Firbush is a fantastic outdoor centre owned and run by Edinburgh University where staff run…read moreretreats for groups and individuals who book ahead to come along on various adventures here. The setting is picturesque and beautiful perched on the shore of Loch Tay. In particular, the dining room has stunning views of the lake and various munroes, as do many of the rooms. In fact, the dining room is surrounded on three sides by floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing you to take in the views and admire the scenery! The staff are all extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Three to four staff run various outdoor activities each day, allowing different group members plenty of activities to choose from based on the weather. Last year when I went in January the options included cross-country skiing, kayaking or walking. This year there wasn't much snow so we had mountain biking, kayaking, canoeing, or walking as options. The staff work with the level of the group and are focused on outdoor education of those who haven't tried the activities before, but if you are more experienced then they also let you work at your level within the group and do more challenging things. There are two cooks, Rosie and Morag when I was there, who do a great job of keeping everyone well fed to sustain them throughout their many activities. Firbush is a well-oiled machine when it comes to teaching groups the lodge practices and routines, with breakfast at 8:30, making packed lunches after breakfast, and nice evening meals later on. The meal system worked well with everyone pitching in to pick up and clear away dishes and food trays. I have been twice to Firbush with a tango group, and it has been a fantastic experience both times. Firbush is a great way to get away from it all and have a really relaxing and fun weekend in the Highlands at really reasonable prices. Although university members have priority in booking, members of the public are also able to book on and join different programmes here. It was a fantastic experience!

We loved the convenience of beach-front rental and the thorough guidance they provided for…read morenavigating the loch. Luss is an adorable town and exploring Loch Lomond by kayak made the whole experience all the better. Reasonable prices too!

On our drive to Ben Nevis and the Isle of Skye, we stopped here for a few minutes to stretch our…read morelegs. I should have worn my jacket. It may be summer to the Scottish folks, but to this Florida girl, my teeth were chattering. That breeze off the loch was numbingly cold. We walked around for a good bit, reaching the waters edge, to touch the coolness and watch the bots on the waves. It was a peaceful time of day. Not too many folks out yet, but you could tell (it was a holiday weekend) that they'd be out in force soon. Kayaks and boats, water sports equipment is all for hire, this place is absolutely gorgeous.

A fantastic Spey decent with a great group of people. Very…read morewell organised from the initial enquiry ... responsive, helpful and professional. Highly recommended

Superlative outdoor activity centre. A wonderful location…read moreand excellent facilities. I visited the centre back in April 2024 and was pleased to be accepted for the Instructor training course. After a 20 year long stint of being a mental health practitioner within the NHS, it was time to focus on myself. I was immediately welcomed by Gethin, the operations manager and indeed by the other instructors. Commencing my instructor training in July 2024, at a grand old age of 53! This has not been an issue at all! Having kept pace with other student instructors, some less than half my age! The facilities and homely environment are wonderful. We soon became a mutually supportive 'family' of Rookie instructors. The first weeks settling into a new environment with a packed itinerary were fun & challenging due to a lifestyle change, but what a lifestyle change in a part of the world that oozes adventure, beauty and outdoor challenges. Supported by an absolutely cracking team, Alfie, Ross, Rowan, Liam, Fionn, Tom, Laura & James and the knowledge, welcome and encouragement from Roy and Sophia GIbson (The Owners) - themselves incredibly experienced outdoor folk! Whom were quick to share guidance, support, stories and encouragement, was more than enough to make me feel right at home and to achieve my ultimate goal - to deliver, encourage, and support others in realising their outdoor pursuit adventures, whilst giving me a first huge step onto the exciting ladder of outdoor adventure & instruction and a multi-opportunity list of qualifications. Indeed, everything is here for those who want to grasp an opportunity to learn and develop a career in outdoor pursuits. Reflecting back just now, on the last couple of months, having climbed and hiked the highlands, canoed, kayaked, rafted, and paddle-boarded the many beautiful, lochs, rivers, rapids and coastline that exists here...makes me 'pinch myself' daily...as if this is a dream! Recently, having the opportunity to instruct a local school group of youngsters in paddle-sports has really helped to hone skills and encourage young folks to literally 'pick up the paddle!' The essence of Active Outdoor Pursuits is Team work....but personal goals and challenges are always encouraged and supported with staff on hand 24 hours a day! Maintaining health and safety in any environment is paramount. Indeed the instructors and free lance instructors are totally on the ball here and always ensure safe practice and risk assessment, whilst in the realms of fun, adventure and learning, are in place. Whether I climbed a crag, wondered at the views from the Munros, to paddle sports & safeguarding youngsters and the team, to ensuring equipment is appropriate for the activity and venues selected carefully to compliment the chosen location - I always felt safe and confident in the skillset of staff and equipment. Furthermore, despite being a learned practitioner, I gleaned a vast amount of new skills in the first aid course, appertaining to the outdoors - Whilst I never wish to use these skills!, I feel confident that I am now equipped to! Like anything in life, you reap that which you sow and indeed 'get out what you put in!' Pushing myself, supporting others and being part of the team is truly wonderful, and I am proud and honoured to be a part of the Active Outdoor Pursuits team, as my course draws to a close. I wish all of my fellow rookies, the awesomely personable and qualified instruction team, and Roy & Sophia, whom have been right behind me since the start of the course the absolute best for your careers. To coin a phrase 'Look at where we are!'... LOL!' Thank you all ! Oh and if you even have an inkling of curiosity and want to find out for yourself, of what the centre has to offer, call in! go and do an activity - see this beautiful part of the world from a new exciting perspective - and help make a change! Get Active!! Get Orange! and live the adventure - 'It is not the pursuit of happiness, Happiness is within the Pursuit!'.. (PP 2024)

