The wind in your hair. The freshest of air filling your lungs. Ten miles under your belt. 650 million years of history under your feet. Nature all around you. The ghosts of saints, kings and white walkers all about you. A rewarding climb behind you. A spectacular view in front of you. A well-earned drink & some great local food ahead of you.
And all you’ve had to do is put one foot in front of the other and take in your surroundings. Because you & your group have been in the safe hands of engaging expert locals who’ve provided you with absolutely everything you could possibly need for a truly unforgettable experience.
These are private, guided hiking trips in Northern Ireland.
‘The Inside Trek’ way.
We want the world to see Northern Ireland for the friendly, creative, cosmopolitan, beautiful, engaging place that nature and the Northern Irish people have made it.
With our exclusive, bespoke, sustainable trekking & hiking trips & experiences, we want to take you walking, talking & exploring among the natural beauty, stunning scenery, warm welcomes & interesting history of our wee homeland.
Our specially curated local knowledge, exceptional guidance & service, plus all the equipment you’ll need, will give you access to the inside track on the best places to hike and explore.
All in as informative, stylish, hassle free, responsible & respectful a way as possible.
So we send you home again mentally & physically refreshed. And with an ever-lasting connection to “our wee country” & “our big planet”.
From our accumulated local expertise, connections and roots, we’ve built an extensive knowledge bank on all things hiking and Northern Irish, along with a comprehensive network of engaging, insightful, responsible local providers who share our goals, ambitions & attitudes – and who love ‘Norn Iron’ just as much as we do.
This isn’t just local knowledge – after all, plenty of the local stuff is a bit ‘meh’, wherever you go in the world.
Instead, this is inside knowledge: a bespoke selection of the very best that Northern Ireland has to offer, curated through years of an ex-London expat logging the things that caught his eye as he learned his way back into life in his homeland over the last ten years or so.
Without giving away all of our secrets (after all, The Inside Trek does hinge on its ‘inside’ knowledge!), here are just a few of our favourite walks, right across Northern Ireland:
We have hikes from 2 hours to 10 hours in duration, all of which are available as guided day trips. And any of our hikes can be combined, across as many activity days and rest days as is required, to make any length of experience or trip.
While we’re not holiday providers ourselves, we can point you in the direction of the best hotels & accommodation, of every standard, near every great hiking spot in Northern Ireland, whether that’s in the Antrim Hills, Belfast, the Mournes or the North Antrim Coast. The places that are just perfect for relaxing and unwinding while still being close enough to the action, so your rest days are just as special as your days on the hills.
Our treks can also be mixed with other activities, all provided by our hand-picked local experts, to create a multi-activity experience. And dinner at or from outstanding local restaurants can easily be arranged too.
So we’ve got you covered, whatever you want to do!
And we can also provide gift vouchers if you’re looking for a special experience to give that someone special – with Northern Ireland’s crisp air and breath-taking scenery plus our first class service, they’ll be a truly memorable present. Go on, give the gift of the Norn Irish outdoors!
As each of our experiences & holidays is bespoke, pricing can only really be worked out once we’ve had a chat to understand what you are interested in. But as a rough guide, for a party of four:
All prices are for an exclusive experience (just you and your group) and includes ALL equipment, transportation, food and drink (plus a wee a memento of your experience to take home).
And we have no minimum group size (having travelled a lot by ourselves, we know how annoying they are).
Contact us now for a free quote for your own Inside Trek.
The Inside Trek was conceived by 48 year old ‘local lad’ Andrew Magowan, and is jointly owned between Andrew & his lifelong friend and fellow local Michael Laverty.
Andrew is a trained Hill & Moorland Leader, and a member of both Mountaineering Ireland and the Mountain Training Association.
Andrew is also Director of Sustainability and General Counsel for fine wine & spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd, founder of sustainability consultancy How Now For Our Future, and a trustee of London-based charity the Barons Court Project. More on Andrew’s previous legal, risk & reputation management career can be found on LinkedIn.
In his spare time (that he doesn’t spend on the hills or out with his dog Rosie), Andrew watches Ulster play rugby (usually pretty well) and plays tennis and golf (usually pretty mediocre-ly). He loves music (especially live), and cooking (with local ingredients, of course).
