Reviews
Creates Memorable and Personalised Itineraries
Keen on meeting and speaking to people from all over the world, Simon creates memorable and personalised itineraries to suit his guests’ interests and abilities. Bolstered by his enthusiastic understanding of the area’s culture and history, we were taken on a tour through the forested region with its Jacobite history, royal connections, and local eccentricities – including a miniature garden train, an artsy honesty box, and architecture he both admired and loathed.
Megan Amato, Canada
Experiences of a Lifetime
We thank you again for sharing your knowledge, your time, and your good company! We appreciated and loved our tour day with you. Thank you, again, for giving us experiences of a lifetime and an appreciation for the truly beautiful Braemar and Royal Deeside.
Sherri and Lou, New York
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour and amazing day.
We had the best time and feel like we got to see so much.
Thank you for putting so much time and care into it.
Liz and Phil, Washington DC August 2022
Thank you SO MUCH!
Thank you SO MUCH for an excellent day touring the Balmoral/Ballater area!! Our group is still talking about all the wonderful sites you took us. You were a big part of making this one of our favorite stops on our 2 week visit to London and Scotland and I would heartily recommend your guidance to anyone thinking of a visit to the area.
B Johnson, Fort Worth, Texas
Wonderful day!!!
We set out for a half-day excursion with Simon Blackett, a former soldier who now runs Yellow Welly Tours. It’s unlikely that you could lose Mr. Blackett, who stands nearly 7 feet tall and always wears a pair of bright-yellow rubber boots, and even less likely that you’d want to. He’s good company and knows the region intimately.
Wall Street Journal
What a wonderful day!!!
What a wonderful day!!! My daughters are not big talkers but they are still chatting about what a fun day we had. We will be sure to reach out to you the next time we are in the area.
Patrick
& Family
Highlight of their Trip
Outstanding feedback from guests yesterday. They all thoroughly enjoyed your tour, considered it the highlight of their trip and commented how utterly engaged the kids were even.
Thanks for taking such good care of them.
The Fife Arms
Braemar
Perfect Guide
Simon is the perfect guide for Braemar, Royal Deeside and environs. He has an extraordinary knowledge of the area and an affinity with it as well as being a great raconteur.
Di & Sue
Australia
Great tour of Royal Deeside
If you want to see, experience and learn about Royal Deeside, than Simon at Yellow Welly Tours is your man! Whether being driven around in his luxurious top of the range Discovery, or on foot, he will show you places, and talk you through scenic views, beauty spots, castles, interesting historical buildings, and lots of royal insights etc, that you are unlikely to get to experience unaided...
He clearly loves living on Royal Deeside and you will probably want to as well after experiencing it yourself...Highly recommended...
Thanks Simon
Steve R
Aviemore
Local legend
It isn’t cheap, but the best Deeside tour is with a local legend, Simon Blackett.
Formerly the factor on the Invercauld estate, Blackett is a one-man mine of Deeside trivia, tailoring his Land Rover tours to clients’ needs, be they birding or Balmoral, distilleries or spots with royal connections.
Jeremy Lazell
The Times
Highly recommend Yellow Welly
If you are visiting Baemar or Ballater, I highly recommend this tour. Experienced, intelligent, insightful with special places for lunch (the Queen Mother's cottage), I could not have asked for a better tour guide in the area.
heatherdl
Los Angeles
Splendid experience
What a wonderful day we had yesterday! We saw so much, visited so many interesting places and learned such a lot from Simon, who is a fund of fascinating information and stories. One of the many highlights was the visit to the derelict hamlet of Auchtavan, far up one of the glens, which includes the late Queen Mother's picnic 'cottage' and a restored cruck framed cottage with its dirt floor and 'hingin lum'. The ability to tailor the trip, where possilbe, to meet your interests and wishes is a wonderful bonus. The whole trip was so much fun!
Maureen K
Edinburgh
A wonderful insight into Royal Deeside
Royal Deeside must be one of the most beautiful parts of the UK - and our tour with Simon Blackett made it even more special! Simon has endless knowledge about the place that he loves and you can enjoy it from the comfort of his Discovery and / or on foot. I was even given a drive in Simon's Morgan when the blue skies appeared! Braemar Castle is a gem!
This is the first review I have left on Trip Adviser but our tour was too good not to recommend to others.
Nick P
Paris
Fascinating Nuggets
Simon Blackett of Yellow Welly Tours took us on a brisk walk up to Auchtavan, offering up alternately entertaining and fascinating nuggets on everything from the ancient settlements in the hills to wildlife to Scottish land law.
Francesca Carington
Tatler