My boyfriend and I purchased a groupon for a day of canoeing and cliff jumping here at Go Country…read more It was a crackin deal, so we figured, why not, let's get some summer activities in before the cold temperatures are back. Sigh. This wee place is great. Not the newest of equipment the wet suits especially were a bit on the well worn side, but the staff are super friendly (and local- we saw them at the pub later that night) and very helpful. We went off with a group of about 25 or so for a wee canoe around loch ard over to some cliffs that were near by. My boyfriend and I were hoping to get a two seater boat, but there was a stag do there and other people who got to them first, so we were plunked in with one other guy we didn't know. His cousin ended up going with someone else in their boat. We were given a crash course on paddling and what to do if we tipped the boats and we were off. The leader of the group followed us along in an engine powered boat, making sure we were all safe and he was able to help if anyone tipped over their boats. Really funny guy, making jokes at those of us who seemed to paddle in circles. Once we got the hang of it, our boat made good time, with me sitting in the middle, probably the weakest out of all of us, it was fun none the less. Once we got to the cliffs, we parked the boats and hiked a bit before we swam across to the cliffs. They started us off with a wee cliff, which my boyfriend and I jumped off no bother. It wasn't until the highest cliff that I loved my life more than I thought and would not allow myself to leap to my death. Haha. It wasn't that high, and loads of people jumped a million times, I just went up, looked down, anxiety set in and I backed away. I got heckled a bit for not jumping, but that's ok. We had a blast none the less. After we'd had our fun, instead of hiking back to our boats, we were given the option of swimming back. I chose to swim, as it's been a while since I've swam anywhere. It was great fun! We paddled back to Go Country and that was that of our day on the loch. It was a lot of fun and should another groupon surface, I'd go back. The prices are a bit high for what you get (without a groupon).

I'd bought a voucher from Groupon for a canoeing and cliff jumping adventure experience. It's been…read morea great introduction, as I'd never heard of Go Country before, and now I know them, I'd definitely want to go back and do another activity with them. The experience was fantastic! A bit mental, but fantastic! We canoed over the loch, parked the boats (or whatever it is you do with boats) on the far shore, and then swam over to the little islands. I thought he was kidding when he said we had to swim, but nope, no joke. Then we climbed the little islands and flung ourselves off from various heights and positions. It was magic. I was really impressed with the whole set up of the place. There were 2 gentlemen dealing with us at the start, and they were really friendly and full of light-hearted banter, presumably to help us feel less nervous about the impending cliff fling. They issued us all with wet suits, spray jackets, life jackets and helmets, and carefully checked that we had everything on correctly. We then had a brief introduction on safety and how to paddle properly, and then off to the canoes! The instructor had a wee motor boat, which was good, as he was able to herd us all together with the boat like a sheep dog guiding its unruly herd, and was quickly able to get to any canoe that was struggling. He had a job on his hands, as in our group there was one canoe team who just could not steer and fell way behind - they ended up getting a lift in his boat, another one who were fighting against the wind with only two people instead of 3 and ended up hitching a lift by clinging on to the side of his boat, one canoe that took on too much water, and he had to give them a bucket to bail out with, and one canoe that tipped over, ditching the 3 people into the loch! And then he had a few people (myself included) who were havering over the big jumps. I must have been to the cliff edge about a hundred times before I finally jumped. This guy was patience personified. The facilities are a basic set up, but this is what you would expect. There are portacabin changing rooms, which are basic but clean, and chemical portaloos. Don't be expecting any hot showers when you're done. The setting itself is beautiful. When we were paddling back to base we had a stunning view of the hills, with Ben Lomond towering in the distance, and afterwards we sat on a bench just watching people and ducks go by on the loch. They have an inflatable water park which looks like it could be a real laugh, and other activities like hamster balling, kayaking, mountain biking, archery, climbing and abseiling and other various outdoor activiites. They'll even hire you everything you need if you want to do camping. Next on my list is gorge walking! They also have an agreement with the McDonald Forest Hills hotel which is directly opposite, so if you're with a group of people, and not all of you want to do the outdoorsy things, some people can choose relax in their leisure suite, or have a massage treatment instead. They really have thought of everything - it's a very good set up and I'm looking forward to doing another experience with them again soon.