About Us

A Brief History of Rannoch Adventures

Rannoch Adventures, a division of The Rannoch Corporation, was founded by Nat Turner in 1997 to organize locomotive driving adventures in Europe. In 2003, Nat was joined by his daughter Julia in a successful bid to broaden the range of trips to include unique sailing adventures, small-ship polar expeditions, back country horse-trekking and other adventures not readily available in the "Lower 48" United States.

Our Philosophy

We believe that adventure travel should offer people unique, but enjoyable experiences. We believe that enjoyment comes from participating in an activity that is of interest to you, while getting to know the local people and participating to a degree in their culture and lifestyle. On the other hand, we try to keep in mind that our clients are on vacation. We believe that most people would rather add a day or two to their trip, and stay in nice accommodations when possible, rather than return home feeling as if they had been on a forced march. Finally, we believe that even adventurous travelers want a vacation to be as convenient and easy as possible to organize. It is Rannoch’s mission to make all of those expectations come true.

Our Management Team

Rannoch Adventures is a family-owned company. The owners are Nat Turner and his daughter, Julia. This is appropriate, because the Turner family has a long history of living and seeking out adventure abroad.


Nat Turner - Before he graduated from college, Nat had been in most parts of the US, as well as Cuba, flown parachutists in Canada and passengers into Mexico, piloted a yacht to the Bahamas, and conducted economic research among subsistence farmers in Central America. During the Vietnam War, Nat lived in Thailand and traveled throughout Asia. He owns a steam locomotive and was founder of a shortline railroad. As a consultant, Nat has worked extensively with Sabre and other travel industry providers. He has degrees from Cornell, the University of Texas and Harvard. Nat has studied five languages and traveled in over forty countries.

Julia Turner – A lifelong Texan, Julia has traveled throughout Europe, Central America, South America and Africa. She holds a degree in history from Southern Methodist University, and has studied English Literature at Cambridge University. Following her graduation from SMU, Julia was for a time an events planner in Washington, D.C. Throughout most of her life, Julia has had a love affair with horses. She owns Arabians and Lusitanos and has competed with Arabians and American Saddlebreds at the national and international level with great success.

 

Our Travel Heritage

Nat's father (also named Nat) was raised in Cuba. He spoke Spanish as a first language and later as a professional engineer, oversaw numerous projects in Latin America. During WWII, Nat was assigned to work with Chinese engineers building facilities for Allied troops in Western China. During this time, Nat traveled extensively in China, over the famous Burma Road, in India and North Africa. As a national leader in engineering professional societies, Nat spoke at meetings and conferences worldwide. This legacy of travel and adventure in remote parts of the world was passed on to his son, founder of Rannoch Adventures.

 

Nat's grandfather graduated from New York University on a Helen Gould scholarship in 1902. Like many young men graduating from college immediately after the Spanish American War, Nat sought adventure in Cuba as an engineer for an American mining company. He later explored the Orinoco (Venezuela) basin, searching for iron ore and spent WWI in France, courtesy of the Army Corps of Engineers. Nat's exploits as a young man live on in a collection of photos almost one hundred years old, and continue to inspire current generations of Turners to explore the world.

 

Why are we called “Rannoch” Adventures?

 

Why have we chosen the name Rannoch for our company? Loch Rannoch and the town of Rannoch is an area in the Scottish Highlands from which many of our ancestors began their great adventure to the New World.