Do I Have to Go Canoeing? 7 Questions About Our English Speaking Holidays Answered

You Ask, We Answer: What to Expect on Your Language Holiday in Scotland

This blog is for you if you’re interested in our English speaking holidays in Scotland — but you’re hesitating because you’ve seen me mention walking 10 miles, eating fermented cabbage, or listening to Japanese art rock (sometimes all in the same day!).

You might be thinking, “Yikes… I want the real-world English conversations and your authentic way of sharing Scotland, but I’m not fit enough / I’m scared of water / I hate experimental music… so I guess I can’t book.”

Read on to learn how we craft you a bespoke holiday exploring Scotland, through your language needs and personal interests – and our know-how.

🌀 What if I Don’t Like Japanese Art Rock?

You absolutely can book.

That’s the whole point of our English speaking holidays: they’re built around you — your energy, your interests, and the kind of experiences you actually enjoy.

Canoeing, Japanese Art Rock and 10-mile walks are occasionally options, not requirements.

If you prefer museums, gentle strolls, whisky tastings or sketching by a loch, we’ll plan your holiday around that instead.

And when it comes to music, we use our knowledge of great venues, festivals and performers to find you an experience you’ll genuinely love.  

🌀 Do I Have to Eat Goat Ice Cream?

As you will see in this blog, your English transformation happens by leaving your comfort zone.

We balance knowing what you like with trying something new.

We suggest tasting goat’s milk ice cream in the Trossachs after walking the private Three Lochs Path.

And especially when you’ve just learned how goat grazing supports biodiversity, and how the ice cream flavours are hand-foraged from the surrounding hills and how the whole farm is carbon neutral.

You can have a chat with the goat keeper and learn that their goats have a full 2 years between breeding cycles (unlike commercial farms) for the well-being of the goat. 

It’s about as authentic and wonderful as visiting Scotland gets.

You don’t have to eat goat ice cream, but we hope you want to. 

🌀 What is Your Holiday Booking Process?

Firstly, we have a unique booking process to make sure you get the holiday of a lifetime – your lifetime.
Not someone else’s.
And not a generic one-size-fits-all holiday either.

How to Book Your English-Speaking Holiday in Scotland

🌀What Happens After My English Speaking Holiday Ends?

And when your holiday ends, you don’t just get a hug goodbye at the airport.

You leave with a personalised plan to keep your English alive back home.

We stay in touch afterwards too.

Many of my guests continue chatting with me on WhatsApp, asking questions, sharing stories, or keeping their English fresh in everyday ways.

Some even come back for a second holiday — because much more than an English course, it’s a connection.

🌀 What if I Don’t Like Sauerkraut?

It’s important to know there are layers to every experience we offer.

For example, if you’re here during our sauerkraut-making workshop, it’s about much more than fermented cabbage.

We use this hands-on activity to spark conversation around health and wellbeing – simple, everyday things we can do to feel good in our lives and in our bodies.

As our sauerkraut guest expert Caroline Greene once explained to me: “Something magical happens at the sauerkraut table.”

When your hands are deep in the bowl, unable to scroll or walk away, people relax. They open up. They confide. Real conversations flow – the kind that build language, confidence, and connection.

Of course, you can always opt out. Nothing is compulsory. But it’s worth knowing that there’s a teaching purpose behind most activities — a deeper layer of language, mindset, or confidence-building woven in.

Trying New Things is the Language Experience

Language learning isn’t just about grammar – it’s about identity.

It’s about experimenting with how you express yourself, how you show up, and who you get to be in a new environment.

That’s why we invite you to try things that might not be on your usual menu. Not to push you, but because stepping just outside your comfort zone is where real growth happens.

If you always wear shoes, walking barefoot can shift you into a more mindful state.

Trying something new — whether it’s a canoe, a fermentation jar, or a ceilidh dance – not only helps you discover new language, new confidence, and new versions of yourself, it also silences the inner critic and calms your language anxiety.

That’s our recipe for confident English.

🌀 What if I don’t want real-world English conversation coaching?

Then we’re probably not the right fit.

Our English speaking holidays in Scotland are built around real-world communication in our town in Perthshire – and beyond.

We don’t do classroom lessons.

If you’re looking for grammar drills and textbooks, you’ll find other great options for language learning holidays – and you could take our English Needs Analysis for help and recommendations to find the best course for you.

But if you want to live the language and build confidence through meaningful conversation, our English speaking holidays are for you.

🌀 What Food & Activities are Included in My Course Fee

All activities offered are included in your course fee.

If you also want to go parachuting whilst in Scotland, we don’t pay for it – but we can help you find a feasible way to include it, drive you to the plane and photograph you floating Earthwards.

Some meals and ingredients are included – not all, but we have guest fridges, and cook communally often throughout your stay.

We offer a leisurely breakfast every day, with free-range eggs, artisanal bread, garden herbs and local specialities. 

• Find out about our Language School’s Food and Drink
• The Types of Activities in Your Language Holiday in Scotland

Image Credits

All the images on this page (except the top) were taken during our English speaking Holidays.

Top: Tobermory, Mull (my own holiday)

Performer at the Beltane Fire Festival  

Eating Goat Ice Cream at Achray Farm

Sauerkraut Worksop at Blue Noun

Notebook after Sauerkraut Workshop with Caroline Greene

Guided River Nature Walk with Jen

Blue Noun Breakfast