Michael is Antrim born & bred and, in addition to his non-executive role with The Inside Trek, works in the environmental sector. He has three kids, and two dogs, none of whom are quite as keen on hiking as he’d like them to be.
Most importantly, we will never agree to any activity, route or action that we are not comfortable with from a safety perspective, and will always alter our plans accordingly. Even if that means missing out on a key attraction that day
Alongside getting the world to come & hike in Northern Ireland, at The Inside Trek we are also determined to demonstrate that it’s possible to run a self-sustaining, responsible business that gives customers exceptional service, while also having zero impact at all on the land that we walk on, and while respecting and giving back to the community that we operate within:
We are really proud to be an Accredited Employer with the Living Wage Foundation, to confirm that we pay all our staff and regular contractors – all the key people we rely on – not just the legally required minimum but enough for them to live off. We genuinely care about our people. And we have a business model that fully recognises their value – something we passionately feel all businesses should have (but often don’t)
On all of our hiking holidays and experiences, we are carbon conscious (for example, despite Northern Ireland’s rainy reputation, the Copper Barn uses solar energy for its hot water). As part of Tourism Declares, we have declared a climate emergency & have committed to always exploring ways to reduce the carbon emitted from our activities.
We are members of the 1% For The Planet global initiative, set up in 2002 to create a new environmental legacy & protect the future of our planet. The idea is simple and compelling: because companies profit from the resources they take from the earth, they should protect those resources, come what may. So, like all members, we have committed to giving 1% of our sales back to the environment, whether or not we’re profitable. Because we consider that commitment to be the quid pro quo of being lucky enough to be enjoy the support of the only planet we have
We refill, reuse and recycle wherever we can. We provide water bottles for all of our guests to use while they are with us, while as many of the food-related products we need as possible are sourced & re-stocked from amazing local ‘zero waste’ refill store The Larder
We protect & foster Northern Ireland’s hiking routes. Andrew is a volunteer ranger for Outdoor Recreation NI, checking and auditing the key pathways in his area, such as the Antrim Hills Way. We are also trying to open up new walking routes across private land in Northern Ireland
We support the “Mountains For The Mind” campaign to inspire friends, colleagues & loved ones to get into the hills & mountains, so they can take the first steps towards better mental health. Because according to Mind, the mental health charity, “one in four people in Britain experience mental health problems each year, but spending time outdoors can reduce the risk of depression by 30%”
With the trust of our guests & neighbours comes great responsibility and, at The Inside Trek, we take our responsibility seriously. So we have also created and published The Inside Trek Code of Responsibility. This Code sets out the standards we have set ourselves, so we can be held to account on our commitment to do things in a fairer, more sustainable way.
Our long-term goal is to become a Certified B Corporation. B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose, redefine success in business, and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. We’re extremely keen to join their gang, and we’ve already done a lot of the required work to analyse, adapt and build our business to meet their stringent requirements, but unfortunately our operations are not currently large enough to qualify for full certification. The second we get there, we’ll be applying. So we can ensure we deliver our guests the most responsible hiking holidays in Northern Ireland.
With the welcome growth in tourism to Northern Ireland in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement, NI does have a surprisingly good selection of excellent hotels & accommodation providers, ones whose style, luxury and service would stand up to any international standards. But when it comes to eco-hotels or sustainability-minded accommodation providers, that’s sadly a different story.
To their shame, far too many of our great places to stay are stonily silent on their environmental impact. None are B Corps, either pending or certified, and next to none are accredited Living Wage payers. Now, we could spend ages debating why that is the case, and how those establishments are missing out on a huge opportunity to both grow their business and make a difference. But that doesn’t help anyone who wants to come visit now but who also wants to know that their holiday will have as little impact on our environment as possible. But that’s where we come in.
Given our commitment to doing business better, we only work with other businesses that share our beliefs & convictions around the environment, responsibility and the power of local. So we have taken the time to identify and partner with those hotel & accommodation providers who care about their environment, who are looking to address the CO2 emissions, who pay fairly, and who give back to their community. And we are both proud and delighted to be able to arrange stays for guests in each of these hand-picked responsibility-minded establishments.
