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Selected Trips

    Andy Hall

    Andy Hall

    Energetic | Enthusiastic | Considerate

    Mini Bio

    Climbing, then teaching, has led me around the mountain areas of Britain, latterly spending 20 years as head teacher in an outdoor education centre in North Wales. Expeditions have taken me from ski touring in Alaska, first kayak descents in Nepal and Peru, to waveskiing in Oz.

    Now I spend my time ski teaching in Italy in winter and guiding on Scotland’s mountains, coasts and rivers year round.

    Favourite Place to Play

    Where the flow and the seasons take me: 750 kms of Canadian Arctic river and seeing no one else but my companions; skiing powder in the Caucasus or backpacking with my wife in Patagonia. But where do I spend most of my time? Scotland, and in Scotland – the Cairngorms! I’m a very lucky man!

    Not a lot of People Know This

    I’ve kayaked across the Pentland Firth to the base of the Old Man of Hoy, climbed it and paddled on around to Kirkwall.

    What Fellow Travellers Say About Andy

    Jamie and Andy were first class, nothing was too much trouble, they obviously cared that we had a good trip and adapted the plans according to the weather so we could make the most of the time we had, while involving us and our thoughts in how we could make the most of our trip

    Elaine Coyle
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 25/08/2024

    Andy and Jamie were great leaders. Everything was well planned and organised, and they fully involved the group in planning each day, and provided excellent skills training and went above and beyond to ensure everyone had a great time

    Matthew Williams
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 19/08/2024

    Fantastic. Well informed, practical and fun.

    Sarah Phillips
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 18/08/2024

    Andy and Jamie were both brilliant, great fun and very professional too

    Cath Hunter
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 18/08/2024

    Andy was a great guide to meet in Inverness and to drive us around the countryside. He was very well organised and prepared for our trip. He dealt efficiently with the hotels, restaurant and ramp access issues. Nothing pushy or hurried, but we all were ready to go, and tidied up later with minimal effort. (Thanks to Mike and Andy for doing all the heavy lifting!) Mike was extreme knowledgeable about the water we were padding on, and the places we visited. They acted together as a very efficient and personable team - we would love to do another trip with both of them.

    Douglas Anderson
    Sea Kayaking - The Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 15/06/2024

    see my earlier comment. The guides were great!

    Eva Pinkavova
    Sea Kayaking - The Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 11/06/2024

    really great, and fun too!

    Carole Howat
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 14/09/2023

    Andy was Great and so was his co. Guide

    Peter Williamson
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 14/09/2023

    Andy and Jenny made a great team - they picked routes appropriate to the weather and were friendly, fun and informative . They made sure we were all safe and that we felt included

    Kate Jhugroo
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 13/09/2023

    Calm, knowledgeable, patient, adaptable,friendly

    Valerie Wray
    Open Canoeing - North West Highlands
    Reviewed on 31/07/2023

    My guides on the trip were truly fabulous. Knowledgeable, patient and professional. It was a challenging week but they kept our spirits up. The understanding of the surrounding landscape was excellent.

    Mary Noble
    Open Canoeing - North West Highlands
    Reviewed on 31/07/2023

    Both Mike and Andy were excellent and a pleasure to meet. Very knowledgable and considerate.

    Jamal Ahmed
    Open Canoeing - North West Highlands
    Reviewed on 24/07/2023

    Very good - great atmosphere and excellent guides - lots of fun and great paddling.

    Alison Nicholas
    Sea Kayaking - The Atlantic Coast
    Reviewed on 15/05/2023

    Could not have been better...

    Sue Thomason
    Sea Kayaking - The Atlantic Coast
    Reviewed on 14/05/2023

    As usual with Wilderness Scotland, the guides were superb - knew a lot (about the country etc not just the kayaking), very friendly....Couldn't be better

    Rory Newman
    Sea Kayaking - The Atlantic Coast
    Reviewed on 14/05/2023

    Guides were great, the heavens worked on our side, the locations chosen were super. Pitched just right for a mixed group.

    Robert Gilbart
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 26/09/2022

    The guides were absolutely lovely. From the very beginning they did a great job at telling us all about the surrounding scenery from seaweed to mountains and their geological makeup we could learn and ask about anything. The kayaking introduction was very well done with a short paddle on the first day and gradually more challenging routes as the week progressed. I could not have asked for better guides I felt very safe, learned a lot and had an absolutely amazing time learning from them. A very big thank you to Andy and Andrew for the great experience you brought to live for me and for awakening my new passion for sea kayaking.

    Karen Davidson
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 24/09/2022

    All kayaking instruction was great but missed out on that extra bit of knowledge that some other guides offer. Example - plant life

    Ann Blatt
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 22/09/2022

    Andy and Andrew were excellent and clearly knew what they were doing. They were both kind and considerate to me when they realised I was not experienced and was, at times, quite terrified.

    Amanda Westbrook
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 19/09/2022

    Andy and Andrew were great. Responsible, knowledgeable, always professional, friendly, patient, and made everyone feel comfortable.

