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      Laerke Nielsen

      Laerke Nielsen

      Born | To | Explore

      Mini Bio

      Having lived and guided around the world—favourites including Greenland, Norway, and Southern California—I’m now proud and grateful to call the Scottish Highlands my forever home.

      After an early chapter in international relations, I changed course and earned a postgraduate degree in Outdoor Education from the University of Edinburgh in 2018. Since then, I’ve built a full-time career instructing, guiding, teaching, and exploring in the outdoors—a path that continues to challenge, inspire, and reward me every day.

      There’s something truly special about this corner of the world. It’s a privilege and a joy to share my knowledge of, and deep love for, Scotland and its wild, beautiful places.

      Favourite Place to Play

      My literal backyard is the Cairngorms National Park, and it never ceases to inspire me. However, Torridon and its coastline, mountains, and magnificent rock climbing is just as high on the list.

      Not a lot of People Know This

      “Lærke” means “lark” in Danish—a modest little bird that carries the symbolism of joy, renewal, and the first light of day. A beautiful meaning, which just about compensates for how tricky it is for English speakers to pronounce.

      “Having lived and guided around the world—favourites including Greenland, Norway, and Southern California—I’m now proud and grateful to call the Scottish Highlands my forever home.”
      Expand All
      Qualifications Read More
      • Summer Mountain Leader
      • International Mountain Leader
      Biggest Adventure Read More

      Unsupported solo hiking and camping across the mountains of Southern Greenland: the sheer magnitude, solitude, and feeling of self-reliance was an eye-opener for me.

      What Fellow Travellers Say About Laerke

      Larkin was outstanding. She listened to what we all wanted, and she made it happen. She was especially helpful to me as a pertains to our hikes

      Cheryl Dascenzo
      25WSPD Private Departures
      Reviewed on 07/09/2025

      Lake was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and helpful and was terrific when Mary fell. Great job putting up with our dad jokes too. Highly recommend her

      Dan Berg
      25WSPD Private Departures
      Reviewed on 05/09/2025

      Laerke was very organized, she tapered our tour to our personal interests, managed to see that everyone met their goals for the trip and went above and beyond assisting to have a surprise birthday party. Could not ask for a more attentive guide.

      Elizabeth Storner
      25WSPD Private Departures
      Reviewed on 03/09/2025

      Lærke was excellent. Highly recommended.

      Rob Holschuh
      25WSPD Private Departures
      Reviewed on 01/09/2025

      Show More Reviews

      Book a trip with Laerke

      Trip / Departure Availability Status Price Book
      Wilderness Walking – Outer Hebrides and Skye
      18th Apr - 24th Apr 2026       		8 place(s) left Available 2,725 Book Now
      Wilderness Walking – The Isle of Skye
      9th May - 15th May 2026       		6 place(s) left Guaranteed 2,755 Book Now
      Wilderness Walking – The Orkney Islands
      10th Oct - 16th Oct 2026       		7 place(s) left Available 2,695 Book 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.

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