@CBoylen adding this one to my bucket list!
Have you ridden with them? If so, what was it like?
Trans-Wales. I’ve only done a single day with them as my health put a stop to my plan to do the whole ride later. They have good horses, mainly Section D Cobs, the country is amazing and the ride reaches remote places that are almost inaccessible except by horse or quad bike and the clientele is truly international, which is always fun. It is fast and certainly not nose to tail.
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These guys are not a million miles away from me and I can tell you the riding country in this part of Wales is blummin wonderful (It’s one of the reasons I moved over here.
http://www.saddletramps.org.uk/www.saddletramps.org.uk/info.php?p=10&pno=0
Can’t personally vouch for them as I have no reason to pay to ride other people’s horses in my own backyard, but they do have good reviews.
Yes Edinburgh riding of the Marches in September, though most of the Border towns do their own common ridings.
Edinburgh is FUN! A few of my friends came up to do it on hirelings a few years ago and it was just the most incredible experience for them.
All moot though as OP has decided against coming the right side of the border 
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That’s what I’m tempted to do.
It’s a big day out before going through the city, right? Do you happen to know where they got the horses to ride for the occasion?
And is there a list somewhere of other towns that do something similar?
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Yes we hired from Kimmerston, I’d had horses from there before for other rides and although you usually need to have had an ‘assessment’ ride with them first, they did allow my friends (lifelong riders but not to a high level/competitive) to just turn up for the ride. I can recommend other places though, if you’re interested, and who to avoid!
The morning ride is fast, around all the newly cut stubble fields on the south side of the city. You then return to the start point so riders and horses can have lunch and a rest. Literally 250+ horses galloping in a group, quite an experience.
The afternoon is much slower, you loop your way into the city until the procession forms around the base of Arthur’s Seat and past parliament, and then finally ride up the Royal Mile where the ceremonial stuff happens and the ‘blue blanket’ is safely returned.
I thoroughly recommend it, you do now have to book a space in the Spring as it gets oversubscribed (limited to about 300 horses for health and safety reasons). You do need to be able to ride and keep an eye out on what others are up to; not everyone there is really experienced enough or sober enough to be taking part…
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Some of the other rideouts are here. As a tourist though, Edinburgh would be a totally unique experience.
Thanks very much for the information! It is definitely on my bucket list.
I almost can’t even imagine how it all comes together with that many horses and riders, especially if some of them are a bit questionable on the day, but it sounds like it would be a tremendously fun event.
I’ve been to Scotland a few times, and Edinburgh is a fantastic place to visit.
This picture just popped up in my Facebook memories the other day from my last trip there. When you want to combine leg day and weight day. Lol.
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Yes, I have! And honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. I hope to go back again some day. The trail rides were about 1-2 hours per day and then they planned a tourist activity after the rides. I think my trip with them was 7 days? It’s been a few years so I’m not positive. They trailer the horses so you get to ride in a variety of locations. On the last day we got to have a gallop on the beach.
They are pretty accommodating for people of all different levels. You can just walk or have opportunities to trot/canter/gallop on the trails. The horses are lively and forward but very safe. Mostly Connemaras and some Irish Sport Horses. I cannot say enough good things about them!
Thank you! May I PM you?
Of course!
As mentioned, while we’re not doing Ireland now after all, Castle Leslie was at the top of the list. I too would be highly annoyed if a resort like that did not really attempt to make that right, even if it was not entirely their fault!
Your pics look amazing, nevertheless! Another time…
Thanks everyone for the recommendations and photos! I was worn out by all the dramatic weather this week and haven’t been able to spend as much time on this as I thought (including not fixing the title of the thread til just now, lol). I did send an inquiry to Free Rein in Wales and that looks promising. It sounds like the primary goals are 1) see wild Welsh ponies, and 2) a pub ride. I think my husband could even get into a pub ride 
eta: I’m trying to schedule this for late April/early May - although I think realistically we are going to end up in September/October.
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May and October are both often relatively quiet months for UK weather: drier, sunny, little wind. But not always.
For a bunch of reasons, this trip was postponed to this August. We are flying in to Edinburgh, and heading south to the Lakes District and the Dales. Now that we have a tentative itinerary, I’m circling back for any recommendations for a one day ride in either the Lakes District or the Dales. It’s going to be 3 of us, and needs to be dumbed down enough for my very limited experience husband to ride with us, so no xc gallops this time. A little bit of scenery with a stop at a pub for lunch would be perfect!
This one looks like the best option that I’ve come up with so far https://www.kilnseyriding.com/
Cumbrian Heavy Horses and Fell Pony Adventures are both ones I would highly recommend in the Lake District 
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The one thing I would add to my earlier comments is that, especially if you’re only going one time, make sure the trip itself is long enough.
The first time I went to Scotland on a family trip, we flew into London and then after a day or two there, we took the train to Scotland without realizing that the train trip was basically one whole day each way by the time we got to the train station and navigated our way around to get on the right train.
And the train ride was very scenic both ways. But it basically ate up two days out of the whole trip.
So in the planning stages, just be sure to allow enough time to do everything that appeals to you.
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But is it ever really enough time? It was a real challenge to strike the right balance in enough travel time vs being away from home for too long. I’m hoping we struck the right balance.
