Booking confirmation

A booking is not treated as confirmed until the booking form and payment of a 50% deposit have both been received. For non-residential courses, full payment is required to confirm your booking. We will then send a booking confirmation by email or, if you don’t have an email address, by post. Please do not make any travel arrangements until we have confirmed in writing that you have a place on the course.

Cancellations

If you cancel your booking in writing more than two weeks before the start of the course, we will refund all monies paid minus a €50 administration fee.  If you cancel your booking less than two weeks before the start of a course, the full deposit is retained unless you can find another suitable candidate who will take your place.
Up to 15 days before the start of the course, deposits may be transferred to another course within a calendar year from the date of the original course, subject to availability and the suitability of the course.

In case of emergency or an insufficient number of students, we reserve the right to cancel a course. For this reason we advise students to buy refundable airline tickets or flight insurance as we will not be responsible for any loss on travel or accommodation costs. If we have to cancel a course you are booked on, we will let you know as soon as possible. You can then choose to transfer your booking and deposit to another course, or get a full refund of all money you have paid.

Data protection

By booking a course with us, you explicitly give us permission to store some personal data collected through our booking system as well as the IP address you used. This data is necessary for us to stay in touch with you before your stay, to ensure that the course is suitable  for you, and to make your stay safe and enjoyable. You can request to view or amend this data by contacting us. For more information see our Data protection policy.

Insurance

If you are travelling to Ireland from abroad, we recommend that you take out comprehensive travel insurance, including adequate cover for cancellation, baggage, medical expenses, and the cost of repatriation should this be necessary. By booking on a course, you accept responsibility for obtaining adequate travel insurance covering any activities you wish to participate in while staying at Macalla farm.

Food Policy

The food served at Macalla Farm is ovo-lacto vegetarian, with some meals being totally vegan. We can cater for those on purely vegan and wheat/gluten free diets though some dishes will not be able to be substituted (often desserts). It is advisable to bring your own alternatives for certain food items as we do not supply gluten free bread, etc. We are a small business and regret that there are limits to what we can provide. Therefore, if you have any other dietary requirements, and/or a severe food allergy, or any particular medical, dietary needs please contact us before you book to see if we can accommodate you.

Participating in the course

On some of our courses, a certain level of experience and/or fitness is required. If you are in any doubt that your level of experience/fitness is sufficient, please contact us prior to booking.
If you have any medical problem or any physical or mental condition which may affect your participating in the course, you must disclose this to us before booking. We reserve the right to refuse bookings from anyone we consider unsuited to a particular course.
Our courses are not normally suitable for anyone under the age of 18. In some cases, we may accept minors if they are accompanied by an adult. This should be discussed with us prior to booking.

Weather

We cannot be held responsible for any disruption to a course schedule due to adverse weather conditions resulting in ferries not running on schedule. However, if a ferry sailing is re-scheduled or cancelled due to bad weather, resulting in a significant delay to the start of a course, we will let you know by phone or text message as soon as possible.
In the event of a delay exceeding 6 hours, wherever possible we will organise a main meal, and in the event of a longer delay, meals and accommodation appropriate for the time of day.