Enjoy €60 off and a free tree when you book with this slow travel company

The Scottish Highlands and Islands are in need of reforestation.
The Scottish Highlands and Islands are in need of reforestation. Copyright Bjorn Snelders
By Lottie Limb
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Pass it on to a friend: Byway's unique referral scheme aims to help rewild the Scottish Highlands while you go on an adventure.

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A slow travel company is planting a tree in Scotland for every new person referred by a friend.

Byway, a flight-free firm which launched last year, is offering the deal in partnership with restoration organisation Mossy Earth.

And unlike most referral programmes, it’s not just open to existing customers. Anyone who wants to get on board with the joys of adventuring by train, boat and bike can take advantage of the offer.

“The customers we’ve introduced to slow travel holidays over the last year have loved their slow travel holidays so much that they are already sending their friends our way,” explains founder and CEO Cat Jones, who used lockdown to build her dream business.

As well as getting £50 (€60) off their first trip, each friend will have the benefit of knowing a tree is planted in their honour, removing CO2 from the atmosphere and boosting biodiversity, says Jones. “What could be better than that?!”

Rewilding the Highlands

Mossy Earth
Mossy Earth is on a mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands.Mossy Earth

The Scottish Highlands are one of the most serene and beautiful places on the planet. Forests of Scots pine and colourful broadleaf trees once covered much of this land but over recent years it’s sadly been denuded, overgrazed and mismanaged.

By planting native trees along the river banks of the Kyle of Sutherland, Byway and Mossy Earth seek to pull in carbon from the atmosphere and create more habitats for terrestrial wildlife.

The fuller tree cover will have an added benefit for Atlantic salmon, they say, by creating shade over the river and lowering the temperature of the water, which is heating up due to global warming. Mossy Earth is also working with the Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust to monitor the salmon’s migration.

How do you sign up?

Byway
Slow travel is all about taking the time to get to know places in ways that you might miss by travelling in a more mainstream way.Byway

Unsurprisingly, the Scottish Highlands and Islands are one of Byway’s most popular destinations. A host of other trips are also available across the UK, France and Italy, and all include customised transport, hand-picked accommodation and experiences, and on-demand advice.

That’s one of the biggest draws for travellers, in Jones’s opinion. The questions the team get on their dedicated WhatsApp group range from ‘Where’s the best coffee?’ to ‘It’s raining, what can I do instead of hiking up this mountain?’ “It has a real knowledge-sharing, community feel,” she told Euronews Travel.

To get involved you simply need to generate a unique code via the website and share with friends.

Each pal will get €60 off their first slow travel holiday, which start from £198 (€235) per person for three nights.

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