The girl who became one of Britain's great Arctic adventurers

How quiet explorer Isobel Wylie Hutchison continues to inspire down the years

Isobel Wylie Hutchison. Pic: Carlowrie Group

“We don't put ourselves forward for anything, we do the opposite. We hide away constantly… but this is different… Isabel, to me, is a true Scottish hero,” said Craig Mathieson, founder of the Polar Academy and winner of the 2025 Isobel Award.

The award ceremony, hosted at the small but lavishly decorated Carlowrie Castle, has been organised for the last seven years in honour of one of the castle’s previous inhabitants. You might not have heard of Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889-1982), but this quiet pioneer of female adventuring was one of Scotland's greatest arctic explorers - as well as being an important botanist, skilled poet, documentary filmmaker, travel writer, painter, multilinguist… the list goes on.

Craig Mathieson, award winner inspired by Isobel. Pic: Polar Academy

A life shaped by tragedy

She has long been an inspiration for Mathieson, himself an explorer of considerable experience who founded the Polar Academy which has so far worked with 240 young people and their families directly, impacting over 90,000 members of the community each year, and often with extraordinary results.

Growing up in the countryside near Kirkliston, Hutchison’s early life was surrounded by nature and creativity. She took an early interest in writing and photography as the editor of The Scribbler: a household magazine that she created with her four siblings. She played many sports, including skating, tennis, cycling and enjoyed long walks. Living in Carlowrie Castle her entire life, she climbed her favourite apple tree on the castle grounds on every birthday from her 10th to her 70th.