FIRST CONTACT US with any queries and, most important, to check dates and availability.
RESERVATIONS. Place(s) will be held for you for 14 days, from your telephone call/email to us asking for a reservation. We will send you a booking application form, for signing, completing fully and returning with payment within the 14 days. You can of course, call again and re-reserve - as long as places remain available. This system makes any unused places available to other people as soon as possible. We will not send you a reminder if your reservation lapses.
PAYMENTS. Please send payment by cheque made payable to 'Marengo' (please do not staple cheques). Alternatively, you can pay direct to our bank account. We cannot accept credit cards for the payment of walks' fees. Please do not send your credit card details to us! On receipt of your walks' fee payment and fully completed booking application form, we will send you a receipt, confirming your booking.
TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION. Once we have advised you that we have walks places reserved for you, book any holiday package through your travel agent (or make your own independent travel and accommodation arrangements) at the appropriate resort, for dates to include the duration of the walks week. We will also send you information including details of the place and time in resort of the initial meeting on the first walk day.
PLEASE BOOK EARLY - we may have a space left for you in our group but the relevant package holiday may be sold out, or vice versa.
You should ensure that you have the appropriate footwear and clothing for the walks. We recommend the use of trekking poles on the walks.
Anyone resident outside the UK is welcome to join our walks - please email us here for price and payment
details.
The person(s) signing the Marengo Booking Application Form warrant that they have read and have accepted the Booking Conditions and all the relevant information of Marengo.
All Marengo Guided Walks are undertaken entirely at your own risk. You should be a reasonably fit, healthy and sufficiently experienced walker, without any walking difficulties, and able to cope with the Walks chosen. You should have discussed with Lance the suitability of the walks for you.
In resort your leader's services are only as your walk/botanical guide for the walk days and times. Any queries in resort regarding your accommodation or airport transfer should be referred to your holiday company representative.
In the extremely unlikely event of the cancellation of the entire Walks due to, for example, the serious illness, injury or death of Lance Chilton, we will refund your walks fee, but you are unlikely to be able to cancel any of your holiday arrangements for this reason alone and we will not refund any part of your separately booked holiday, flights etc. Marengo reserves the right to substitute another leader.
The walks fee is non-refundable. The walks fee pays for pre-walks administration and planning, as well as the Guided Walks. American Express (for example) advise us that their travel insurance could allow a claim against the cost of an unused walks fee where there is a claim for a cancelled holiday (due to illness, etc). Please advise us as soon as possible if you need to cancel. Any local transport costs will be payable by you in local currency in resort at the initial meeting. No refund of the walks fee will be made if the Walks take place. This is regardless of changes/cancellations made to the itinerary in resort, for example due to adverse weather conditions or transport changes. You must be willing to accept the leader's decision as final.
The date given for each Walks Week is the day of the first walk. Where there are five walks in the Walks Week, the five walks may be on consecutive days or spread over five of six days. Where there are six walks in the Walks Week these will be on six consecutive days. The walks fee is per person. Places on the walks are for the named person only and are non-transferable. We do not accept bookings for one or more individual days of walks, only full, 5-day or 6-day, weeks of walks - except for 2009 Norfolk botanical walks where we will take bookings for 1, 2 or 3 days.
In order to keep our costs low, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee if, for example, we have to return incomplete paperwork to you or your cheque does not clear, and for some late bookings where this necessitates alteration of our local transport arrangements.
During the walks, it is your responsibility to keep the leader in your sight, and to provide any walking equipment, first aid supplies, water, food, etc, that you may need. The leader will dictate the speed of group and you should not go far ahead. You should ensure that you have the appropriate footwear (walking shoes/boots/trainers that are comfortable, grip well, and have some cushioning) and clothing (waterproof if necessary) for the walks. We recommend the use of trekking poles on the walks.
If you do not arrive at the start of the walk at the pre-arranged starting time, we may assume you are not joining the walk that day and we may leave without you.
Please note that where package holiday companies are mentioned, these only supply flights, airport transfers and accommodation. The walks themselves are organized solely by Marengo.
The order of walks, indeed the walks themselves are subject to change where we can improve them, or the weather or other local forces dictate it.