Walk TheWest Highland Way

Booking Conditions

After you have read the Booking Information below,

1. Email us using our booking enquiry form, we will contact you to email a confirmed booking form.
2. Print out the booking information and booking form and post it to us with a cheque or call us with your credit card details.

Mail it to us at:
Load Off Your Back Ltd. 60 Esp Lane, Barnoldswick, Nr. Skipton, Lancashire, BB18 5QQ
Please email us info@loadoffyourback.co.uk if you have any questions.
Please give a second choice where possible.
If you have paid a deposit already and wish to pay the outstanding balance please read the information below;

Booking Conditions

The following booking conditions, together with all information relating to your chosen holiday contained on our websites, form the basis of your contract with Load Off Your Back Ltd trading as Load Off Your Back. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations.

1 Booking and payment

Please complete the booking form and mail it to Load Off Your Back Ltd. 60 Esp Lane, Barnoldswick, Nr. Skipton, Lancashire, BB18 5QQ, United Kingdom with a deposit of £100 per person per holiday or full payment if the booking is being made within six weeks of commencement of the holiday. You can also book by telephone by calling + 44 (0) 1282 814974. Alternatively, visit our website www.loadoffyourback.co.uk to send a booking enquiry.

Payments may be made by credit card (Mastercard, Eurocard, Visa or Amex), debit card (Maestro/Switch, Delta, Solo, Electron or JCB) or cheque (made payable to Load Off Your Back Ltd).

On receipt of your booking form and deposit, we will send you confirmation of your booking and an invoice for the balance. The balance must reach us at least six weeks before the start of your holiday. The date on which the final balance of your holiday is due is shown on the invoice. No further reminder is sent. If the balance is not paid in time we reserve the right to cancel your booking, retain your deposit and apply cancellation charges as set out in paragraph 3.

In accordance with 'The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992', all passengers booking with Load Off Your Back Ltd are fully insured for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all monies paid to us, including repatriation if required, arising from the cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Load Off Your Back Ltd. A certificate detailing this cover will be given to each and every passenger as evidence of cover. Please ensure that you have been given the appropriate certificate(s) at the time of booking (you will receive the serial number of the certificate(s) in your booking confirmation: the certificate(s) will be included in your tour pack). This insurance has been arranged by Towergate Chapman Stevens through IGI Insurance Company Limited.

Your tour pack will be sent to you approximately four weeks before the start of your holiday

2 If you change your booking

If you wish to make any changes to your booking prior to the due date for final payment, we will do our utmost to help, subject to an administrative charge of £35 per person. Alterations after this date will be treated as a cancellation of the original holiday and a new booking for a different holiday, and the charges set out in paragraph 3 will apply. Any alterations you wish to make to your booking must be notified to us in writing and be signed by the person who signed the booking form.

3 If you cancel your booking

Should you or any member of your party be forced to cancel your booking, you must do so in writing and this letter must be signed by the person who signed the booking form. The cancellation will take effect from the date that such written notice is received in this office. For a cancellation received more than 42 days before the start date of the holiday the deposit will be forfeit, whilst any other payment towards the cost of the holiday will be refunded. For later cancellations the deposit will be forfeit but any payment towards the holiday will be refunded less the following charges:

41 – 29 days before the start:	50% of the total cost of the holiday
28 – 15 days before the start:	75% of the total cost of the holiday

No refund can be given for a cancellation 14 or less days before the start of a holiday or whilst the holiday is in progress.

In addition to the above charges, it may be necessary to add single room supplements to other members of a party where member(s) of that party cancel, and reduce the group discount.

4 Travel Insurance

You must protect yourself, your equipment and luggage with a suitable holiday insurance policy. This insurance should also be arranged to cover non-returnable costs should you have to cancel your trip due to unexpected personal circumstances.

5 Brochure accuracy

The information given on the websites has been carefully checked and we believe that it is correct at the time of publication. We reserve the right to make changes and where they occur, they will be advised to you before the booking contract is concluded. The prices shown include VAT at the current rate of 15%. Should this change the prices shown may alter. If there are any changes to the published prices, these will be confirmed at the time of booking.

6 Changes or cancellation by us

Very occasionally we have to make changes to a holiday after a booking has been confirmed or cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations we must reserve the right to do so. If we have to cancel your holiday or make a significant change before departure (such as a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of accommodation area for the whole or a major part of the time you are away or a change to the date of departure) we will tell you as soon as possible and you will have the choice of:

1. accepting the changed arrangements or
2. taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price we will refund the difference, but where the price is higher we may ask you to pay the difference) or
3. cancelling or accepting the cancellation and receiving a full refund of all monies paid.

Please note that the above options are not available where any change is a minor one (i.e. any change not included above). If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will pay you compensation up to a maximum of £25 per person. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where we have to cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control or force majeure.

We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation. No compensation will be payable if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel, such as paying on time.

7 Force majeure

We regret we cannot accept any liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by, or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss as a result of force majeure. Force majeure means any event which we, or the supplier of the service(s) in question, could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events include war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activities, industrial disputes, fire, natural or nuclear disasters, adverse weather conditions and all similar events outside our control.

8 Our responsibility

We will accept responsibility if any death, personal injury, failure or deficiency of your holiday arrangements is caused by negligence or omissions by us, or our agents or suppliers. We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or results from an event or circumstance which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care. We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in this brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them. The maximum liability for any damages other than for personal injury or illness will be limited to the price paid for the holiday.

9 Your responsibilities

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are physically fit, adequately experienced, suitably equipped for your holiday and aware of the risks involved in a walking holiday. Although Load Off Your Back Ltd will ensure the holiday is as safe as possible you must accept that the sole responsibility for your personal safety remains with you. In the interests of safety you must undertake to follow the advice in the guidebook or route notes provided, as well as that provided by anybody on our behalf, heed any warning or advisory notices encountered on your walk, follow the Country Code and act sensibly and prudently at all times.

10 Complaints and problems

In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday whilst away, you must contact our office immediately and we will do our best to resolve the problem straight away. Should it not be possible to resolve your complaint immediately, you should write to us, giving full details, within 14 days of the holidays conclusion. Complaints received after this date can be very difficult to investigate.

11 Jurisdiction

All matters arising from your contract with us are governed by English Law and are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Privacy Policy

When you fill out a booking enquiry form or competition entry we need to know your name and address in order to send you further information. Unless you advise us otherwise we will add you to our mailing list and send you a copy of our Newsletter each month.

When you book a holiday we need to know your name, address, credit or debit card number and expiry or issue date. This allows us to process your booking and send you your holiday details. We also ask for your telephone number and email address in case we need to contact you urgently if there is a problem. When you book a holiday you can, print off, fill in and post a booking form to us along with a cheque or send the phone and call to take credit card details and payment.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We do not sell, trade, rent, exchange or distribute in anyway your personal details. We have an opt-in/opt-out newsletter. We do not send unsolicited emails.

As required by the UK Data Protection Acts of 1984 and 1998, we follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information which you have given us, to prevent unauthorised access.