Active Outdoor Pursuits
Active Outdoor Pursuits was founded in 1999 by its owners Roy & Sophia Gibson. They share a love of the outdoors, a passion for Scotland’s landscapes, history, culture and wild places but most of all, love sharing this with others.
For 27 years Active Outdoor Pursuits has had the pleasure of witnessing the fun, exhilaration, personal growth and challenge that so many people from every background experience when pursuing outdoor adventures. Many have used Active Outdoor Pursuits to simply experience the thrill the outdoors can provide or to gain a deeper appreciation of our environment. Some have come to learn and develop new skills or start a new career on an Outdoor Instructor through the Outdoor Instructor Training Course, some come for an outdoor learning experience with their School or College, an experience every young person should have, some come to explore new places while others come to find themselves! This is the vision we set out to achieve…helping people to experience their own unique adventures in a fun, healthy and educational environment.
From Craigower Lodge Outdoor Centre in Newtonmore, we provide a wide range of adventure activities, training courses and holidays within the Cairngorms National Park and throughout the Highlands of Scotland. Active Outdoor Pursuits offer activities on the hills and mountains, on snow and ice, in the water and on the water. We cater for all age ranges and abilities and listen to everyone’s aims and aspirations with the aim of delivering individualised and inspiring outdoor experiences.
You can book onto one of our activities here
People are important to us, we always strive to do the best we can and to be the best for our clients and our staff team. At Active Outdoor Pursuits, we are proud of our staff training programmes. Each year we take in students to our Instructor Training courses then offer as many as possible the chance to complete our Instructor Development Programme (Apprenticeship). Today, every instructor and manager began their career on an Active Outdoor Pursuits Instructor Training course as a client.
Our core values of People, Purpose, Probity and Planet underpin the above approaches and reflect our ongoing commitment to our team, our clients, our services, our community and our planet.
At Active Outdoor Pursuits, we are extremely proud of our hardworking, talented team and their dedication to the company, our clients, services and values. As well as their ongoing personal development.
As an AALA licenced provider of Adventure Activities, we have extensive Health & Safety Policies and Procedures relating to: risk assessment, staff qualifications, operational systems/protocols, booking systems, equipment, venues, accident and emergency procedures, first aid etc These ensure all services and activities adhere to national health and safety standards in our industry sector. Our internal systems also enhance this to a qualitative level ensuring that the instructors dedicated to a client or a group are fully aware of the client objectives, fitness/skill level, health concerns, special physical or psychological needs, previous experience etc Thus ensuring best practice and the best possible outcome for participants.
Our staff all have National Governing Body qualifications in a wide variety of land based, water sports and snow sports. We have a comprehensive matrix of all staff qualifications, first aid renewal dates, in house training, planned training, record of inductions, monitored practice etc which we can make available on request. (All have up to date first aid)
Our team at Active Outdoor Pursuits have diverse personal backgrounds, hobbies and interests. Here is a flavour of who we are:
Get Active…Be Inspired!
Meet the team
Trained and worked as an engineer after leaving school. From his early years he felt drawn to walking in the Ayrshire and Galloway hills- his family could not understand where this interest came from! This passion for the mountains grew into “all things outdoors”.
His life quickly became centred around anything adventurous and close to nature whether it was in the mountains or on the water and regardless of the season. In his late teens Roy realised that a career in the outdoors was calling. He got involved in volunteering with outdoor centres, DofE groups and helping with local youth groups. Over the years he built up his outdoor qualifications before he made the leap to fulltime employment in community based outdoor projects. A valuable time in his development was delivering outdoor experiences that grew the confidence and self-esteem of people from challenging backgrounds and showing them, alternative futures was truly inspiring.
In 1999 he and Sophia set up Active Outdoor Pursuits. He continues leading and coaching in the outdoors but most time is spent growing services as well as mentoring trainee instructors and supporting staff development. Roy says “The skills I built up throughout my outdoor career and the past 15 years of developing training courses and career focused programs, that have delivered over 100 outdoor instructors to the outdoor industry, finds us able to deliver community based interventions for alternative futures based around outdoor adventure.
After leaving School Sophia trained to become a Mental Health Nurse. Sophia says “The 16 years I spent in psychiatry was the most dramatic period of change in mental health services the world has ever seen! This gave me the opportunity to be involved in developing new, community based, person centred services that made a radical and positive change to people’s lives. During this time, I also worked on a project for the Scottish Office in compiling service reviews and as an Area Manager for a mental health charity.
