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    Alan Smith

    Happy | Thoughtful | Bearded! 

    Mini Bio

    My passion for wild places began early with youthful explorations of the woods and beaches of Morayshire. My youth was spent living in Strathnaver, Sutherland. I worked alongside local crofters and helped my father in his work as water bailiff on the River Naver. I studied outdoor pursuits at Ilkley College before working at Outward Bound Ullswater. I’ve been involved in Youth Expeditions to the Yukon, Iceland and Alaska as well as a 3-year spell as a field assistant with the British Antarctic Survey at Rothera base. I live in Forres on the Moray coast, a great base for exploring the wilds of Scotland.

    Place to Play

    The Cairngorms, NW Highlands and the Moray coast for the beaches. 

    Not a lot of people know this

    I once worked as the stunt coordinator on an episode of ‘The Krankies’, an iconic Scottish children’s  TV programme!

    Adventurer's Stories about Alan

    I've been hiring and firing people for 40+ years so I think I have a pretty good grasp on what makes a good employee
    without knowing what you pay Emy , it isn't enough !!
    I'm completely serious - the trip was great and interesting , but if Emy wasn't so awesome , I would probably never come back since its a big world out there and there's lots to see
    both Mark Robertson and I agreed that we would like to return to the region if we could get Emy again
    anybody that meets her for a short period of time learns that she would probably do her job for food money , but I simply can't say enough about her cheerfulness , knowledge , ability to adapt to changes in weather , injuries , personalities and on and on
    she never ever got exasperated with her herd of old people , always had a backup plan , and was never without a smile

    her people skills are tremendous - just an all around great person that kicks ass at her job

    I've always heard there's only 2 grades of anything - the best and everything else -
    I cannot imagine anyone being better than her at this job

    John Palmer
    Wilderness Walking - Isle of Skye
    Reviewed on 17/10/2019

    See previous

    Judy Eden
    Wilderness Walking - Isle of Skye
    Reviewed on 29/08/2019

    As I stated earlier in the survey, Emy was outstanding in every aspect and it was a great pleasure getting to know her. She clearly loves this line of work and is very personable, bright, and accommodating. She was adept at adjusting our schedule when warranted by the weather and did it in a manner that was pleasant and comfortable to the group. Skye can easily speak for itself by its overwhelming beauty, but Emy made my trip even more special through her knowledge of the terrain, it’s history and her personality.

    Mark Robertson
    Wilderness Walking - Isle of Skye
    Reviewed on 29/08/2019

    Allan Smith was an excellent guide. Extremely knowledgeable, patient & accommodating. He had to deal with hikers of varying abilities which is a challenge & difficult to satisfy the needs /wants of everyone.

    Myra Campbell
    Wilderness Walking - Sutherland: The Great Wild North
    Reviewed on 10/09/2018

    Alan was very knowledgeable about the areas we hiked.

    Sarah Whittier
    Wilderness Walking - Sutherland: The Great Wild North
    Reviewed on 07/09/2018

    Alan was an absolute delight! He is very knowledgeable about flora and fauna, history and culture - he even read us poetry by Norman McCaig as we lunched at Loch Fionn. He was kind and patient, able to adapt to our varied needs and the changing weather with aplomb.

    Linda Joe
    Wilderness Walking - Sutherland: The Great Wild North
    Reviewed on 05/09/2018

    Alan Smith listened to the group, he is friendly and relaxed, and full of information.

    Lorie Turner
    Wilderness Walking - Outer Hebrides: Uists, Barra and Mingulay
    Reviewed on 26/07/2018

    I cannot fault Alan.

    Theresia Wilhelm
    Wilderness Walking - Outer Hebrides: Uists, Barra and Mingulay
    Reviewed on 25/07/2018

    Al Smith was a great walk leader - very knowlegeable and easy-going.

    Jean Stacey
    Wilderness Walking - Outer Hebrides: Uists, Barra and Mingulay
    Reviewed on 23/07/2018

    Good knowledge of local flora, fauna, geology, peak names. Set a good pace the groups was comfortable with. Kept group together. Good at organizing activities, including alternatives during bad weather. Good company.

    John Brennan
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 17/07/2017

    Superb - thanks Alan. Both you and I need to go on a geology course - lots of interesting rocks, faults and geomorphology! I very much appreciated your ability to enable the group to walk the hills considering ability, injury and the weather - you made it seem easy.

    Gillian Allison
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 13/09/2016

    See my earlier comment. Our guide was the BEST. All kudos. This is not mere praise: I have worked with many mountain guides and Mr. Smith is, by far, the best.

    Gregory W. Hornig
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 12/09/2016

    Alan Smith was terrific. Knowledgeable and fun.
    Cool guy.

    Grayson Drexel
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 12/09/2016

    Allan Smith is a home run.
    Experienced, calm, skilled, patient, friendly, good sense of humor

    David Adelberg
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 12/09/2016

    I have been fortunate to have climbed with superb guides in both North and South American. Alan was in that class. Good teacher, good listener, top-notch skills.

    Terry Casey
    High Points of Torridon and Wester Ross
    Reviewed on 12/09/2016

    Book a trip with Alan

    Trip / DepartureAvailabilityStatusPriceBook
    Luxury Walking – Highlights of the Highlands
    3rd Jun - 12th Jun 2024
    2 place(s) leftGuaranteed £5,595Book Now

    Make Trip Private

    Sometimes it's nice to get family and friends together and travel privately for some quality time. This means you benefit from all the features of the group departure, including hand-picked accommodation and expert local guides and we'll take care of it all. Then you can make your choice of departures dates and we'll get back to you to finalise the details.

    We work together with our team of guides to decide which departures they lead each year. As part of that, guides provide available dates that they are free to be booked. This means that any of the dates you see in the first field of the form below, could be perfect for your private departure or customised tour.

    Alan's Gallery

    © Alan Smith / Wilderness Scotland

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