• Winter & Summer Mountain Leader
• BASP Emergency First Aid Course
• BSc(Hons) GeoSciences

I have been leading groups in the UK hills and elsewhere in one form or another since 1990. I was a military Combat Survival Instructor for 4 years in the mid-90s and got to know Dartmoor, Wales, the jungles of Brunei, the Mojave desert, Arctic Norway, Bavaria and the sea off Plymouth Sound all too well !. The early 2000s presented a shift when I started to support young people in achieving their DofE awards by becoming a volunteer DofE expedition supervisor for Moray Council often operating in the Cairngorms. I also started to lead International expeditions in my spare time. These have taken me to the Indian Himalayas, Nepal, Borneo, climbing the highest peaks in Africa, Ecuador, Borneo, swimming with whale sharks and accompanying a family of warthogs during a walking safari in Botswana and many more. These have been great experiences and have been another conduit to share experiences and passion for adventure and the great outdoors with young people. However, none of this can really compare with the stunning dramatic scenery, landscapes and history that the Scottish Highlands and Islands has to offer. What I love doing is sharing those special moments with others.

For someone that has done so much trekking around the world, I’m actually going to plum for a fairly recent cycle trip. In 2018 I completed a solo, unsupported Lands End – John O’Groats cycle ride taking in the 3 peaks and the most southern and northern points of mainland UK (The Lizard and Dunnet Head). It was particularly sweet as 12 months earlier in a previous attempt, I only got as far as Penzance (about 11 miles) before slipping, dislocating a shoulder and ending up in hospital.

On the hill, I’m more of an allrounder rather than specialist with my main interests being the environment, geology, history, fauna and bushcraft. Off the hill, the best coffee shops and whether to have the cheesecake, Victoria sponge or flapjacks to go with it.