The diversity of my career from people and resource management to policy and service development was extremely worthwhile and challenging.” Sophia was also a youth worker and Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader in Dalmellington and New Cumnock. “When I decided to leave my nursing career to set up Active my colleagues were shocked as I had always been so passionate about services and people but that has never left me … outdoor education has always been about developing people too it’s just in a different environment! I have used all the skills in developing personal development and team building programs for people of all ages and back grounds to support personal and community growth”
“After far too many years spent in a career that I didn’t enjoy, I realised that it was time for a dramatic change. It didn’t take long to realise that a move up to Scotland and a new start in the outdoor industry was definitely the way to go. I’ve always loved mountain biking, skiing and hill walking, so retraining as an outdoor instructor sounded perfect.
It has allowed me to develop my skills and experience in a number of outdoor adventure sports and provided me with an opportunity to share my love of the outdoors with others. I naturally gravitated towards the Scottish Highlands, where else in the UK would you go?!”
James is our Activities Leader and a passionate outdoor instructor whose career began in a very different world — motorsport. After four years building and maintaining Formula 4 cars across the UK and Europe, he decided to swap racetracks for mountains and follow his love of the outdoors.
He joined Active through the Instructor Training Course and quickly found his place in the Scottish Highlands, developing his skills in an environment full of adventure and like-minded people.
Since qualifying in 2022, James has worked across the UK and overseas, from northern Finland and Cornwall to the UAE, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Spain and Portugal. His experience includes everything from snowmobile tours under the northern lights to ice fishing, snowshoeing and leading outdoor sessions in a wide range of settings.
Today, James leads our instruction team, supporting staff and Instructor Training Course students as they build confidence and experience in the outdoors.
Friendly, approachable and always keen to encourage others, James brings energy, knowledge and a genuine love of adventure to every session.
Favourite activity: canyoning or canoeing
Tom
3rd year instructor from Essex
Favourite activity: anything mountain based
Rueben
2nd year instructor from London
Favourite activity: skiing with a little bit more skiing
Barney
2nd year instructor from Portsmouth
Favourite activity: white water rafting or Canoeing
Rachel Ekstein is a first year instructor with Active Outdoor Pursuits. After beginning her career in start-up recruitment and financial technology, Rachel made a major life change, leaving behind the pressure of London city life to build a career rooted in adventure, connection and the outdoors.
Her journey into outdoor instructing began during a two-year sabbatical in Canada, where she lived in Banff National Park and worked as a tour and hiking guide. Surrounded by mountains, rivers and a strong outdoor community, Rachel rediscovered the sense of purpose and freedom that comes from spending time outside.
Drawn to the landscapes and opportunities of the Scottish Highlands, Rachel chose Active Outdoor Pursuits to retrain and develop the skills needed for a career in the outdoors. She now leads a wide range of activities, continues to work towards further qualifications, and is passionate about helping others build confidence, resilience and a lasting connection with the natural world.
Favourite activity: white water canoeing or gorge scrambling
First year instructor from North Wales
Favourite activity: anything white water!
Sam
First year instructor from Sheffield
Our Associate Trainers
Jim Gibson is the National trainer for stand up paddle-boarding and you will always find him out and about somewhere on a loch, river or the sea promoting the sport and enthusing others with the same Joy he has for paddling.
Jim delivers a lot of our watersport NGB qualifications for our outdoor instructor training course and also for the development of our staff in everything water related.
After leaving school, James went to university to study in Archaeology where he graduated. During his time at university, James found a true passion for climbing. He had spent much of his life in the mountains prior and dabbled in many other sports as well. But it was with climbing he found his calling. You will often see him out and about on days off right across Scotland climbing any piece of rock, snow or ice that is about.
James regularly engages in all paddlesports and sits on the British Canoeing technical board as well as being a provider in different SCA/BC awards. His current passion is white water SUP.
Jim truly loves all elements of the outdoors, and nothing is more enjoyable than seeing others excel in their development within the industry.
Kirsten loves everything water and bike related and you will often see her on the rivers or on the bike trails right across Scotland. She is a provider for many different SCA courses and works on our rafting as well as other paddlesport instructor qualifications on our Outdoor Instructor Training course and often aids with staff development as well.
Richard is a provider for Mountain Training and delivers the RCI and ML courses for our staff and trainees. He is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable individuals when it comes to anything related to the Scottish mountains and in particular Ben Nevis in winter where you will often see him out climbing for both work and fun. He has been delivering climbing instruction for more than 20 years in the area and is hugely knowledgeable on all aspects of the sport.