitable for participants with coeliac disease and/or that the ‘dairy free’ meals we provide are lactose free, or suitable for participants with a lactose intolerance or lactose allergy.

ALLERGENS: The food prepared and provided by Large Outdoors may contain any of the following 14 allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, barley and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts). This also applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances which are present in the final product.
If you are consuming food prepared and provided by a third-party establishment (e.g. restaurant, hotel, tearoom etc.) during your Large Outdoors experience, it is your responsibility to ensure you inform food servers/staff directly of your dietary requirements and/or allergies. Only where Large Outdoors is ordering and paying for food prepared and provided by third-party establishments (i.e. it is included in the monies you have paid to Large Outdoors, as outlined by the What’s Included section on each bookable experience’s webpage), will we pass on the Dietary Requirements you have provided to us, as per our Privacy Policy. Even in these cases, for your own safety, we ask that you inform food servers/staff directly of your dietary requirements and/or allergies

Please check the Location & Meeting Time section on each experience’s webpage to see what time and where to meet, as this differs with each experience we offer.

Please check the What’s Included section on each experience’s webpage to see wether transport is included, as this differs with each experience we offer.

For our Multi-Day Experiences without any transport included, we aim to walk straight from the door of the accommodation as often as possible. However, sometimes the best walks or activities are a little further away and we need to drive to the start/end point. For these occasions, we encourage our participants to car-share, so that we fit into as few vehicles as possible and are more environmentally conscious. If you are a driver, if would be very helpful if you would consider volunteering for this if required - you might make a new friend along the way! But please note that car sharing is not compulsory, and is carried out at participants’ own risk where undertaken.
Please also remember to bring some loose change and a credit/debit card to pay for local parking charges (which often support the maintenance of the handy car parks we use and help protect the beautiful areas we visit).

Please check the What’s Included section on each experience’s webpage to see whether you need to bring bedding and/or a towel, as this differs with each accommodation we use.

As part of the social hostel or cottage/lodge-based experience, there will be a small amount of helping-out required - from being asked to strip your beds on departure to doing your own washing up (but don’t worry, you’re off the hook when it comes to cooking!). This helps us keep our trips affordable and is a great way to get to know your fellow participants…the best parties are always in the kitchen, right?!