    Martine Claire McManus
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 19/09/2022

    Our guides (Andy and Bill) were excellent the whole week through - I felt completely safe even in challenging conditions, learned a huge amount from them, and they encouraged me to push myself. They included us in the planning and decision making about the trip and we’re great leaders of the group. Couldn’t have wished for more!

    Grace Robertson
    Sea Kayaking - The Outer Hebrides
    Reviewed on 15/08/2022

    Andy and Bill were excellent guides. They had to deal with very poor weather and took us to more sheltered parts of the islands so that we could get onto the water. They also helped us to develop our kayaking skills to deal with strong winds etc. Both guides were excellent company and I would love to be on a trip led by them again.

    Katrina Skinner
    Sea Kayaking - The Outer Hebrides
    Reviewed on 15/08/2022

    The guides were incredible. Bill and Andy were very supportive to everyone and informative. They are both incredibly knowledgable and skilled at coaching.

    William Tomlinson
    Sea Kayaking - The Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 20/07/2022

    The guiding was excellent.It was not the best week weather wise and I think they did an excellent job on communication, decision making and planning appropriate trips for the weather and the group

    Patricia Weir
    Sea Kayaking - The Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 14/07/2022

    Delightful and supportive; felt very safe and they enabled us to kayak enjoyably despite windy weather.

    Nicola Williams
    Sea Kayaking - The Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 10/07/2022

    Andy Hall and Stephi Walker we’re our guides and they were fantastic! They were knowledgeable about what we were doing, where we were going and everything in between. They obviously loved what they did and it showed!

    Cathy Bishop
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 05/06/2022

    I cannot say enough nice things about Steph and Andy. They were extremely knowledgeable in their positions. I felt safe and learned lots along the way. They both brought different yet exceptional experience to the table. When sea kayaking in a group with leaders, you are only as safe as your leaders. We were completely safe and I was able to relax and enjoy every minute of my experience. They allowed us the ability to make judgements in regards to our own capabilities and were there to support us. Not only were they exceptional in their duties, they brought unique knowledge from their own experiences to the table. They didn't brag or boast, they were humble and when asked, they shared their experiences.

    Kim Elkins
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 05/06/2022

    Our guides, Stephanie and Andy were of the best calibre. They were able to relate to our range of personal skills and provide an awesome experience for everyone. And I appreciated their skills in planning each day according to ever changing weather and sea conditions. Their abiltiy to relate to a wide range of personalites was remarkable. They are brilliant!

    Stacy LaBare
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 03/06/2022

    Both guides were excellent and worked hard to ensure that we had a good trip. Was all too aware that with the strong winds we experienced Andy had to use all his experience and local knowledge to find paddling sites which met the safety needs and experience of the group.

    Richard Booth
    Sea Kayaking - The Isle of Mull
    Reviewed on 22/05/2022

    Andy was great. An enormous thank you to him for stepping in at the last minute to stop the trip being cancelled. I would hate to have missed it! It is a big ask for one guide to take the trip alone without having ever seen the groups capabilities before, but Andy stood up to the mark carefully assessing individuals skills on the first paddle and then being able to add help / advice when necessary as the trip progressed.

    Fran King
    Sea Kayaking - Sound of Arisaig
    Reviewed on 12/08/2021

    Andy is clearly very experienced and Kate was a good complement to make a very effective team.

    David Mulligan
    Open Canoeing - Canoeing the Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 24/07/2021

    We really enjoyed the time spent with both of our guides Andy and Kate. They taught us the fundamentals of canoeing well and we believe the learning curve was well paced. We appreciated the approach of explaining how to independently work out a good canoeing line and identify hazards and felt it gave us the opportunity to think and not just follow blindly. Both were good fun on the river and in the evenings. We enjoyed the whisky recommendation by Andy and that Kate went to the effort of finding us a Highland cow. Thanks to both for making it a great trip.

    Elena Drudi
    Open Canoeing - Canoeing the Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 21/07/2021

    Andy was a super, friendly and extremely skilled guide.
    Kate was also super, friendly, capable and had very good organisational skills

    Richard Narey
    Open Canoeing - Canoeing the Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 19/07/2021

    Andy and Kate made a great team. Andy had vast canoeing experience and Kate was a great organiser.

    Mary Narey
    Open Canoeing - Canoeing the Scottish Highlands
    Reviewed on 19/07/2021

    We had a great time! Andy fully involved us in his plans for our trips, and explained about the effect of tides and winds and how to best cope with these. For the first time I fully understood about ferry-gliding and was able to execute this myself.... a proud moment! I found Andy considerate and encouraging.

    Diana Morgan
    Sea Kayaking - The Atlantic Coast
    Reviewed on 16/06/2021

    Despite being a newbie to Wilderness Scotland, Andy did a great job. I felt safe out on the water with him. He always made the right decisions based on the weather conditions.

    Ann Kirkhope
    Sea Kayaking - The Atlantic Coast
    Reviewed on 13/06/2021

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