Frequently Asked
Questions

Yes, on the tours that offer a twin option, and it is charged at a lower price per person than a single room. Those tours are currently the Lake District, Cornwall, the Jurassic Coast, the Perseid Meteor Shower workshop and Nightscapes in Norfolk. Every room option and its price is listed on the relevant tour page.

Most of our bookings are solo travellers. A group of five is small enough that everyone gets to know each other quickly, and having your own room means you can step away when you want to. Reviewers regularly mention leaving with new friends.

Every tour page lists its own inclusions in full. On a multi-day tour the price covers your accommodation with your own room, tuition from Dion throughout, and all transport during the tour itself. Travel from London in our vehicle is included if you need it, or you can make your own way and meet us at the accommodation. Tours are self-catering, which in practice is a mix of cooking at the accommodation and eating out at local pubs and restaurants, so food is not in the price. Scotland works differently on both counts: meals are included, and the tour starts and ends in Inverness, so there is no pickup from London and your travel to Inverness is your own arrangement. Alcohol and travel insurance are never included.

Not on most tours. They are self-catering, which in practice means a mix of cooking at the accommodation and eating out at local pubs and restaurants together. The Scotland tour is the exception and includes all breakfasts, lunches and main dinners. Alcohol is never included.

Travel from London in our vehicle is included if you need it, at no extra cost, and all transport during the tour itself is included too. You are equally welcome to make your own way and meet us at the tour accommodation. The Scotland tour is the exception: it starts and ends in Inverness, so there is no pickup from London on that tour and your travel to Inverness is not included. Once you are in Inverness, all transport for the rest of the tour is covered as usual.

A 30% deposit secures your place and the balance is due three months before departure.

No. It is the 30% deposit to secure your place, then the balance three months before departure.

Every multi-day tour is financially protected under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, arranged through Towergate Insurance and underwritten by Evolution Insurance. Your certificate is issued when you pay your deposit, and your money is protected from the moment we receive it.

No, and we would rather say so plainly. A single day workshop is not a package holiday under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, so it does not carry the same statutory protection that a multi-day tour does. Day workshops are also a much smaller commitment at £65 to £75.

You must tell us in writing, by email, and cancellation charges apply from the date we receive that notice. Cancel more than three months before departure and your deposit is refunded less a minimum admin fee of £150. Between twelve and six weeks before departure, the charge is 50% of the total tour price. Between six and four weeks, 75%. Fewer than four weeks, 100%. The £150 admin fee is deducted from any refund due to you and applies regardless of when you cancel, covering the non-refundable bank charges and insurance payments we have already made on your behalf. The full terms are in our Terms and Conditions.

It is not included, and we strongly recommend buying a policy with cancellation cover at the time of booking. Our financial protection exists to cover you if we fail as a company. It does not cover you if you need to cancel for personal reasons such as illness, bereavement or a work emergency, which is what your own policy is for.

Yes. Departures are guaranteed. We have never cancelled a tour because of low numbers, and we set no minimum group size that has to be reached before a departure is confirmed. Once you have booked, you can arrange your travel around it.

No. Groups run from complete beginners to photographers with decades of experience, and the cap of five on multi-day tours is what makes that work. Dion teaches to the person in front of him rather than to a group average, so beginners are not held back and experienced photographers are not slowed down.

Yes, 18. These are small adult groups working to early starts, late finishes and, on astro tours, much of the night.

It varies by tour and each tour page states its own level. Wildlife tours are generally easy to moderate, with short walks on flat or gently sloping ground. Landscape tours in Scotland and Wales are moderate, with walks of two to four miles on uneven ground at some locations. If you are unsure whether a particular tour suits you, ask before booking.

Five photographers maximum on multi-day tours and seven on day workshops. That is a hard cap, not an average.

No. Experienced photographers are given freedom at each location while beginners get more of Dion's time, which only works at these group sizes. You still get composition ideas and advice at every location, drawing on Dion's intimate knowledge of each spot, aimed at getting more out of whatever the conditions happen to be on the day. Reviewers with twenty-five years behind the camera still report learning something.

We work with it. Forecasts are checked daily and the order of locations is changed to suit the conditions. Poor weather often produces better photographs than clear skies do.

That is the purpose of the tour rather than a bonus attached to it. Tuition is included throughout, at whatever level you arrive at. Beginners commonly leave shooting in manual mode and understanding aperture, shutter speed and ISO as one system. Composition is covered at every location, and editing is covered too, so you go home able to finish your photographs rather than only take them.

Bring the camera you already own. Each tour page lists suggested focal lengths for its subjects. You do not need to buy anything to join a tour.

Kase Wolverine filter kits are supplied free to borrow on every landscape workshop, and participants also receive a discount on Kase purchases. Star trackers are available to try on astro tours, and a selection of camera bodies and telephoto lenses is usually available to try during a tour. This is lending by arrangement rather than a guaranteed inclusion, so ask in advance if you are counting on a particular item.

Dion carries a spare body so your tour is not lost. Guests have also been lent batteries and lenses after forgetting or breaking their own.

For landscape, waterfall and astro tours, yes, and it needs to be a stable one. Wildlife tours are mostly handheld, but bring one anyway: we still fit in bonus landscape sessions around the wildlife, and you will want it for those.

Dion Hitchcock, who founded the company in 2014 and has been guiding photography trips since 2011. He leads the tours himself rather than subcontracting them to other guides.

England, Scotland and Wales only. We are a UK specialist and do not run international trips.

Landscape, wildlife and astrophotography. Three of our tours are built around a single species and season: puffins at the Farne Islands, grey seal pups on the Norfolk coast, and the wader spectacular at Snettisham.

788 or more verified ratings in total. That is 32 on Google and 6 on TripAdvisor, all five star, plus more than 750 ratings on Meetup.

Yes. UK Photography Tours Ltd, company number 17020308, registered in England and Wales.

From £65 for a day workshop up to £4,250 for the eight-day Isle of Skye and Glencoe tour. Multi-day tours always advertise the single-room price.