First and foremost, these partners are absolutely amazing places to stay, the kinds of place where you’ll immediately feel at home & will be quickly wondering if they’ll maybe let you stay full time. But they are also ones where you can relax after a day in the hills, safe in the knowledge that your stay is leaving the lightest possible tread on our Northern Irish soil.
We are very confident that, from that selection you’ll be able to find the perfect home from home for your perfect multi-day Inside Trek.
(PS: Because we’re about giving our guests exactly what they are looking for, we are also in regular dialogue with lots of other great places to stay in Northern Ireland, to help encourage them to think of sustainability as part of how they can stand out as special. As and when we succeed in that, we will add them to our roster.)
Ready to find your own perfect Inside Trek?
Our current availability is in the calendar below. To make a holding reservation for any of our available days, please just select the available days, complete the required details and one of our team will be in touch with you as soon as they can to discuss your Inside Trek.
CHECK AVAILABILITY AND SELECT YOUR IDEAL DATES IN THE CALENDAR BELOW
COMPLETE THE REQUESTED DETAILS REGARDING YOUR IDEAL TREK
ONE OF OUR TEAM WILL GET IN TOUCH TO DISCUSS YOUR INSIDE TREK
WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY WITH THE PLANS FOR YOUR TREK, SECURE YOUR DATES WITH A SMALL DEPOSIT
If you have any other questions about our exclusive, private guided hiking trips and experiences in Northern Ireland or about anything else to do with The Inside Trek – or if you still need just a wee bit more inspiration – please just email andrew@theinsidetrek.com and we’d be happy to help you
We are able to provide you with all the equipment you’ll need in order to fully enjoy your Inside Trek, all from brands we trust and sourced through our local outdoor equipment shop. So don't worry if you're already in NI and haven't got your hiking gear with you, or if it won't fit in your suitcase. But if you do want to bring your own equipment, that’s a great idea – especially your hiking boots, as complete comfort on your feet really matters. And being able to bring your own hiking clothing will give you the most amount of comfort and performance. But just drop us an email if you'd like any advice on what to bring
Definitely not! Hiking obviously involves some physical exertion – but it is only a more involved version of what we all do every day: moving about. At The Inside Trek, we make a point of quickly understanding all our guests’ desires, likes, goals and capabilities and then using our inside knowledge to find the route that is perfect for them. So please don’t worry. But if you have any questions about this, please get in touch
While the ground we can trek on can be very steep, can involve cliff or ridge edges and does not have any maximum altitude cap, for safety reasons we do not take groups on any terrain that would require specialist equipment beyond hiking poles and boots. So no rope work, no crampons etc. That only rules about 5% of the key hiking areas in Northern Ireland, though, so won't stop you having an unforgettable guided hiking holiday!
At The Inside Trek, we LOVE dogs, and we know dogs love walking. So yes, we absolutely can put together tours and experiences that your pup can be fully involved in.
But, as there is no right to roam in NI, there are a number of tracks (most notably the whole of the Ulster Way) that we'll have to rule out as the landowner has set down a 'no dogs' policy. And, even in dog friendly walks, a dog will need to be lifted over stiles in a few places, and may well need to stay on a lead at all times. But it’s all totally manageable. Contact us if you'd like to discuss anything further on this.
Safety is genuinely the Number 1 priority at The Inside Trek. So it is therefore absolutely vital that everyone in a group is able to get a full understanding of all briefings during any excursion, all of which will be in English first and foremost. Andrew does have a decent knowledge of conversational Spanish from his time in Colombia and Mexico, which can be used to help supplement the English briefings.
Northern Ireland does have a troubled past – but the key word there is ‘past’. The Good Friday Peace Agreement more than twenty years ago has really let the imagination, creativity, charm and pride of the local people fly, and Northern Ireland now has never looked, felt or tasted better. But even throughout the Troubles, life went on fairly normally, while the natural beauty continued to amaze whatever was happening politically. So there's genuinely no reason not to come and see for yourself (ideally on a guided hiking holiday with The Inside Trek, of course!)
We are the curious. The creative. The connoisseurs. The curators. The custodians. The carers. The conservationists. The conversation starters. The craft lovers. The culture vultures. The community minded. The connected.
We are the wanderers. The explorers. The pioneers. The in-the-moment-ers. The lucky ones.
We are the responsible ones.
We are The Inside Trek.