The year is 1994, and a little girl sits glued to an action film that is destined to shape the course of her life. Watching Meryl Streep navigate the white water of The River Wild, six-year-old Bonnie knew she wanted to spend her life on the river.
That little girl went on to build a career in white water through Outdoor Education, freelance guiding, and expedition leadership. Over more than a decade working across the industry, Bonnie learned not just how to deliver brilliant adventures, but what truly thoughtful customer care could look like.
After meeting and marrying Jen, the idea of building something of their own kept coming up on long journeys between rivers and canyons. For a while it felt like a future plan. In 2021, after losing a dear friend far too soon, that future suddenly felt much more urgent. River Wild Adventures was born from that moment - a decision to stop waiting, to build something meaningful now, and to invite others into adventures that feel memorable from the moment they arrive.
At River Wild Adventures, our focus is firmly set on making sure you have an experience to remember - from the first enquiry to the final hot drink at the end of the day.
We want every trip to feel welcoming, personal, and brilliantly well looked after, which is why we work with guides who care just as much about people as they do about rivers.
Bonnie has worked in the outdoor industry for over a decade, sharing her love for white water with hundreds of clients over the years. She found her way to rafting through her degree in Outdoor Education and knew that she'd found her home. It combined her love for white water with her desire to share the experience with others. Whilst operating as a freelance guide, Bonnie was able to build a vast array of experience and knowledge, not just of the activities but what the "best of the best" could look like. Her passion for customer service and memorable adventures led her to fulfil a lifelong dream – establishing River Wild Adventures! When she isn't guiding in Scotland, Bonnie leads expeditions to developing countries such as Ecuador, Borneo and Tanzania for Camps International. Bonnie is also a committee member of the Scottish Rafting Association (SRA), who support and deliver good practice in commercial rafting for Scotland.
Favourite River:
The Garry (Inver) – because "it's awesome and fun! It's such a great river for surfing, which I love".
Jen guides activities such as tubing, river bugging, paddleboarding and canyoning. She has a personal passion for canyoning, which mainly comprises of big smiles whilst jumping off high things into water. Her connection to River Wild Adventures is being one of the owners! Jen and Bonnie met through their guiding activities in 2014 and they've been happily married since 2020. When she isn't guiding Jen can be found either curled up enjoying a good book, out paddleboarding with friends or planning her next big adventure. Having ticked off the Great Wall of China she now has her sights set on the Inca Trail!
Favourite River:
Tuolumne River, Yosemite – epic Spring melt conditions with lots of high-volume fun and scenery that takes your breath away
Our resident Siberian Husky and part-time trip supervisor. Cali specialises in pre-adventure cuddles, post-adventure fuss, and keeping spirits high at all times. When she's not out exploring with her mums, she can be found perfecting the art of looking like she's done all the hard work
Favourite River:
River Calder, it's her local sniff and paddle spot.
As a mobile business, we are immensely aware that we require vehicles to support our trips. Whilst the shift to electric vehicles is something we greatly want to do, the development and availability is not quite ready for our needs. Therefore, we want to make sure that we’re doing what we can to give back.
This mindset ranges from the small details to the big steps that we can take. We adopt a leave-no-trace approach at all of our venues, travelling with a composting toilet to ensure that our locations are not impacted by our presence. When we offer you a hot drink at the end of your trip, know that we’re using compostable cups to avoid adding to landfill. We also use eco-friendly detergents to wash our equipment to ensure that nothing bad is being added to the environment. Everything that is possible to recycle is recycled.
We have also created a great partnership with a cause close to our hearts - Trees for Life. River Wild Adventures makes regular donations to their amazing work and we hope our contributions will only continue to grow. At this time we’ve requested that our donations are actively filtered into their tree planting efforts to minimise our footprint.