Review: Freerein Unguided Riding Holiday
- alicemcleod0
- Dec 5, 2023
- 6 min read
When: August 2023
Where: Clyro, Wales
How long: 4 days, 3 nights
Cost: £1299
Review:
I know what you're probably thinking, £1.3k is crazy money for a four-day holiday, and you're potentially right. But let me tell you, this was probably the highlight of my entire year, so it certainly wasn’t money wasted (and if you think about it working out at £400 a day which includes all food, accommodation, and the use of a horse, it isn't quite as bad… at least that’s what I'm telling myself). This was an idea cooked up by me, after a woman at run club had mentioned that she’d done a riding holiday last year and loved it. My ears pricked up, and between the huffing and puffing as we did hill sprints I grilled her on it. Being unable to be chill about anything ever, I continued to pester her about it for the next few weeks, asking everything from what the horses were like to what she had for breakfast each day. I was decided, I wanted to go, I just needed an equally financially irresponsible horse-loving friend to go with me. Luckily I had the perfect person lined up. Tabby and I have been close friends since school, and it didn’t take too much convincing to get her on board. So before we knew it we were up at the crack of dawn, lugging our assorted riding boots, hats, and waterproofs into the back of her car and heading West.
What followed was four days of pure joy as we raced up and down the Welsh hills on our mounts. This was an unguided route, which meant we were essentially given a map and some written directions and waved off, but it also meant we weren’t stuck in a group of people who we didn’t know and who might not want to ride at our pace. We stayed in three different locations, so each day it truly felt like you were venturing off onto the next stage of the journey, rather than just doing a loop and coming back to where you started. The places we stayed were all excellent, two being pubs with rooms attached, and one being a guesthouse. Everyone was incredibly friendly, the food was always incredible, and after riding for 18 miles (around 6 hours) each day, we slept like the dead each night. The horses were brilliant, whilst I was perhaps slightly dismissive of poor Otto when I first laid eyes on him (he was a bit of a scabby little thing, bless him, and certainly not the kind of horse I usually gravitate towards) by the end of the four days I was near-tears having to say goodbye to him. Both Otto and Freya were forward going without ever feeling too wild, and looked after us incredibly well over the days we were with them. Neither liked the solid day of pouring rain that we experienced on day three, but who could blame them, and Tabby and I were equally miserable.
I'm not sure we could have asked for a nicer time, it was truly the highlight of my summer, if not the whole year. If Tabby or I manage to win the lottery (keep your fingers crossed for us), then we’ve said that we’d love to do the seven-day cross-Wales trek.
Things I loved:
There really is something to be said for heading off on your own to navigate your way to the next night’s accommodation with nothing but a map and the OS app to guide you. It felt almost like a quest, and we’d arrive each evening at where we were staying and fall into an exhausted heap, but feeling like we’d done some sort of huge achievement (mostly due to Tabby and her excellent navigational skills).
The horses! Oh how I doted on lovely Otto. He was not built well, he tripped over his own feet constantly, always looked half-asleep, and did not like the rain one bit. He was also one of the soppiest horses I’ve ever met, took excellent care of me (aside from the two times I nearly fell off, only one of those being his fault), and had the most amazing canter. Alice and Otto truly were the dream team.
We both loved that everything was included in the price and the only thing you really had to pay for was drinks. In the pubs you could get two courses off the menu included, so Tabby and I had a main and starter each night; a full Welsh breakfast was included each morning, and then you were also sent off with a packed lunch. So whilst the overall cost of the holiday was pretty high, by the time it actually rolls around it feels like everything is free because you paid for it so far in advance. Girl math.
Wales is super beautiful, and the best place to appreciate it, in my humble opinion, is on the back of a horse. We were constantly being blown away by how stunning our surroundings were and it really is a lovely place for a holiday.
The staff at Freerein were super friendly. They also felt like they’d be excellent help if you had any issues at any point, like when we were accidentally given the wrong maps for day 3 and someone drove over straight away to give us the correct ones.
I loved that we really did do everything ourselves, from catching them in each morning, feeding and tacking up, and then finding where the horses would be staying that night and turning them out at the end of the day, it really is just you, your friends, and the horses.
Things to keep in mind:
Let’s be honest, it’s a spenny holiday. I personally think that the price is fair, considering everything is included, and you're essentially renting a horse for however long you're there for. But it’s a big splurge for a holiday!
We got very very lost on the first day. So lost that we had to ask a very Welsh farmer where we were (weirdly he didn’t seem to know), and spent over an hour on the hillside trying to work out a) where we were, and b) how to get back to where we were meant to be. We made it back eventually but it was certainly a friendship-testing few hours. That was the worst we got lost, but there were a few other times where the instructions were slightly vague and we just had to go with our gut feeling. We might however, just be really bad at map reading, which I will say is surprisingly hard to do on a horse.
It’s a very weather-dependent holiday, and if it rains then you're stuffed. We were very lucky to only have one day of rain, but my goodness did it bucket it down. There's not really anything you can do to control this, you still have to spend your six or so hours in the saddle, whatever the weather. We didn’t mind the one day of rain we had because it followed two glorious days of sun, but I think if it had rained every day then we would have been pretty miserable.
Not really a complaint because I know when you're outside in summer you have to deal with stuff like this, but the flies on the second day were pretty annoying and there’s nothing you can really do about it. The horses really didn’t like them either.
As mentioned above, you need to have a solid friendship with the people you go with. You're with them 24/7, trying to follow directions, often tired after a long day in the saddle, and sometimes things get tense. Luckily Tabby and I are pretty easy-going (she’ll laugh as she reads this and say I'm not at all easy-going, but I'm going to pretend) so I would say we only had 0.5 of a falling out (over what constituted a ‘grassy track’), but we have been friends for nearly fifteen years now. This definitely isn't the kind of holiday you want to take with someone you're not 100% sure you like.
If you don’t like the horse that you're matched with then I imagine you wouldn’t have the best time. Otto and I got on like a house on fire, but Freya and Tabby took a little longer to mesh. I'm sure all the Freerein horses are safe etc, but you've got long days in the saddle so it’s a bonus if you really like your steed.
Overall, we had an amazing time and would (and have!) recommended Freerein to everyone horsey we know. We’d both really like to do an unguided trek with them again, perhaps on a different route next time, and four days is definitely a great starting point—we’d do the seven day one in a heartbeat but we’re sadly still waiting for that lottery win…
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