I loved geology. I just didn't know it.

For years, I loved the geology of the north west Highlands without realising that geology was what I was looking at. I thought I was admiring mountains, lochs and enormous rocks beside the water. They were beautiful, and that seemed enough. But as I learned more about the North West Highlands UNESCO Global Geopark, I began to wonder whether I could explain what made this landscape so extraordinary. Guests were looking at the same things that captivated me, and I wanted to offer them more than agreement that the view was magnificent.

The Geopark covers around 2,000 square kilometres, from the Summer Isles and Coigach north towards Cape Wrath, Durness and Loch Eriboll. You travel through it rather than arrive at a single attraction with an entrance gate. Some of its rocks are around three billion years old, but age alone does not explain its international importance. This landscape helped scientists understand how mountains form, including how immense forces can push older rocks over younger ones. Its UNESCO recognition also concerns what people do with that heritage: protecting it, helping others understand it and supporting the communities who live among it. That was enough to get me interested, although understanding the science initially seemed another matter.

In September 2020, I joined a six-day residential course with Pete Harrison, the Geopark’s geologist. Some early explanations were intimidating, but Pete has a wonderful knack of making the subject approachable. We spent hours examining roadside cuttings, places I might previously have driven past without another thought. At Laxford Bridge, pale rock, dark bands and pink streaks reveal different stages of geological history. Once you realise that one rock cuts through another, you have a way into the story. You do not need to know every technical term to begin noticing what happened.

My former business life also prompted conversations with Pete about how businesses could support the Geopark and benefit from that relationship. I would not claim to have invented its 'Ambassador Scheme', but I believe I contributed to those discussions. When Pete subsequently invited me to become one of the early ambassadors, I gladly accepted. North Coast Explorer remained the only ambassador based outside the Geopark for some long while, a distinction I was rather proud of. What matters most, though, is being able to share the pleasure of understanding a little more. The mountains are every bit as beautiful once you know something about them, and the roadside rocks become considerably more interesting.

To learn more, book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.