Pete Gwatkin

Pete lives within the Cairngorm National Park and has been coaching and guiding climbing, mountaineering and paddlesport activities for 30 years. He has attained academic undergraduate qualifications in engineering, youth work and community education, and also has a masters degree in outdoor education. Pete’s outdoor education career has included working with vulnerable young people, lecturing at the University of Edinburgh and instructing kayaking, climbing and mountaineering activities at the Scottish National Outdoor Training Centre. He holds the BCU Level 5 Sea kayak award, BCU Level 4 Inland Kayak award and also loves canoe expeditions both at home and abroad.  Pete’s longest self-supported sea kayaking expedition was a 2,000 km journey lasting 54 days, paddling along the west coast of British Columbia up into Alaska. His most recent remote kayaking expedition took him to the Scandinavian Arctic, circumnavigating Norway’s second largest island, Senja.  Pete caught the ‘polar bug’ in 2010 and has been sea kayak guiding in the Arctic, Antarctic and East Greenland for ten seasons.  As an outdoor enthusiast and photographer Pete takes a keen interest in the natural environment, but especially the large marine mammals in our polar regions.