How and why did you start in business?
My father wanted me to go into industry; my mother wanted me to be a doctor.
I had no such inclination, hating the pollution created by heavy industry and fainting at the sight of blood, and so I escaped into writing about wildlife and nature conservation. It was the exciting, emergent discipline of the 1960s, but I had no idea that I could turn it into a career.
How did you get to where you are today?
Largely by chance. In 1968 the celebrated author Gavin Maxwell, of Ring of Bright Water fame, invited me work with him on Eilean Ban, the lighthouse island under the Skye Bridge. I couldn’t resist. He died soon afterwards but it got me to the Highlands and I was determined to stay. He also gave me the impetus for my first book, The White Island (Longman 1972). Luckily the book was a success, enabling me to stay on in the Highlands and plan a future.
Who helped you?
While Gavin Maxwell was the catalyst and inspiration, I was extremely fortunate to have known and been influenced by the late, great, Highland ecologist, Sir Frank Fraser Darling.
I asked him if a field studies centre in the Highlands would work and he was convinced it would, giving me huge encouragement. He opened Aigas Field Centre for us in 1977. After that it was a small number of extremely dedicated staff who helped me most, and still do.
What has been your biggest mistake?
Naivety and inexperience. I had never run a business and knew nothing of accountancy or management. Everything was trial and error – a lot of error – compounded by the fact that we were pioneering Highlands and Islands field studies and ecotourism in a culture and climate hostile to new ideas. Everything was a gamble and we wasted time and money trying to please everyone and not focusing sufficiently on our product. I would do things differently now.
What was your greatest achievement?
Survival. I often wonder how we managed because the first ten years were so tough. The Highlands and Islands Development Board refused to help us because they didn’t think anyone would come to the Highlands to experience wildlife. I had to go to America and lecture to drum up business every year for 20 years, and still do so occasionally now. I am proud to say that I was the first to bring a groundbreaking new ecotourism market to the Highlands.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
I would cut red tape and regulation. It is throttling entrepreneurism to death – death by a thousand silly rules thanks largely to authorities seeking to cover their own backs because of the poisonous blame culture we now live in. If today’s pointless regulations had existed in the 70s we would never have got Aigas Field Centre off the ground.
Frivolous or malicious claims should be thrown out of court and small businesses should have the right to challenge daft regulations. Thank goodness for the support and advice provided by The Federation of Small Businesses.
What do you still hope to achieve?
The whole raison d’etre for Aigas is to use environmental education, field studies and ecotourism to encourage people to take a more responsible attitude to the natural world. Human society across the globe is dangerously exploitative of an ever-reducing supply of natural resources and we must learn to live off the interest of natural capital, rather than continuing to consume it thoughtlessly. I continue the fight.
What do you do to relax?
Writing books is my principal relaxation. It is work that I love and that adds value to our business and brings me real satisfaction. My great escape is my seven-tonne Hitachi digger, which I use for extracting timber, landscaping and digging the foundations for our latest developments.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on the TV?
I review books all the time – it’s work I love. I am currently enjoying Philip Hoare’s The Sea Inside, a book about how the sea affects us all. I am a TV news addict and yes, I watch Downton Abbey.
What do you waste your money on?
I spend money carefully, but my family might say I spend too much adding to my 3,000-plus book library.
How would your friends describe you?
Focused and passionate about my work, I hope. I am also argumentative, cannot abide banality and am hopeless at small talk – cocktail parties are a complete no-no.
What would your enemies say about you?
Some people don’t agree with my strong views and not everyone is a friend, but I’m not aware of any enemies.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
I drive my Hitachi digger and my Polaris 4-wheel drive, go-anywhere open-sided buggy, and dream of them both.