Professor David Munro, MBE is a geographer with a passion for exploring landscapes who has lectured on cruises ranging from Arctic to Antarctic waters. As a Research Fellow of the University of Edinburgh he led a series of expeditions to Central America that focused on environmental conservation and resource management. He also compiled a number of geographical reference books including The Oxford Dictionary of the World and Scotland: An Encyclopedia of Places and Landscapes. For 12 years he served as Director of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and for a decade he chaired UK government and United Nations geographical advisory bodies. Currently David is an adviser to the publishers of The Times Atlas of the World and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Bob is Head of Investigations for the RSPB. His role involves his team assisting police and others in protecting some of the rarest species in the UK and in Europe. Bob lives in Scotland and travels extensively furthering the investigation of crimes against wild birds and habitats. Bob is originally from North Yorkshire and started his conservation career as the National Trust’s Head Warden on the Farne Islands monitoring the large seabird colonies and welcoming visitors. A move to Scotland in 1993 led to a career in Countryside Rangering with the National Trust for Scotland, and as Countryside Manager he moved to Inverness to manage the NTS Highlands and Islands properties. As a skilled field naturalist, helping people to understand and enjoy the countryside is one of Bob’s passions, and in recent years, he has led expeditions to Peru, Iceland, the Arctic, Antarctica and many Scottish islands.

Derek studied prehistoric archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, specialising in the later prehistory of temperate Europe. On graduation he worked for the University’s newly established Centre for Field Archaeology, undertaking archaeological research and excavation. He joined the National Trust for Scotland in 2000 as the West Region Archaeologist with responsibility for providing advice on the archaeological aspects of all properties in the region, for conducting small-scale research projects and for commissioning and managing larger projects. Derek was appointed as Head of Archaeological Services for the Trust in September 2011 and is responsible for the archaeology on many of our island properties. In particular, he has worked for a number of years on Canna.

Sir Kenneth lives in Glasgow where he has been Chancellor of the University of Glasgow since 2006. He has been Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland since 2010, and amongst other public appointments he is Deputy Chair of the British Library. His distinguished career in medicine included being Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation, Chief Medical Officer in Scotland and in England. He has a deep personal commitment to Scotlandís heritage and is completing a research project exploring the relationship between Scottish Literature and health. Sir Kenneth and his wife Ann will be our cruise leaders. Ann, a former teacher, is currently Chair of County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust.