About Journeys

Regenerative adventures: Positively impacting nature and local communities

Group of eight people standing outdoors on a grassy hill with mountain bikes lying on the ground, under a cloudy sky, smiling and posing for a photo.

How will your adventure have a positive impact on the environment, local community and you?

  • We employ local guides. As well as sharing their love of their home with you, they will tell you stories of the landscape, its history & the nature restoration taking place.

  • No matter how you arrive at Comrie Croft, you will leave for your trip on foot or by bike (no private vehicles are used).

  • Travelling slowly through our Scottish landscape, you will have time to stop and appreciate the natural world around you. This makes us happy and positive and we are sure it will do the same for you.

  • Our trips allow you to be in the moment and leave the stresses of modern life behind. There is something about being physically active in nature that just makes you feel good.

  • All food on our trips is locally grown, sourced & prepared. Supporting our local economy, reducing food miles and providing delicious fresh seasonal food is very important to us.

  • Your trip directly supports rewilding Comrie Croft. Ecological surveys have shown this is working! In the past few years we've witnessed the return of Red Squirrels, White-Tailed Eagles (the largest bird of prey in the UK), Pine Martin and Red Kites.

  • More than 40 people's livelihoods are based at the Croft. Our local buying policy means that more than 80% of your spend is retained locally. And as active partners in our community, we are especially involved in getting people outdoors and appreciating our natural environment.

  • By booking a Journey you’ll support the MTB Trail Therapy Programme. Two of the very first Trail Therapy practitioners work at Comrie Croft. They deliver this important programme, FREE, twice a year to people who are struggling with their mental health.

MEET YOUR GUIDES

A woman smiling while sitting on a bicycle bike, with a wooden fence in the background.

Emily Greaves

HEAD GUIDE & COACH

  • If there’s one thing Emily loves more than riding her bike, it’s getting other people stoked about riding theirs. She’s spent over 20 years chasing trails, dreaming up adventures, and proving that life’s better on a bike (bonus points if there’s coffee and cake involved).

    Emily’s path to the Croft wasn’t your average one. She joined the Army at 16, became a Royal Engineers officer, and worked all over the world before swapping camo for chain lube.

    She’s now turned her considerable energies into building Comrie Croft Journeys and tutoring for Cycle Wild Scotland. Emily is well-known for creating positive, welcoming spaces where riders can build confidence, learn new skills, and surprise themselves with what they can achieve. She works with other coaches across Scotland to make mountain biking more accessible to women.

    Emily was the first ever Mountain Bike Trail Therapy Practitioner, combining technical know-how with a passion for helping people feel good on and off the bike.

    Riding with Emily feels like heading out with a good friend—supportive, encouraging, and full of fun. Any meeting with her comes with a tidal wave of positivity you’ll be happily swept away by. Whether it’s a relaxed spin, a big day out, or a multi-day bikepacking adventure, Emily makes every ride an experience you’ll never forget.

    • British Cycling Level 3 Mountain Bike Leader

    • British Cycling Level 2 Coach

    • Mountain Bike Trail Therapy Practitioner

    • British Cycling Mountain Bike Tutor

    • Cycling Scotland Go MTB Level 5 Instructor

    • Mountain Leader Summer

    • Silver Velotech

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

A man wearing a blue t-shirt, brown shorts, and a helmet rides a mountain bike on a dirt trail in a desert landscape with rocky formations and hills in the background.

Russell Newham

MTB GUIDE & COACH

  • It’s fair to say that Russell has had a fairly diverse career and, after a decade, he decided that the corporate world wasn’t for him. He left his role as a Sales Manager and completed his teacher training, gaining a PGDE in Secondary Education (Geography). After a short stint in the classroom the calling of the outdoors was too strong to resist. He began an 8 year stint in the outdoor industry working in various outdoor centres and on Criminal Justice expeditions as a Development Trainer.

    Returning to the classroom was inevitable but Russell manages to combine this with his passion for developing people in the outdoors in his role as Pupil Suppoprt Teacher, Outdoor Activities/DofE Coordinator and Contingent Commander of the Combined Cadet Forces.

    Russell’s life has always been underpinned by his love of bikes, especially silly ones with one gear. Although no stranger to a bike race, his real passion is journeying. He feels there is no better way to explore the outdoors and has shared many adventures with like minded people in Scotland, Morocco, The Alps, Norway and Slovenia.

    • SMBLA Mountain Bike Leader

    • SMBLA Trail Cycle Leader

    • British Cycling Night Leader

    • Go MTB Level 5 Instructor

    • Summer Mountain Leader

    • Winter Mountain Leader

    • MLTA Rock Climbing Instructor

    • UKCC Level 2 Paddlesports Coach

    • Canoe White Water Leader and SUP module

    • RYA Powerboat Instructor

    • RYA Yacht Master

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • GTCS Registration (Geography) with professional recognition in Outdoor Learning

    • DofE Assessor

    • Outdoor First Aid

A man wearing a purple helmet, glasses, and a red jacket rides a mountain bike on a trail across a hilly landscape with a stream and trees, with a sunset sky in the background.

Hal Harvey

MTB GUIDE & COACH

  • Hal has been riding mountain bikes since he was 12 years old. From digging at the local trails and lapping runs with friends, to racing enduro and downhill to scratch that competitive itch!

