The Crew

The Crew

During your holiday you will be cared for by four of our wonderful crew. The Skipper, who is responsible for giving you a great time while on board, the Guide, who will be organising all of the outdoor activities that we offer and supporting you while out and about, the Bosun, who is our deckhand and looks after the maintenance of the barge, as well as operating our powerboat, and the Cook, who will be in the galley making your delicious meals and treats.
On some of our cruises you will also be joined by one of our General Assistants, and on our Wildlife and Music Cruises you will be joined by a specialist crew member too.

Chris is a dedicated outdoor professional with years of experience as an outdoor activity instructor all over the UK and beyond! Joining us in 2013 as one of our guides, he quickly developed the skills to drive the barge, and gained his Boatmaster License in 2023. Chris has been one of our regular skippers ever since.

The multi-talented Ru has been working with us for a few years now and progressed to skippering in 2024. He grew up locally, right on the shores of Loch Lochy at one of our favourite anchorages, so has a wealth of local knowledge. He is a keen outdoorsman and recently fitted out his own van to head off on adventures near and far.

Dave, better known as Swampy, takes the helm for certain weeks over the course of the season. Dave started with Caledonian Discovery in 2000 and progressed to skippering the barge in 2005. Having lived on the Caledonian Canal for the past 20 years, Dave has a wealth of experience and knowledge that he loves to share with everyone on board.

Darren joined us in 2025, and we’re delighted to have him back as Fingal chef for 2026. With years of experience in restaurants all over the world, Darren has found a fondness for boat life, and when he’s not whipping up exquisite food in the galley, he can often be seen helping out on deck or even on occasion driving our powerboat.

Mike worked a great season for us as Fingal chef in 2024. For 2026 we are happy to have him back as our chef on Ros Crana. With a diverse range of skills that have seen him excel as a professional musician, a corporate trainer, he has most recently he has turned his abilities to cooking. You will never be lacking in delicious food while Mike is on board, as he makes it a point of pride that no one leaves the dining table anything less than full and satisfied.

Sophie grew up on the banks of Loch Lomond, and joined us in 2024 as one of our guides. A keen outdoor professional and environmentalist, she now travels all over Scotland sharing her knowledge and often returns to the barges to enhance the experience of everyone aboard.

Bryony joined the team in 2023 and her happy, upbeat attitude has been a welcome addition to our holidays ever since. A nature lover and outdoor professional, she took a brief step back from guiding to focus on environmental work, but is back again for 2026.

A career walking and biking guide, Chris guides tours all over Scotland and has been joining us a few times each year since 2023. Always a pleasure to have aboard, he has a wealth of knowledge about Scotland’s culture, history and ecology that makes every day on the trail enjoyable and engaging.

Originally from Aberdeen-shire, Steve loves the outdoors, and first joined us on Fingal in 2005. He then spent some time away from Scotland, settling in New Zealand for several years, before returning for our 2015 season. He has been our Bosun on Fingal ever since and lives on the barges year-round. A keen cyclist and canoer, you may see Steve heading into the wild in the evening to explore any corners of the Great Glen he hasn’t found yet.

Growing up near the Clyde, Lucy has had a lifelong interest in boats. She joined the team as the Bosun on Ros Crana in 2012 and now plies her trade all over Scotland, returning to the barges a few times each year. A Caledonian Canal local, Lucy has a great deal of local and nautical knowledge that makes her a joy to have aboard.

Testimonials