David Russell

David Russell

David Russell

Head Guide

Mountain Leader (Summer) First Aid Qualified Leave No Trace Trainer

I began my career in outdoor leadership in 2007 with a summer job while studying at the University of St Andrews, working as an activity instructor for school and youth groups. After graduating with a degree in Physics I decided not to become a scientist or insurance salesman, and instead follow my passion for Scotland’s wild places. I had no idea exactly how this was going to happen!

Throughout 2010 I worked to gain experience, and qualified as a Mountain Leader in 2011. In 2012 I first worked as a hiking and photography guide and realised I had found exactly the right niche for me. Connecting with other people’s passions and interests in my homeland lit a fire underneath me that still excites me before every trip. Over the next ten years I worked as a freelance guide throughout Scotland; leading hiking, photography and wildlife trips across the Highlands and Islands, while also gaining significant experience in designing and operating tours.

In 2023 I decided to start my own guiding business, and launched Highland Guiding in early 2024. Now I can welcome people from across the world to Scotland to share my own vision of the perfect Highland adventure. It’s a source of constant joy that so many of the people I work with become lifelong friends, with many choosing to return to Scotland again and again.

Besides being a keen hiker I am an avid landscape photographer, and have accumulated a portfolio of images from across Scotland that I am genuinely proud of. I have a particular fondness for photographing spectacular Scots Pine trees silhouetted against vistas of Scotland’s mountains in the most extreme weather I can endure.