    The passion for riding bikes has taken him all over the UK and further afield, exploring all sorts of trails but has landed him here in Scotland. The possibilities for every style of riding that exist here, keeps his imagination burning for the endless adventures to be had.

    Hal studied Outdoor Adventure Education at college and University, combining theoretical and practical knowledge to set the foundation of his practice today. He loves to create a positive, welcoming atmosphere for all riders and a safe space to progress and share the stoke for mountain biking!

    Outside of the bike world, Hal is keen on all things outdoors! You’ll often find him venturing hundreds of meters up a rock face, standing atop a distant Munro, making turns in the snow on skis or planning a new adventure. He is also expanding his knowledge about the environment that we love to explore and play in. He has a particular interest in what we can do to protect and restore these beautiful places and the reintroduction of wildlife species back into the UK!

    • British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader (now Trail Leader)

    • British Cycling, Introduction to Coaching - Off-road

    • Mountain Leader (Training)

    • Paddlesport Instructor SUP

    • Paddlesport Safety and Rescue Course

    • Rock Climbing Instructor

    • ITC Level 3 Award in Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

A man riding a mountain bike outdoors during daytime with mountains in the background. He is wearing a blue jacket, orange gloves, a black helmet, and glasses, smiling as he pedals.

Gordon Grant

  • In between bringing up a family and working abroad for many years, Gordon has managed to squeeze in a wide range of outdoor adventures including Mountain Biking, Climbing, Mountaineering, Ice climbing and Ski touring. He has a chatty, easy approach to outdoor leadership, is genuinely interested in all his clients and goes out his way to make people feel at ease. 

    In addition to pursuing his activities he is an active operational member of Tayside Mountain Rescue and spends the rest of the time walking his daughter’s old long haired chihuahua!

    As with all the team, Gordon is a firm believer in the fitness and health benefits given to all people taking part in outdoor activities pitched at the correct level of adventure relative to their experience. 

    • Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader (Trail Cycle Leader)

    • Summer Mountain Leader

    • Outdoor Adventure Foundation Degree

    • Remote Rural Emergency Technician and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician

    • Winter Mountain Leader"

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

A person in a brown jacket and helmet performing a jump on a mountain bike on a dirt trail in a green forested area.

Tom Simpson

GUIDE & COACH

  • Tom Simpson loved it here so much he has returned for another go at Croft life!

    Tom started his love for bicycles with BMX in the 90s, before switching more to mtbs in the late 2000s because all his bmx friends were doing the same!

    Luckily, his bike skills transferred over and he enjoys big wheel life just as much.

    On Tom’s sabbatical he worked for an MTB manufacturer as head of production, visiting the Far East multiple times to see how bikes are made, while also helping at MTB World Cups with team riders, and other big bikes events.

    He also loves racing enduro and other disciplines as well as scratching in local trails and organising ride-outs with a twist!

    Having Tom back means we can use his enthusiasm for all things bikes, to hopefully help build a better Croft experience for you all.

    • British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader

    • Cycling Scotland Go MTB Level 5 Instructor

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

A woman with a blue helmet and sunglasses smiling while holding her mountain bike outdoors near a wooden fence, with trees, a lake, and a cloudy sky in the background.

Avril Leonard

MTB GUIDE

  • For Avril, bikes = adventure, fun and exploration, something she loves to share with others. As well as the pure joy that comes from riding bikes, Avril also believes in the amazing learning that can come through engaging with adventurous activities in the outdoor environment. Because of this she has spent the past 20years working in a wide range of outdoor settings as an educator, facilitator and professional therapist. Whether you want to focus on building confidence, skills or you just want to spend time in nature moving your body and having fun, Avril prides herself on creating an environment that feels welcoming, safe and inclusive.

    • Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader

    • Summer Mountain Leader

    • Rock Climbing Instructor

    • BCU UKCC Level 2 Training

    • White Water Kayak Leader Training

    • RYA Dinghy Instructor

    • Forest Schools Level 3 Practitioner Training

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

A mountain biker wearing a helmet and sunglasses jumping off a dirt trail in a forest with lush green trees, while another biker in blue gear follows behind on the trail.

Aaron Gray

MTB GUIDE & COACH

  • Aaron Gray (AKA Lord Muck) is the man behind iconic events such as Fair City Enduro and Cream o' The Croft.

    After perfecting his crazy manualing skills on a BMX in the 80's, Aaron switched to MTB in the 90's and has been slaying singletrack ever since.

    A respected Events Organiser, Coach, Guide, and Trail Builder, Aaron was instrumental in setting up the Tayside Trail Association in 2020.

    Now, at the tender age of fifty something, you'll find Aaron (responsibly) digging trails, helping others to improve their bike skills, or maybe even standing on an Enduro podium.

    • British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader

    • Cycling Scotland Go MTB Level 5 Instructor

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

Close-up of a smiling woman wearing a light blue sports shirt and a teal bicycle helmet outdoors.

Leanne Whitehead

MTB GUIDE & COACH

  • Leanne is a mountain bike leader and coach who is passionate about getting more people riding bikes. She counts Comrie Croft as one of her favourite places to ride and loves showing clients the trails and helping them build confidence on corners, rocks, and drops. She is especially interested in increasing the number of women and girls on bikes. Her second passion is cake, and no ride is complete without it!

    • British Cycling Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader

    • Cycling Scotland Go MTB Level 5 Instructor

    • Outdoor First Aid

    • Member of the PVG scheme

MTB GUIDE