Ian Rowlands, Guide and Lecturer on Wildlife, World-Saving and Well-being

WHO

“The enthusiasm, humour and energy that you brought to each day were completely infectious ... it was a privilege to share such amazing wildlife experiences”
Rosie S

What I do
Don’t know who I am? Where’ve you been?! For years I’ve been guiding groups of people to birds, animals and wilderness landscapes of Scotland, Europe, the Americas, Asia . . . in fact across the world. Years ago I co-founded Speyside Wildlife, and am recognised as one of the UK’s best known, well-travelled, freelance tour leaders – check out my around-the-world destinations CV.

The guiding doesn’t stop there. Through Planet Whale – the company I co-own with Dylan Walker - I also guide people to amazing life-changing wilderness, wellbeing and whalewatching experiences.

Want to expand your horizons? Well, with Lisa Mitchell of Sparklezone I plan Professional Co-active Coaching retreats in the natural world to rediscover your values, passions and strengths. You never know where it’s going to take your career and your life!

Every year I give a programme of acclaimed lectures on wildlife around the UK on these topics. I offer consultancy in wildlife- and niche-tourism, I’m a regular writer for tourism organisations and magazines . . . and, in my spare time (!), I’m a trustee with Organisation Cetacea (ORCA), a registered whale and dolphin charity.

How I got to here
What is it that sets your life off in a certain direction? At 6 years old the sight of the life-size replica Blue Whale in London’s Natural History museum, that’s what. As kids, my sister and I poured over books - the colourful, culture-filled ‘Big Book of People and Places’ sticks in the mind - and I grew up wanting to emulate under-water explorer Jacques Cousteau, aboard Calypso, with my mates, travelling the oceans. I think you’ve probably got the picture.

Wildlife as a career option never occurred to me, but journalism gave way to 6-year's work with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, then becoming an ecologist with Dartmoor National Park, before a move to the Highlands of Scotland. In 1990 I set up the tour company Speyside Wildlife but in 2005 left it in Sally Dowden’s hands though I continue to contribute here and there.

What I love, why I do it
I’ve been lucky and I’ve loved my life so far (‘you wouldn’t believe the things I’ve seen’) . . . there’s not seemed enough time to see it all, enjoy it all, share it all. Paddling in the company of otters on Scottish lochs; under canvas in wild Spanish peaks; on a Mexican ocean far from land, whales all around; watching wolves in Yellowstone’s forests; slipping into remote Arctic ice-scored shores where polar bears wait. We’re part of a greater inter-woven whole of course, and there’s so much joy to be had amongst it: listening to nature’s sounds; the rich variety of human voices; the rhythms of unfamiliar music; the power of the ocean; northern lights in the sky; fireworks on a winter’s night; a campfire on a beach; the night sky filled with stars; magic and mystery; love and laughter.

Tell everyone you know about it. Take care of it. Reconnect to your natural world. Make a difference.

Family & Friends
I’m not about to pass up this chance to thank those who shaped, and are shaping, your life, especially my lovely wife Daphne – who is, and will always be, the only girl in my life. Mum and Dad, Bill & Gwen, have always supported everything I wanted to do, and Julia, my sis, has always been at the centre of my life - I love them lots.

There are so many friends I should name-check too but I want to give a big shout for two special friends of long-standing - Darren Rees and Roy Atkins. We’ve shared a lot over the last 20 years and what’s even better is that I get to tour-lead and travel the world with each of them still, sharing ever more adventures.

"As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche.
I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens,
and get as near the heart of the world as I can".
John Muir

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