We take the higher ground, picking our way along the contours and admiring six roe deer silently counting us from a ridge 20 meters away. Once we’re on the valley floor, petrified tree trunks, the preserved remains of a forest that filled this landscape 7,000 years ago, emerge from rust-red and peat-black ravines. Baby frogs jump in all directions. Away from the main hiking trails, there is no one else in sight. Twenty-four hours earlier, I had watched the UK cross by train from Brighton to Edinburgh and on to the Highlands. At Spean Bridge, an unassuming village often overlooked by visitors to Fort William en route, I meet Sara Mair Bellshaw, founder of new tour operator Slow Adventure, whose inaugural trip I’m here to sample. “This is our first trip, and it’s also my home village,” he says. “We’ve all appreciated the people and experiences on our doorstep that much more during Covid-19 and now I can share my local discoveries with visitors.” Tasting at Great Glen Charcuterie The first part of the adventure involves three days of hiking and wild camping with Anna (who runs Wild Roots guiding), starting from Spean Bridge to Corrour – a huge bubbling estate home to the UK’s most remote railway station. After that, winded and a little euphoric, we head back to Spean Bridge by train for part two, which focuses on hyperlocal food and beer experiences, based at Tirindrish House B&B. A tour and tasting at Glen Spean Brewing Co with co-founder Ian Peter and a feast of sustainable venison and horticultural produce at the home of Great Glen Charcuterie founder Anja Baak are highlights. Wild camping and drinking wine in a gorgeous Georgian manor house may not seem like natural companions, but these experiences share an ethos of slow travel – a thoughtful, deep dive rather than a box-checking exercise, showcasing local organizations from different sectors. After their plans were put on hold by Covid, Sara launched Slow Adventure with Jane Stuart-Smith (who previously owned the White House slow food restaurant on the west coast of Scotland) in late 2021 and launched this summer . The goal is to help people explore lesser-known destinations like Jämtland Härjedalen in Sweden and Valtellina in northern Italy, spend money on local and micro-experiences, and immerse themselves in nature and community. The business was inspired by the EU-funded academic project SAINT (Slow Adventure in the Northern Territories) (managed by the Sara project): it worked with small businesses across Northern Europe to develop slow adventure experiences that boost the well-being of communities , of nature. and visitors. Guided walk on the Corrour estate Jane wanted to get involved, having seen first-hand the damage tourism can do to small rural communities. “In Morvern, where I live, on the west coast of Scotland, there has been an increase in visitors staying in motorhomes or self-catering accommodation for one night and then moving on, contributing nothing to the area apart from the occasional litter their. ,” she said. Sara adds that what has happened in places like Skye and the North Coast 500 route in Scotland, where destinations have been marketed without proper buy-in from the local community, putting significant pressure on local infrastructure, is a motivation . “We want to make it possible for rural communities to shape nature-based tourism and adventure travel in their region so that it can be a thriving place for everyone,” said Sara. Rather than “suppliers,” local Slow Adventure hosts are known as members, to reflect their role in shaping the overall experience. Connecting small local businesses and travelers looking for a meaningful connection is at the heart of the plan. Adopting the slow ethos offers businesses the opportunity to have a more positive impact on the ground Slow Adventure isn’t the only travel company embracing the growing trend for slower experiences. Recognizing that much of tourism was unsustainable before the pandemic due to carbon emissions and hypertourism, adopting a slow ethos offers businesses the opportunity to have a more positive impact on the ground. According to Hospitality Insights, slow travel will grow by 10% year-on-year and a recent survey by publisher Hidden Scotland found that 83% of people traveling to Scotland are looking for slow travel experiences. Sales of Bradt’s Slow Travel guides doubled last year as more people look for local, responsible and “experiential” travel, according to boss Adrian Phillips. This summer, Much Better Adventures (MBA) will run its first hut hiking trip in the Picos de Europa of northern Spain, with a local mountain guide taking hikers to visit small cheese dairies and cider factories, focusing on the smaller visited south of the area. MBA co-founder Sam Bruce says: “Participating in local tours provides one of the best ways to explore beyond the surface of a place. It leads to a much greater understanding and appreciation of the details of culture, history and traditions.” Carefully crafted craft beer is perfect for quenching a slow thirst for adventure In the Balkans, Intrepid has also planned a group trip focusing on traditional and local products in mountain villages and towns in Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. General Manager Zina Bencheikh says: “By visiting fantastic home cooks and local producers, you are effectively spreading the benefit of tourism to those who need it most. These hyperlocal experiences are not always easy to find, but they are more authentic and rewarding.” Tourist boards are also involved. Visit Sweden is promoting the new 44-mile Gotaleden hiking trail between Gothenburg and Alingsås in western Sweden. A ‘meet the locals’ project connects walkers with local experiences such as horse riding and a farm stay, and local producers offer fika (coffee, cake and chat) stops along the way. Last year, Visit Scotland launched an international post-Covid campaign to encourage visitors to “slow down, recharge, escape and enjoy immersive and sustainable tourism experiences”. Slow Adventure certainly seems to do just that. I had never heard of Spean Bridge, but by the end of the trip I had crossed the village several times, explored the landscape with a local mountain guide and been welcomed into several houses. I left hugging the hosts like old friends, hoping our paths would cross again. It’s hospitality in its truest form, which means going slow. The walking and eating trip in Scotland costs £772 for five days.
