Last updated: September 2026
Stalking is a physically demanding activity that takes place on remote, uneven Highland terrain, in weather that can change quickly, and involves the use of firearms and live quarry. It carries inherent risks that cannot be entirely removed. By joining an expedition, you accept those risks as a normal part of the activity.
Guests are expected to have a reasonable level of fitness for full days on foot across steep, uneven ground, as described on the expedition page. You must follow the instructions of your guide at all times, particularly around firearm handling and safety.
Guests must be at least 18 years old to take part in a stalk or handle a firearm on an expedition. We don't currently offer a programme for minors or family groups alongside an expedition.
Your guide may remove you from any part of an expedition, without refund, if your behaviour puts yourself, another guest, a member of staff, or an animal at risk. This includes failing to follow safety instructions, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while firearms are in use or being handled, or otherwise acting in a way that's dangerous or disruptive. This is in addition to, not instead of, the fitness and eligibility requirements above.
If you bring your own rifle, you are responsible for ensuring you hold the correct licences and permits to bring it into and use it in the UK. Where rifle hire is arranged on your behalf, this is provided through licensed local suppliers in accordance with UK firearms law.
Submitting the interest form on this site is not a booking. It registers your interest, and we'll be in touch directly to confirm dates, numbers and price before anything is agreed. No payment is taken through this site.
A deposit of 30% of the total price is due to secure your dates once a booking is confirmed. The remaining balance is due in full no later than 90 days before the expedition start date. If the balance isn't received by that date, we may treat the booking as cancelled by you, and the cancellation terms below apply.
You may cancel at any time before your expedition starts by giving us written notice. Because your dates are arranged individually and hold a place that would otherwise go to another guest, a cancellation fee applies on the scale below, calculated from the date we receive your notice to the expedition start date:
These figures are our genuine estimate of what a cancellation actually costs us at each stage, not a penalty. We run a small number of expeditions with a fixed number of places, and we commit to guides, ponies, accommodation and staff well in advance. The closer a cancellation falls to your start date, the less of that we can recover and the less chance we have of filling your place, which is why the figure rises.
The scale applies equally to early departure, no-shows, and guests who cannot proceed because they lack the fitness, documentation, or firearms permits required to take part. We strongly recommend you arrange your own travel insurance covering cancellation, curtailment, and hazardous activities, as we cannot offer refunds outside this schedule.
There is one exception. Where unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at or near Scourie significantly affect our ability to deliver your expedition, you may cancel before it starts and receive a full refund of everything you have paid, with no cancellation fee. Ordinary Highland weather does not count — unpredictable weather is an inherent feature of this expedition rather than a failure to deliver it, and it is covered separately below.
We may need to postpone or reschedule an expedition before it starts because of weather, safety, land access, or deer management requirements outside our control. Where we do, we'll offer you a reschedule to alternative dates or a credit toward a future expedition. We aren't obliged to offer a cash refund in these circumstances beyond what applies by law.
Highland weather is genuinely unpredictable and can change within hours. Your guide decides day-to-day, and hour-to-hour, whether and how the stalk goes ahead, and may adjust, shorten, delay or call off a day's activity entirely for safety. That decision is final and isn't something we can be held to have got wrong after the fact.
Where weather affects one or more days once your expedition has started, we'll do what we reasonably can to make use of the time available, but we don't offer a refund, partial refund, or compensation for stalking days lost to weather during your expedition. This is an inherent feature of the activity, not a service failure on our part, and it's a further reason we recommend the travel insurance mentioned above.
Neither party is liable for failing to perform, or for delay in performing, any obligation under these terms where that failure or delay results from circumstances beyond that party's reasonable control, including but not limited to weather, natural disaster, pandemic or public health restriction, fire, flood, civil unrest, or the unavailability of land, guides or equipment for reasons outside our control.
We arrange taxidermy on your behalf with trusted Highland specialists. Completion and delivery times are set by the taxidermist, not by us, and can vary. Import restrictions may apply if you're having a mount shipped outside the UK, and it's your responsibility to check these before travelling. See our FAQ for more on how this works.
Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded under UK law. Beyond that, we aren't liable for loss, injury or delay arising from the inherent risks of stalking, weather, or circumstances outside our reasonable control.
Sutlers & Co. is a trading name of FJRResearch Ltd. References to "we", "us" and "our" throughout these terms mean FJRResearch Ltd trading as Sutlers & Co.
These terms are governed by the law of Scotland, and the Scottish courts have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising from them or from your expedition.
Any questions about these terms can be sent through the enquiry form on this site, or directly to [email protected].